The Bruins felt as if they were outnumbered all afternoon as the crowd was at its roaring best.
Years from now, people may look back on the day of Sept. 23, 2000, and pinpoint it as the day the Oregon Duck football team officially — and emphatically — placed itself on the national map.
For that was the day that the Ducks thoroughly dominated the No. 6 UCLA Bruins 29-10, in front of 45,470 rabid fans in Autzen Stadium, as well as a national television audience.
It was also the day that supreme sports television network ESPN broadcast its popular “College GameDay” show live in Eugene from 8 to 9 a.m. With the help of the marching band and cheerleaders, 3,000-plus showed their Duck love through the use of signs, face paint, flags and loud, loud screams.
They got their loudest at 8:59 a.m., just as ESPN’s show was winding down, when analyst Lee Corso donned the Oregon Duck mascot’s head — continuing his tradition of wearing some sort of paraphernalia to show which team he predicts to be victorious.
Corso had a streak of 14 correct forecasts on the line, and Oregon’s triumph pushed the total to 15. With the win, Oregon (3-1, 1-0 in Pac-10) also extended its league-leading home winning streak to 17 games.
The atmosphere on Saturday certainly lived up to the hype, and helped Oregon secure a victory that many people viewed as a vital steppingstone into the national spotlight for the Oregon football program.
