Oregon Ducks football The Oregon Ducks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Oregon located in the U . S . state of Oregon . The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Pacific - 12 Conference . Known as the Ducks , the team was commonly called the Webfoots until the mid - 1960s . Oregon ' s first football team was fielded in 1894 . The team plays its home games at the 54 , 000 seat Autzen Stadium in Eugene , Oregon . The team ' s main rivals are the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington Huskies . The Ducks and Beavers end each regular season by playing each other in the Civil War . Chip Kelly is the Ducks ' current head coach . History . Early years . The football program began in 1893 and played its first game on March 24 , 1894 , six months before the season started , defeating Albany College 44 – 2 under head coach Cal Young . Cal Young left after that first game and J . A . Church took over the coaching position for the rest of the season . Oregon then finished the season with two additional losses and a tie , but went undefeated the following season , winning all four of its games under head coach Percy Benson . In 1899 , the football team left the state for the first time , playing the California Golden Bears in Berkeley , California . Oregon ' s largest margin of victory came in 1910 when they defeated the University of Puget Sound 115 – 0 . In the 1916 season , Oregon went undefeated with five wins and one tie under head coach Hugo Bezdek , shutting out all their opponents except California . They opened the season against Willamette University , defeating them 97 – 0 . The game against Washington ended in a 0 – 0 tie . The tiebreaker for the Pacific Coast Conference went to Washington due to Oregon ' s use of ineligible players but Oregon was given the invitation to the Tournament East - West Football Game at Tournament Park ( moved to the Rose Bowl in 1923 ) due the cost of a train ticket to Los Angeles being significantly less from Eugene than from Seattle . The Oregon football team defeated the heavily favored University of Pennsylvania Quakers 14 – 0 , securing their first and only Rose Bowl victory Playing at newly constructed Hayward Field , which would be their home field until 1967 , the Webfoots returned to the Rose Bowl at the end of the 1919 season , losing to Harvard University 6 – 7 . This would be the team ' s last bowl appearance until the 1948 Cotton Bowl . Between World Wars . The late 1920s and early 1930s saw the first attempts by Oregon to establish a nationally prominent football program by hiring established Eastern coaches , first John “ Cap ” McEwan in 1926 ( Army ) , then Clarence “ Doc ” Spears from Minnesota in 1930 . Both coaches saw moderate success , but McEwan resigned amid a contract dispute ; Spears left after two seasons to return to the Western Conference at Wisconsin . Prince G . " Prink ” Callison , Oregon native , alumnus , former player and coach of the freshman team , took over from Spears in 1932 . Behind standout back Mike Mikulak and a smothering defense ( 50 points allowed , five shutouts ) , Callison led the 1933 Webfoots to a 9 – 1 mark and Pacific Coast Conference co - championship , with the only loss to USC . This record would stand as the best in school history until 2001 . After the homegrown Callison retired in 1937 , Oregon resumed its habit of poaching coaches from other teams , pulling Gerald “ Tex ” Oliver from Arizona . Oliver coached the team into and after World War II , posting a mediocre 23 – 28 – 3 record ; his 71 – 7 loss at Texas in 1941 – the day before Pearl Harbor — stands as the most points allowed by any Oregon team and the second largest margin of defeat . Oliver is the only coach to see his team lose twice to Oregon State in the same season ( 1945 ) . Modern era . Oliver was sacked in 1947 and replaced by another working head coach , Jim Aiken of Nevada . Aiken saw immediate success with the team he inherited , which like many post - war squads was peppered with war veterans , including Brad Ecklund , Jake Leicht and Norm Van Brocklin , and transfers George Bell and Woodley Lewis . Oregon ’ s 1948 team tied with California for the PCC championship ; the teams never met on the field and in a secret ballot by the conference presidents , Cal was awarded the Rose Bowl bid . In a bid to sooth hurt feelings , the conference broke tradition and allowed the Webfoots to play in a post - season contest other than the Rose Bowl . Oregon ’ s Cotton Bowl game that season ( a 21 – 13 loss to SMU ) was the team ’ s only bowl appearance between the 1920 and 1958 Rose Bowls . Aiken couldn ’ t maintain his success with younger players ; by his fourth season , the Ducks were one of the nation ’ s worst major college teams , posting a 1 – 9 record in 1950 , still the lowest winning percentage in school history as of 2011 . Aiken resigned amid allegations of recruiting and practice violations in early 1951 . Len Casanova and Jerry Frei eras . Once again , Oregon found a working major college coach to take over its program , hiring Len Casanova from the University of Pittsburgh after Aiken ' s resignation . Casanova eventually led the Ducks to a winning record in 1954 then led the team to a 10 – 7 loss against number