The excitement is there.
The problem is, the game is still more than five months away.
Oregon players can look forward to Sept. 18, when they travel to Norman to take on national powerhouse Oklahoma. That became reality last week when the teams agreed to meet on Oklahoma’s turf next season, then again as late as the 2008 season in Eugene.
“What an awesome experience,” quarterback Kellen Clemens said. “We are excited. Having another opponent like that on the schedule this year definitely helps the enthusiasm and excitement out here for spring ball.”
The game became possible when the Ducks pulled out of their contest with Nevada. The Wolf Pack are now set to play Buffalo in Las Vegas. The Sooners were originally scheduled to play Florida A&M, which is now set to play Temple in Philadelphia.
All of that paved the way for Oregon to play the Sooners, who lost to Louisiana State in the national championship game last season.
“Everyone loves a big game,” cornerback Justin Phinisee said. “You don’t want to shy away from that. It’s a chance for us to get on our feet early and get some good competition out there. Hopefully we can feed off of it.”
The last time the Ducks played a national power outside of the Pacific-10 Conference? That came recently. Oregon stunned Michigan, 31-27, in the fourth game of the 2003 season.
“We learned from that that it is just a man versus another man,” linebacker Jerry Matson said. “It doesn’t matter about the uniform. It doesn’t matter about the tradition. It’s about where the program is that day.”
The Ducks promptly lost to Washington State, 55-16, after the upset of then-No. 3 Michigan.
The 2004 season could provide the same kind of pitfall, albeit against a lesser-quality opponent.
Oregon opens up the season against Indiana at Autzen Stadium Sept. 11,
followed by the visit to Oklahoma. After that, the Ducks return home for a game against Idaho on Sept. 25, which is then followed by the Pac-10 opener against Arizona State on Oct. 2.
“You want to still take it one step at a time,” Clemens said. “Should we go to Oklahoma and come away with a win, then we’ve got to come back and we’ve got to play whoever’s next on our schedule; I believe it’s Idaho. You’ve got to not get too high and you’ve got to not get too low. That’s one of the things that hurt us last year.”
What, in reality, does the game mean for the Oregon program? While it is just another game on the schedule, it is the right step for a program that has been on the way up the national ladder.
The Sooners are expected to win every season. They held the No. 1 spot in the nation for most of last season.
However, most forget the Ducks were close to that just three seasons ago. Oregon is not very far removed from the 2001 season that saw the Ducks finish No. 2 in the nation.
“It gives a little bit of a shout to the people of the past, the Oregon Ducks that have really put in a lot of work and the coaching staff that has really turned this place around,” Matson said. “Now we’re on a national level where we can get games with Oklahoma. It’s a good step for the program. Years ago we probably would’ve not been able to get a game probably.”