Oregon’s 31-30 loss to Minnesota in the 2003 Sun Bowl a week ago was, in a way, a microcosm of the Ducks’ season.
Plagued by setbacks all season, Oregon fought back to make it interesting, only to be shunned in the final seconds.
That’s the kind of season the Ducks had to battle through. At one point, they were poster boys for Sports Illustrated, the popular choice to be underdog national champions, at least in the minds of the fans.
Just weeks later, a bowl berth was in jeopardy and their win over then-No. 3 Michigan forgotten.
It was a tough but rewarding year, the Ducks say.
“Character (drove Oregon) and just believing in it and not giving in to adversity,” senior Steven Moore said. “That’s what the biggest success of our season was, to overcome all those things that we went through.”
Oregon started out strong, winning its first four games against Mississippi State, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. Consecutive losses to Washington State, Utah and Arizona State looked to doom Oregon to the bottom of the Pacific-10 Conference.
A shutout of Stanford seemed like a step in the right direction, but a blowout loss to Washington in Seattle a week later left the Ducks at 5-4 and in dire straits.
That was not to be.
“Overall, I think this was a very positive season,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “I think that the kids put a positive spin on it with the way they turned the season around. (The Sun Bowl) was probably as exciting as any and will go down in history.”
In keeping with tradition, the 8-5 season may provide the same kind of boost the 1998 season did. A year before that, the Ducks had finished 7-5.
Bellotti led Oregon to an 8-4 record in 1998, then nine wins in 1999, 10 in 2000 and ended with 11 in 2001.
Can nine wins or better be expected in 2004?
Maybe. The ingredients are there.
“We’re young,” Moore said. “Each year, people get better. It’s scary because we’re still in kind of a new system on defense. We’re going to get better with that system.
“Speed-wise, we’re going to be faster, stronger. We’re young. This was a good year for the young guys to get it under their belt and see how college football is. Next year is going to be a whole lot better year for us.”
After the Sun Bowl loss, a number of Ducks said that they are looking forward to next season, when Oregon expects to get a key number of contributors back. On offense, that includes a starting quarterback in Kellen Clemens, a backfield with Terrence Whitehead and Dante Rosario, a tight end in Tim Day, a wide receiver in Demetrius Williams and four-fifths of its offensive line.
Clemens had a career season in 2003, passing for 2,400 yards and completing 18 touchdown passes with just nine interceptions. He split time with Jason Fife for most of the season, but once he took over full-time, he threw for eight touchdown passes in his final three games — wins over UCLA and Oregon State and the loss to Minnesota.
“I think Kellen did a very nice job (against Minnesota),” Bellotti said. “I think he can even play better. I have high hopes and will raise the bar for Kellen.”
On defense, Haloti Ngata will return to bolster one of the nation’s strongest lines. If Igor Olshansky decides against the NFL, he will return along with Devan Long.

Jerry Matson is Oregon’s lone returning starting linebacker, and Moore and Justin Phinisee should be back as starting cornerbacks.
“I always have faith in my Ducks,” senior Quinn Dorsey said after the game. “If you ask me, every year we’re going to win a national championship and I believe in my players like that. I say that with total conviction.
“As long as they keep their heads on straight and work hard in the offseason, they’ll be contenders next year.”
Dorsey pointed out Long, Ngata and defensive tackle Matt Toeaina as players to watch next season.
“We’ve got a lot of good players on that defensive line,” Dorsey said. “Robby Valenzuela is coming back; he’s awesome.”
The Ducks will miss playing USC for the second straight season next year. Oregon will open up its season with Indiana on Sept. 11 at Autzen Stadium, then play at Nevada and at home against Idaho in consecutive weeks before opening Pacific-10 Conference play against Arizona State on Oct. 2.
Until then, the Ducks will open spring practices in early April, followed by the annual spring game in May.
Four months later, they’ll do it all over again.