one ranked Ohio State University in the Rose Bowl . During his tenure , he would lead the Ducks to two more bowl games before becoming the second athletic director for the Oregon Ducks in January 1967 , replacing Leo Harris . Future NFL Hall of Fame members Mel Renfro and Dave Wilcox were players under his tutelage . Many of his assistant coaches such as George Seifert , John McKay , and John Robinson went on to have their own successful coaching careers . He ended his Oregon head coaching career with a record of 82 – 73 – 8 , the highest number of wins recorded by a head coach at the university at that time . The Oregon athletic center , Len Casanova Center , is named in his honor and has received lofty praise from his successors such as Bill Moos and Mike Bellotti . Assistant coach Jerry Frei became head coach after Len Casanova moved on to athletic director in 1966 . Although he never made it to a bowl game and did not end his Oregon career with a winning record , he coached several players who went on to NFL stardom , including Hall of Fame member Dan Fouts . In 1970 , he coached the Ducks to an improbable comeback at UCLA , scoring 20 points in the final four minutes of the game to beat UCLA 41 – 40 . However , Frei was unable to defeat arch - rival Oregon State , and after the 1971 loss some influential boosters reportedly were demanding that he either hire new assistants or resign . Two months after the 1971 season , Jerry Frei resigned , citing disagreements between him , university boosters , and the athletic director Norv Ritchey . Following his resignation , the student body president at the time , as well as numerous published letters to the editor of the Register Guard voiced their support of Frei . Dick Enright and Don Read eras . Frei ’ s assistant coach , Dick Enright , was elevated to head coach for the 1972 season . Enright struggled to maintain team discipline and consistent play ; he famously tried to make an option quarterback out of Dan Fouts , who was not a runner . Although his 1972 team did beat Oregon State for the first time since 1963 , Enright ’ s teams only won six games in two seasons . After complaining to the media about what he considered sub - standard conditions of football facilities , he was sacked after the 1973 season , replaced by Don Read , his quarterback coach . Although he possessed a great offensive mind , Read was unable to field a competitive team in his first job as a major college head coach . Oregon ’ s longest losing streak – 14 games – was set during Read ’ s three - year term , which also saw the team ’ s worst loss in history ( 66 – 0 at Washington in 1974 ) . After the Ducks ’ home opener in 1975 , a 5 – 0 loss to San Jose State , UO president William Boyd told a reporter he ’ d “ rather be whipped in a public square than sit through a game like that . ” Read was fired , with one year left on his contract , after the 1976 season ended . Rich Brooks era . Rich Brooks became head coach in 1977 and got off to a shaky start , with four two - win seasons in his first six years at Oregon . After hovering around . 500 seasons the next few years , the team posted an 8 – 4 season in 1989 , going to the Independence Bowl . Brooks would achieve two more bowl games before his final season in 1994 . The pinnacle of Brooks ' Oregon career came in his final year when his team became the Pacific - 10 Conference Champions with a 9 – 3 regular season record and a Rose Bowl appearance . The defining moment of the season came in the game against the number 9 ranked Washington Huskies known by Duck fans as " The Pick " . Prior to that game , the Ducks had won only three games against the Huskies in 20 seasons , including many heartbreakers in the heated rivalry . Late in the game , as the Ducks were up just 24 – 20 , Washington was in good position to score and take the lead when the Huskies ' quarterback Damon Huard threw an interception to Kenny Wheaton who returned the interception for a 97 - yard touchdown , sealing the win for the Ducks . The Pick is replayed on the big screen at Autzen Stadium before each football game . Following the Washington game , the Ducks finished the rest of the regular season without a loss , but lost to the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl . After the 1994 season , Rich Brooks announced that he would leave the university to coach for the Los Angeles Rams . Although Brooks did not have as high a winning percentage , he surpassed Casanova ' s number of wins with 89 to become the winningest coach in school history . The field at Autzen Stadium is named Rich Brooks Field , in honor of Rich Brooks . Mike Bellotti era . Offensive coordinator Mike Bellotti was elevated into the head coaching position after Rich Brooks vacated the position in 1995 . During his head coaching career , Bellotti elevated the expectations of the Ducks football program . Season records that in the past would have been deemed acceptable or even laudable are now considered mediocre and disappointing . Bellotti was immediately successful , leading the team to a 9 – 3 record his first year and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl Classic . In his 14 seasons , Bellotti ’ s teams were selected for 12 bowl games , and only once ( 2004 , 5 – 6 ) did the Ducks