Courtesy blogs.denverpost.com
Keep history in mind when you watch tonight’s national championship game. It’s a tale of two cities.
Ohio State is in college gridiron’s elite with ionic images engrained in football lore: Woody Hayes. Archie Griffin. The Buckeye Band dotting the “I.” Few teams have won more games historically than the Buckeyes: OSU ranks#5 in the number of all-time wins (major college teams).
Oregon? Its story is historic mediocrity. What about historic images? They’re hard to come by, save for Dan Fouts and Ahmad Rashad of decades ago. The Ducks simply haven’t enjoyed sustained football success: they’re ranked #51 nationally in all-time wins, which puts UO at the level of other unevenly competitive programs—Rutgers and Virginia, to name two.
How bad was Oregon football? In the ‘70s the Ducks suffered through 8 straight losing seasons—winning only two games in four of those years. The low may have come a few years later, in the early ‘80s, in the so-called “Toilet Bowl”—the 1983 match-up with archrival, Oregon State. The game—between 2-8 OSU and 4-6 UO—was played in a driving rainstorm. The final score: 0-0. (Watch video here.)
It took Oregon almost 20 years to play in its first bowl game during the Modern Era (1970 forward). The year was 1989. It was a minor bowl at that, The Independence, with non-descript Tulsa as the opponent. Major bowls? UO was a non-participant for over 30 years—from 1963 until the mid-‘90s—when the Ducks met Penn State in the 1994 Rose Bowl. But the draught wasn’t over: it would be 15 years before UO would play in another major bowl (2009 Rose Bowl, this time against OSU).
What about UO in the Pac-12? The historical portrait is poor: the Ducks have a below .500 all-time record, collectively, against original Pacific-8 teams (USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon State, Washington, and Washington State). UO has a losing record against 6 of those conference teams, the exceptions being Washington State and Oregon State—teams with the lowest, all-time win percentages among the original conference schools.
But here we are—in 2015—with the Ducks standing web-to-toe with the likes of Ohio State. It’s the second time in 5 years that UO has participated in the National Championship Game (2010, losing to Auburn by 3 points). What a metamorphosis!
Courtesy www.benzduck.com
The turnaround came during Rich Brooks’ tenure as head coach. But it didn’t come quickly, and might not have happened at all, if the UO administration hadn’t stayed with him through thin years. Brooks coached the Ducks for 18 seasons (’77-94), but had winning records in only 7 of those years—winning 4 or fewer games 6 times. The ’94 Rose Bowl-season was a breakthrough year (9-3, #11 final ranking, AP). Then Brooks left for the NFL’s Rams.
Enter Mike Bellotti. Head coach for 14 seasons Bellotti was a consistent winner: he had only one losing season (2004) and the Ducks were in bowls in all but two seasons. Even though Bellotti lost only 3 or fewer games 6 times, UO spent most post-seasons in minor bowls (e.g., Sun, Seattle, Las Vegas bowls) except for the ’95 Cotton Bowl.
Courtesy www.nwsportsbeat.com
The Ducks weren’t “a brand.”
Chip Kelly entered in the 2009 season when Bellotti transitioned to athletics director. The Ducks became what we know today. Kelly went 46-7 over four seasons (winning 12 games three times); and UO played in major bowls every year. His philosophy and approach are well reflected in this year’s Ducks.
That’s UO’s story: not very good until the mid-90s and, then, a school that has been in the national conversation consistently for only about a decade.
Jason Kirk of SB*Nation probably pegged it right when he wrote “Oregon built a college football from nothing.” Kirk attributes success to program continuity (from Brooks forward) and strong financial support from Nike.
There are other reasons, too. UO has filled a collegiate athletic void in the Pacific Northwest, and it has done it through excitement—the kind of wide-open offense that stimulates and sustains fan support. Playing in the Pac-12 gives the Ducks a national competitive platform, but it’s not overwhelming competition. And the school’s administration has allowed the football program to build strength over time.
Courtesy www.imgkid.com
Even hard-corps football fans may find something to like in Oregon. It’s a refreshing story, a tale of how you can break into the big time—and stay there. Most schools don’t see an institutional analogue in Ohio State, but the Ducks…well…that’s a different story. If UO can do it, why can’t we?
From “Toilet Bowl” to National Champions?
Who would have imagined?
