Origin story!
I got my start at Addicted to Quack with a labor of love. Growing up, I was a baseball player, and the baseball community is notoriously superstitious: rally caps, not talking to a pitcher during a no-hit bid, or wearing the certain uniform components that made you a better player. It was this last quirk that drew me to the subject of Oregon football, and the myriad of uniforms they wear. After much box score digging, and a whirlwind trip through the Google Images wringer, Takimoto's Big Giant Uniform Post was born. That baby got me a vote of approval from Peter Bean. That's right, Peter Effing Bean. Like a boss.
Three years later, Oregon football is on the cusp of another major uniform overhaul. All signs point to a new uniform set that closely resembles the 2012 Rose Bowl uniforms, signaling the end of the Wings Era. For the record, I don't think Oregon can do much better than the wings. The design was clean, versatile, and iconic; it swept away the puzzling-in-hindsight diamond plate set, and was a part of three BCS bowls and three Pac-10/12 championships. If it were up to me, we'd wear the wings for the next fifty years, and it would eventually join the likes of Michigan's helmet, Penn State's all whites, the numbers on Alabama's helmets, and Notre Dame's golden domes as college football's timeless designs. But that doesn't make Nike as much money selling all new merch. And as Swoosh Empire's flagship, Oregon is locked into the role of guinea pig. It's extremely beneficial to the program, but the loss of the wings unis is nonetheless a casualty.
Let's start from the beginning:
The Debut: November 15th, 2008, vs. Arizona.
Oregon broke out the wings for the first time with a blackout under the lights at Autzen, and jumped all over the Arizona WIldcats. Jeremiah Masoli broke a 66 yard touchdown drive on the opening drive, and Patrick Chung pick-six'd Willie Tuitama on the Wildcats' first possession. The score was 45-17 Oregon at halftime, with the Ducks holding off a furious fourth-quarter comeback by Arizona for a 55-45 win. Masoli began his best stretch as Oregon's signal caller, completing 21 of 26 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for another three scores. Oregon carried the momentum into the next week in Corvallis, where they ran up 65 points and almost 700 yards of offense in dashing the Beavers' Rose Bowl hopes. /giggles
Let's take a look at each winged combination, in the order they were first used, and how the Ducks performed in each uniform. The combos will be listed Helmet-Jersey-Pants.
Black-Black-Black
- Arizona 2008 - W 55-45: 298 yards passing, 4 rushing touchdowns, 8.8 yards per carry
- Arizona State 2009 - W 44-21: 268 yards rushing, 2.2 ypc allowed, 31 first half points
- washington 2010 - W 53-16: six rushing TDs, 243 yards passing, five sacks
- LSU 2011 - L 40-27: four turnovers, 95 rushing yards, twelve penalties. Ick. (technically this was "anthrocite", but for all intents and purposes, I'm calling it black)
- USC 2011 - L 38-35: Duck D gives up 323 yards passing and four touchdowns, Maldonado 0-1 FG
- @ Boise State 2009 - L 19-8: 6 first downs, 152 total offensive yards, one Falcon Punch (green numbers)
- @ USC 2010 - W 53-32: 599 yards off offense, four passing TDs, 0 fourth quarter points allowed (silver numbers)
- @ Colorado 2011 - W 45-2: Barner and Bennett shine, Duck D scores a TD and pitches a shutout
- Purdue 2009 - W 38-36: 163 yards passing, three rushing TDs, Walter Thurmond pick-six
- Stanford 2010 - W 52-31: LMJ, 257 yards rushing, Darron Thomas 20-29 with three touchdowns
- Civil War 2011 - W 49-21: Beavers rush for 16 yards, less than five different Ducks
- Utah 2009 - W 31-24: LaMichael's first 100 yard game, Masoli 4-16 passing, Walter Thurmond punt return TD
- Washington State 2009 - W 52-6: six rushing TDs, over 500 yards of offense, Ducks scored first 45 points
- UCLA 2010 - W 60-13: five rushing and three passing touchdowns, 73% completion rate
- Washington State 2011 - W 43-28: Mamba houses a kick, and makes the shake of the century.
- @ UCLA 2009 - W 24-10: 221 yards rushing, Kenjon Barner kickoff return TD (green numbers)
- @ Arizona State 2010 - W 42-31: seven forced turnovers and two defensive TDs, 260 yards passing (silver numbers)
- @ Arizona 2011 - W 56-31: LaMichael sets the all-time rushing record, scores two of six rushing touchdowns.
- @ washington 2009 - W 43-19: LaMichael James averages over 10 ypc and scores twice, blocked punt TD (silver numbers)
- @ Washington State 2010 - W 43-23: Costa and Thomas pass for over 150 yards, 2.5 ypc allowed (green numbers)
- USC 2009 - W 47-20: most yards gained against USC all-time, James and Masoli rush for 150+, scored on every second half possession
- UCLA 2011 - W 49-31: Ducks pile up 571 yards of offense, 219 of them coming via LMJ
- @ Stanford - L 52-41: 570 offensive yards, 505 yards allowed, Toby Gerhart rushed for 224 yards and three TDs (green numbers)
- @ Tennessee 2010 - W 48-13: Darron Thomas, 17-32, 202 yards, two touchdowns, Cliff Harris pick-six, Kenjon Barner punt return TD (green numbers)
- @ Arizona 2009 - 2OT W 44-41: Jeff Maehl 114 yards receiving, three rushing TDs, 314 passing yards allowed (yellow O, silver numbers)
- @ Stanford 2011 - W 53-30: LMJ scores three times, Ducks pick off Luck twice (white O, silver numbers)
- Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State - L 26-17: 81 passing yards, 12 first downs, one crucial fumble
- New Mexico 2010 - W 72-0: Kenjon Barner 5 touchdowns, Cliff Harris 2 punt return TDs, 59 first half points, 107 offensive yards allowed
- Portland State 2010 - W 69-0: 528 yards rushing (227 by LMJ), four passing TDs in only nine completions, five forced turnovers
- @ Cal 2010 - W 15-13: Cliff Harris punt return TD, 193 offensive yards allowed (green numbers)
- Arizona 2010 - W 48-29: 389 yards rushing, 18:06 second half TOP
- Civil War 2010 - W 37-20: 346 rushing yards, 91 rushing yards allowed, four INTs (white O, silver numbers)
- BCS National Championship vs. Auburn - L 22-19: 374 yards passing, 2.3 ypc (lightning yellow O, silver and lightning numbers)
- @ washington 2011 W 34-17- LaMichael returns, rushes for 156 and a score, Pleasant and Mitchell score three picks. (green O, silver numbers)
- Nevada 2011 - W 69-20: Six passing touchdowns, four forced turnovers, one DAT highlight reel play
- Missouri State 2011 - W 56-7: 416 yards rushing, five passing touchdowns, 204 yards for LaMike
- Arizona State 2011 - W 41-27: Barner rushes for 171, DAT scores twice, Bennett manages a victory