post a losing record during his tenure . Bellotti coached the team to the Pac - 10 Championship in the 2000 season , shared with Washington and OSU . With a Rose Bowl bid on the line , the Ducks lost the 2000 Civil War at Corvallis , dropping the Ducks to the Holiday Bowl The Ducks defeated Texas 35 – 30 in the Holiday , for the first 10 - win season in program history . In the 2001 season , senior quarterback Joey Harrington , a Heisman Trophy finalist , led the Ducks to its first 11 - win season in program history and an outright Pac - 10 championship . The season was riddled with close games , 6 of which ended with a spread of one score or less , coining the nickname " Captain Comeback " for Harrington . The only loss of the season came at home to the . The Ducks ended the 2001 regular season ranked No . 2 in both the AP and Coaches polls , but the BCS computer formula ranked Oregon No . 4 , behind No . 2 Nebraska – which had been thrashed by Colorado in its final regular season game – and No . 3 Colorado ; this kept Oregon out of the national championship game . The discrepancy caused the BCS committee to alter the ranking system for subsequent years to a formula which , if applied in 2001 , would have placed Oregon in the national championship game . The 2001 Ducks instead played at the Fiesta Bowl against Colorado . Oregon ' s run defense stifled Colorado ' s running game , holding them to just 49 yards on 31 carries . Harrington passed for 350 yards and led the Ducks to a 38 – 16 win . Oregon settled for a final 2nd place ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls . After the 2001 season , offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford left for the head coaching job at California , replaced by Andy Ludwig . The 2003 season was highlighted by a big win against the 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines , ruining Michigan ' s aspirations of a big season during a trip to a west coast game for the third time in four years . Ludwig resigned as offensive coordinator after a dismal 2004 campaign , the only losing season ( 5 – 6 ) for a Mike Bellotti - coached Oregon team . Recently fired BYU head coach Gary Crowton took the offensive reins ; the 2005 season saw a dramatic improvement from 2004 , going 10 – 1 in the regular season , with the only loss to top - ranked USC . In the eighth game of the season against the Arizona Wildcats , the senior starting quarterback for the Ducks , Kellen Clemens , suffered a spiral fracture in his ankle , ending his season and his collegiate career . Despite losing Clemens , the Ducks won the game as well as the rest of their regular season games but lost the Holiday Bowl to the Oklahoma Sooners . In 2006 the team started off well , winning four games to open the season , including a controversial victory against Oklahoma where there were questionable reviews by the officials late in the game , although some have noted there were also calls throughout the game that went against the Ducks . But the Oklahoma victory proved to be the high point of the 2006 season ; the team eventually fell apart , going 3 – 5 for the remainder of the regular season , and were pounded by BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl , losing 8 – 38 in a dismal performance . Gary Crowton left Oregon for the offensive coordinator position at Louisiana State University after the 2006 season ; Chip Kelly was hired to replace him in February , 2007 . Kelly ' s first season as offensive coordinator was a big success , with the 2007 Ducks going 8 – 1 behind QB Dennis Dixon and ranked as high as No . 2 , before being decimated by injuries at quarterback . Finishing the regular season 8 – 4 , the Ducks met the South Florida Bulls in the Sun Bowl . Redshirt freshman QB Justin Roper started the bowl game for the Ducks and threw four TD passes as Oregon won the game 56 – 21 , with the Oregon junior running back Jonathan Stewart amassing 253 rushing yards for a Sun Bowl record . The 2008 season saw the emergence of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli as the leader of Chip Kelly ’ s spread offense . Masoli , a transfer from City College of San Francisco , stepped in against Washington in the season opener , when starter Justin Roper was injured , and led the Ducks to a 44 – 10 victory . Despite injuries , Masoli cemented himself as the starter by mid - season . In the 2008 Civil War , the Ducks defeated the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis , 65 – 38 , knocking the Beavers out of the Rose Bowl . The Ducks went to the Holiday Bowl . In a clash of two teams with high powered offenses , Oregon beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2008 Holiday Bowl and finished the season ranked in the top 10 . In March 2009 , Bellotti announced his resignation ; Kelly would take over as the head coach , and Bellotti was named athletic director , replacing Pat Kilkenny . Bellotti left the program as the winningest coach in Oregon history , with 116 wins and a 67 . 