The “best night of their lives” commenced on a grassy lawn near the University of Oregon’s Memorial Quad.

Lugging bags, carpets and pillows into a cramped space separated by metal barriers, over 300 fans spent the night with a pack of friends before ESPN’s College GameDay for the chance to score an orange hard hat, a free donut and an all-desirable prime location to be seen on ESPN.

Others were lured by the promise of a potential field-goal try for hundreds of thousands of dollars, the opportunity to boo Indiana fans walking by and center-stage viewing of one of college football’s hottest commodities. Those who came with the biggest of groups also had the craziest of plans.

Freshman Zoe Hargreaves said that she was paired with a partner within a group of 15 friends so that a few could stay in line while the others could rest or get something hot to eat.

“My friends got here at 4:30, (25 hours and 30 minutes before the start of the actual show) in the morning, and we’ve been taking shifts all day,” Hargreaves said. “We want to be front row, and get the hard helmets and meet some new people… the experience is super fun.” 

Fans bonded over the Ducks, not to mention a shared love of signs, festivities and everything that makes College GameDay special.

“It’s unbelievable being out here, it’s really all adrenaline at this point,” Freshman Zach Powman said. “We’ve been here since 4 p.m. and really the whole evening has been loud music and card games… a few of us left to get food, but other than that we’ve just been here.” 

Others, like 16-year-old Christian Green, had tickets to be in town months before GameDay was announced and looked to make the most of their newfound luck. 

“I had tickets to visit my sister a few months ago,” Green said. “I was like ‘we have to stay up’ and she did. I’m glad I got a hard hat. It’ll be something cool to remember this experience with.”

Getting to the start of GameDay was the challenge.

“Right around 4 a.m., we hit a wall,” Powman said. “We got into the pit and got the hat, but then it was like two hours until it started, and we definitely had to keep pushing through… It’s been the best night of my life, though, and I’m so glad we did it.”

When the show actually started, the crowd went from good to great, gawking and cheering for Dan Lanning’s shirt-taking-off scene with host Pat McAfee, booing a fan chosen to kick a potentially life-changing field goal and laughing at all of The Duck’s stunts. 

“It’s always special to come out here to do GameDay. It’s my third one, I think, out here. The morning start, the fans, Pacific Northwest fans I think in general are a little bit more ‘hooliganly’ like soccer fans, but they show up in a big way,” McAfee said on the show. “It’s special out here.”

Those who went to the game were treated to one of the great environments, that is, until Oregon stopped giving fans much to cheer about. 

As a fan at the game, the result was a bummer, but it’s important to remember that everything Oregon wants is still in front of it. Also, being able to witness a marquee win for one of the sport’s biggest characters and most passionate fanbases was a memorable part of what Saturday had to offer. 

After Dante Moore’s packed house at Autzen Stadium eventually filed out, Indiana’s fans and players celebrated in delirium near the visiting fans’ section.

After all, “boos”  kind of sound like Hoosiers anyway.  

“This is the first time we’ve walked back after a loss,” said one voice in the crowd walking back toward campus.

The Sunday after was a first for this iteration of head coach Dan Lanning’s team, and there’s absolutely an argument about how all of Lanning’s cockiness and shirt-stripping swagger rings a little hollow when Oregon loses to an underdog at home. Lanning’s brashness rarely blows back in his face like it did Saturday, and it’s never as publicized or talked about as it was after losing to the Hoosiers. 

Lanning and his group got kicked in the teeth, as a betting favorite and at home. The overall sentiment that Indiana was far more prepared than the Ducks was certainly another outlier of his incredibly successful run as head coach. 

“Ultimately I don’t think our plan was great,” Lanning said postgame. “I don’t think anyone in the organization did the best that they are capable of today, myself included. Again, I thought their plan was better and ours wasn’t.”

Still, Oregon might just be a year away faced against an Indiana team only improving as the season progresses. 

Oregon’s season was far from defined on and certainly won’t put too big a damper on the time that thousands of fans – Ducks and Hoosiers alike –  had over a delirious two days. 

But from an overall perspective, there’s a certain wow-factor that comes with the eyes of the nation; GameDay’s Week 4 episode, hosted in Miami, averaged 2.8 million viewers – on the campus students walk every day.

On the Friday before Oregon vs. Indiana, students got to be a part of  a media tour where the first stop was with Heisman Trophy winner and GameDay host Desmond Howard.

“What question should I ask Dan Lanning tomorrow?”  Howard asked a fan near the tour.

The fan, not expecting the question, stuttered. 

“Damn, you gotta be ready! Howard said as he walked away.

It was about the only thing Oregon (and Hoosier) fans were not ready for amid the pregame festivities.