Think about this situation for a second, because when it ran through my head a couple times this past weekend, the similarities were eerie.
A Pacific-10 Conference rival power, ranked No. 9 nationally, came into Autzen Stadium in October and an interception by Oregon late in the fourth quarter sealed the victory. The Ducks went onto unparalleled success that season, spurred on by overcoming that opponent, which had been a monkey on Oregon’s back for the previous few seasons. A new era dawned after that year, and though there were some difficulties, the athletic department, University and football team all have come out better because of it.
The thing is, I’m talking about two different plays in two different eras that each could go down as the most important play in Oregon sports history – except one is shown on the scoreboard before every home game, and the other happened last Saturday.
It’d be foolish to automatically assume it right now, but if Oregon continues on to heights unprecedented after last Saturday’s win over USC, the interception by Matt Harper to kill the Trojans’ chances may end up being as important to the program as Kenny Wheaton’s famous pick-six against the Huskies in 1994. Victory over the Huskies led to the 1995 Rose Bowl appearance for Oregon, and a few people – including a certain Phil Knight – started taking interest in Duck athletics.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Which brings us to now. Until this point, Oregon has not been as routinely successful in football as the billboards, flashy jerseys and millions of dollars spent on recruiting or advertising would suggest. Bowl appearances have followed, but bowl wins? Not so much – Oregon still has the worst all-time bowl winning percentage in the Pac-10. Oregon has, to a certain degree in my mind, tried to create a swagger without doing much to earn it; I guess it’s hard to make up for decades of football mediocrity in just 13 years. Such is the curse of the nouveau riche, I suppose.
This season, though, is another one of those seasons to watch for the Ducks. Like 2005 and 2001 before, seniors have matured, the schedule fell together perfectly, and that always-difficult intangible aspect, chemistry, ripened just enough for Oregon. What’s different, though, is that the rest of the college football world has stood on its head – what’s up is down, black is white, nobody can remain undefeated and everybody has a weak point.
Which means conditions are perfect for the Ducks to swoop in and stake that legitimacy, and it begins this weekend by throttling Arizona State. Like the Oregonian’s John Canzano said about last weekend’s game, you only get one chance to kill the king – and the Ducks did just that, beating USC for the first time since Joey’s team did in 2001. But you don’t let up – especially not when Arizona State can shown to be pretenders to the throne, when playing Arizona on Nov. 15 on ESPN2 can be a coronation, and the only real challenge left is UCLA on Nov. 24.
When it’s so close – and the shot at the holy grail for these Ducks, the national championship, is getting even more in-reach – you can’t let up.
Especially when so much seems like destiny between those two interceptions – both USC and Washington were ranked ninth in the Associated Press poll at the time, and both of the defensive backs responsible (Harper and Wheaton) were wearing number 20. Who knows how big the Ducks could be after bowl season this January; who knows what highlights will be shown on the scoreboard years from now because of this season.
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