8 winning percentage . Chip Kelly era . In his first season as the head coach of the Ducks , Kelly stumbled out of the gate , losing to Boise State by 11 points in a game ending in controversy with Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount punching Byron Hout on national television after being taunted . The Ducks showed only minor improvements with close wins against the Purdue Boilermakers and the Utah Utes . It wasn ' t until the start of the Pac - 10 season that the Ducks shined by dismantling the at the time 2nd or 3rd ranked ( depending on the poll ) California Golden Bears 42 – 3 . The Oregon Ducks only lost one more game , to the Stanford Cardinal in the regular season , to win the Pac - 10 title by two games . The Ducks went to the 2010 Rose Bowl , where they lost by a score of 26 to 17 to the Ohio State Buckeyes . During the offseason , the team was mired in controversy off the field . Starting running back LaMichael James was involved in a domestic dispute in which he pleaded guilty to physical harassment of a former girlfriend and was suspended for the first game of 2010 season . Starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was suspended for the entire 2010 football season over thefts from a local fraternity house . On June 7 , Masoli was cited for marijuana possession , driving with a suspended license and failing to stop when entering a roadway . In response , coach Chip Kelly officially removed him from the team . Despite the loss of Masoli , the Ducks dominated their opponents in the 2010 season . On October 17 , the team moved up to the No . 1 ranking in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time in school history . This occurred after the # 1 - ranked teams , the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama Crimson Tide lost in consecutive weeks . The Ducks finished the regular season with a 12 – 0 record ; winning the conference at 9 – 0 , they were the only team in Pac - 10 history to defeat every other conference team in a single season . Ranked No . 2 in the BCS rankings , the Ducks played Auburn in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale , Arizona , losing on an Auburn field goal as time expired , 22 – 19 . Despite his opening game suspension , Oregon RB LaMichael James won the 2010 Doak Walker Award as the nation ' s outstanding college running back . James was also Oregon ' s first unanimous All - American football player , appearing on all five all - America teams recognized by the NCAA . Oregon won its third straight conference championship in 2011 , winning the new Pac - 12 North Division and defeating UCLA in the inaugural Pac - 12 Conference Championship Game . The Ducks became the first Pac - 12 team other than USC to win three consecutive titles outright since the conference was formed in 1959 . LaMichael James became the first player in conference history with three 1 , 500 + yard rushing seasons , and ranks third on the Pac - 12 ' s career rushing list . James was a finalist for the 2011 Doak Walker Award , and was named a finalist for the 2011 Paul Hornung Award . Punter Jackson Rice was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award . Venues and facilities . Autzen Stadium , the home of Oregon ' s football team , was named in honor of Thomas J . Autzen , a Portland businessman and , ironically , a graduate of rival Oregon State University . After his death , the Autzen Foundation , managed by son and Oregon alum Thomas E . Autzen , gave the university $ 250 , 000 towards construction of the facility , completed in 1967 . The 54 , 000 seat stadium is known as a very intimidating and loud environment . Standing room around the rim of the stadium allows the capacity to swell to more than 60 , 000 . On October 27 , 2007 in a game against USC , the crowd of 59 , 277 was able to reach a noise level of 127 . 2 decibels , the 4th loudest ever recorded at a college football game . Moshofsky Sports Center , named in honor of former University of Oregon football letterman ( 1940 – 42 ) and long - time university supporter Ed Moshofsky , was dedicated in August , 1998 , the first indoor practice and training facility in the Pacific - 10 Conference . Located south of the Casanova Athletic Center , the Moshofsky Center accommodates the majority of the University ’ s intercollegiate athletic programs . The $ 14 . 6 million facility includes an enclosed full - length artificial surface football field and 120 - meter four - lane synthetic surface running track and an automated system in place to lower a batting cage for use by the softball team , as well as protective netting that transforms the facility for use by the men ’ s and women ’ s golf teams . A combination of indirect lighting and two parallel skylight panels contribute to an energy efficient system which allows the flexibility to alter lighting conditions . Bowl game history . The Ducks won their only Rose Bowl in 1917 against the University of Pennsylvania and have been to four Rose Bowls since , losing all four . However , the Ducks did play in and won the 2002 Fiesta Bowl against the Colorado Buffaloes which took the Pac - 10 champions in years where the Rose Bowl is reserved for the national championship game like 2002 . After the two Rose Bowls in 1917 and 1920 , the Ducks appeared in just four bowl games over the next 68 years . Under head coach Rich Brooks , the Ducks went to four bowl games in just six seasons ; the 1989 and 1992 Independence Bowl s , the 1990 Freedom Bowl , and the 1995 Rose Bowl . During Mike Bellotti ' s