One-by-one, they’ll come through the Autzen Stadium tunnel, roaring through as their names are announced by Don Essig, the public address announcer.
They’ll have the 56,000-plus in attendance cheer at the top of their lungs, mostly for what they’ve helped accomplish in the last four or five years, but also for the memories they’ve afforded Oregon’s faithful.
Such is the life of a graduating senior on Civil War Saturday.
“It’s going to be exciting, but at the same time, a little bit sad,” fullback Matt Floberg said. “I’ll miss it, but it’s the Civil War, so my mind will be on other things.”
Floberg is one of a number of seniors who will step through the tunnel for the last time. That list includes quarterback Jason Fife, a catalyst in the Oregon offense for the past two seasons; linebacker Kevin Mitchell, by all accounts the heart and soul of the Ducks’ defense seemingly since he stepped on the field for the first time in 2000; and center Dan Weaver, a former walk-on who battled the odds to earn a scholarship.
There are players leaving like wide receiver Samie Parker, who has been one of the fastest players in the nation.

Keith Lewis, almost a once-in-a-lifetime find at Oregon, will leave as one of the most consistent members of the secondary in recent memory.
Then there are players like defensive linemen Junior Siavii and Quinn Dorsey, whose careers in Eugene have taken different twists and turns. Siavii’s career came to Oregon after one season at Butte Junior College, while Dorsey sat out the entire 2002 season because of personal reasons. He came back after five-game suspension this season stemming from an NCAA violation and has given depth to a depleted line.
“I think they’ve done a very good job,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said of his team’s seniors. “Obviously it’s hasn’t been a huge group, but I think they’ve hung together and helped turn this season around, and I’m very proud of them. I’m going to miss every one of them. They’re a great group of kids who have left their mark on the field and some of them have been great leaders, in terms of keeping the laugh quotient available for the team, and others have done it on the field.”
The group is leaving after seeing some of the best years of Oregon football.
For the members of the group who have been with the Ducks for five seasons — such as Mitchell, Fife and Parker — they’ve helped accumulate a 44-16 record through that span. The four-year players, like Lewis and Floberg, will enter the game against Oregon State with a 35-13 record.
“The year we beat (Oregon State) here (in 2001) to go the Fiesta Bowl was huge,” Weaver said of one of his favorite memories. “That whole year was just a good memory maker. You know, beating Michigan, those memories can never go away.”
Five years, five bowls. Four years, four bowls.
Those two statements have been the backbone of the mission of Oregon football this season. Not since 1996 have the Ducks failed to make it to the postseason.
No member of the Ducks — from this season’s redshirt freshmen and true sophomores to Fife, Parker and Mitchell — has ever missed out on what it’s been like to go to a bowl. Making sure the postseason tradition is carried on was important to the graduating group.
“It was pretty important,” Floberg said. “I’ve been lucky since I’ve been here that we’ve gone to a bowl every year. The class that I came in with is putting their stamp on their season. I wouldn’t want this to be the year where we didn’t go to a bowl.”
For Fife, career passing figures of more than 3,000 yards will be what represents him in Oregon’s history books. For Mitchell, the more than 350 tackles he has accumulated as a Duck will mark his time in Eugene.
Parker will be noted for his 17 touchdown receptions — entering Saturday’s game — while Lewis will have picked off 11 passes in his career.
OK, well maybe Lewis will be remembered most for his brash and aggressive style of play.
For the most part, the players who leave Autzen Stadium for the last time Saturday will be remembered in the far future for their statistics.
What the players will remember most is the rafting trips, the games where it shouldn’t have rained at Autzen and trips to Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego and most importantly, Tempe, Ariz.
Remember? The last one is the Fiesta Bowl.
“The thing that stands out is just the teammates I’ve had and the friends I’ve made,” Floberg said.
Oregon will welcome back one senior next season. Cornerback Steven Moore said he expects to be back because he is a partial qualifier.
Because he met all GPA requirements coming out of high school but failed to get a required score on the SAT, he was forced to sit out his freshman season, which can equate to a redshirt year. According to Moore, if he is able to graduate by summer, he will be eligible to play next season.
“To me, it’s just been (great) having the honor to play with these guys,” Moore said. “To me, playing with guys like Mitchell and Lewis and the rest of the guys for the past couple of years, it’s been fun. You can’t have a better story than that.”
One-by-one, they’ll run out of the Autzen tunnel on Saturday.
One-by-one, the memories they’ve made will creep back into their minds. They’ll remember the good times in Eugene.
“I’ve got mixed emotions,” Mitchell said.
Then it’s time to focus on Oregon State.
For the last time.