tenure as head coach between the 1995 and 2008 seasons , the Ducks went to a bowl game every year with the exception of the 1996 and 2004 seasons . Under Chip Kelly , the Ducks earned a berth in the 2010 Rose Bowl and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game in successive seasons , but lost both games . Rivalries . The Civil War game between Oregon and Oregon State was originally called the " Oregon Classic " or the " State Championship Game . " It is the 4th oldest rivalry in division IA football . It is also one of the most heated rivalries . The Oregon - Washington rivalry , also known as the " Border War , " has been ongoing since 1948 and has incited particular passion and poor behavior from fans of the respective schools . Oregon ' s current eight - game win streak is the longest in the 110 - year history of the series Notable players . Many Ducks players have gone on to play football in the professional ranks . Between 1996 and 2008 , five players have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft including Jonathan Stewart in 2008 , Haloti Ngata in 2006 , Joey Harrington in 2002 , Akili Smith in 1999 , and Alex Molden in 1996 . A number of former Oregon Ducks football players have also been inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame including Gary Zimmerman , Dave Wilcox , Norm Van Brocklin , Dan Fouts , and Mel Renfro . Tuffy Leemans is another NFL Hall of Fame inductee who played for the Oregon freshman team before transferring to George Washington University . Several former players , including Mike Nolan , Gunther Cunningham , John McKay , Jack Patera , John Robinson , Bill Musgrave , and Norv Turner , have become coaches for NFL and college teams . Dan Fouts and Ahmad Rashad have become sportscasters after their professional careers . Uniforms . The University of Oregon football team is known for their unique uniform style in recent years , consisting of multiple color combinations of helmets , uniforms ( both shirts and pants ) , socks , and shoes , resulting in a new uniform setup every week ( not counting in - season changes to uniform designs ) . The frequent changes have led to criticism by alumni and football purists , though the changes have been often well - liked and praised by football recruits . The new schemes are designed by the nearby Nike Corporation , who have the outfitting rights for the Ducks . For several decades in the 20th century , Oregon ' s uniforms were traditional , generally featuring a yellow helmet ( with the original interlocking " UO " emblem ) and yellow pants , joined with a green home jersey with gold letters or white road jersey with green letters and " UCLA - style " shoulder loops . During the Jerry Frei era ( 1967 – 1971 ) , the helmets were solid green with subtle logo variations . In 1972 , new head coach Dick Enright returned the yellow helmet with Green Bay Packer - style green and white striping and no logos , a helmet style that continued until 1977 , when new head coach Rich Brooks added the green block - style interlocking " UO " emblem . In 1985 , the team added the Oregon Donald Duck logo to the jersey sleeves . Mike Bellotti made subtle changes in the livery , removing the striping from the helmet , jersey and pants , and adding a green variation of the pants . The first major change in the uniforms under Bellotti debuted in the 1998 Aloha Bowl , where the new " O " emblem with the complete green helmets and jerseys with lightning yellow letters were revealed . Only once has the original " UO " helmet emblem made a comeback , when it was worn along with a throwback jersey , against Cal in 2009 . However , the neo - throwback green jersey with gold letters , without the yellow " UO " helmet or the yellow pants , did appear in the 2009 Civil War . The football team used nine different football combinations in the 2005 season , but introduced even more combinations in the 2006 season . The new uniforms in 2006 provided 384 possible different combinations of jerseys , pants , helmets , socks , and shoes . A metallic - yellow colored helmet with silver flames , which debuted in the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl , increased the possible combinations to 512 . These uniforms were more technologically advanced than other uniforms , 28 % lighter when dry , 34 % lighter when wet , and greater durability with reinforcing diamond plating patterns at the joints . The Ducks wore the previously announced white helmets for the first time on October 20 , 2007 in Seattle , when they played the Washington Huskies . In 2008 , during the Arizona - Oregon game , they wore new , all black uniforms nicknamed " lights out " , but instead of the typical metal diamond plated shoulder pads , the new uniforms had a wing pattern . On June 23 , 2009 , Nike unveiled a new uniform design based on the " lights out " design from the previous season featuring the " wings " pattern on the shoulder pads as well as a more simplified uniform design , while retaining the number font style of " Bellotti Bold " and the colors of green , black , white , yellow , grey , gold , and steel . One can track the Ducks ' uniforms online . School records . Sources : Oregon Ducks Football Media Guide and Oregon Ducks 2010 Cumulative Season Statistics