Editor’s note: In the final 50 days before Chip Kelly and the Ducks return to the field to defend their status as Pac-12 Champions, the Emerald sports desk will take a look back at one Oregon alum each day whose jersey number corresponds to the amount of days left before the season opener against Arkansas State.
A safety for the Ducks in the late 1980s, Derek Horton had a knack for making plays. In his two years as a starter for the Ducks, Horton nabbed eight interceptions, returning them for an average of nearly 30 yards. The last interception of Horton’s career came at Autzen Stadium against the Beavers, and Horton nearly made it a storybook final highlight, returning the pick 77 yards for a touchdown only to have it waved off by a clipping penalty.
Horton had another stellar game earlier that season against Iowa, intercepting two passes and adding a fumble recovery for good measure in the Ducks 44-6 upset of no. 24 Iowa in Iowa City. The win would earn the previously unranked Ducks a no. 22 spot in the next week’s rankings, but a subsequent loss to Stanford would drop the Ducks from the rankings. The team would bounce back the next week, beating another top-25 squad and regaining their place in the ranking, but once again the Ducks fell out of the rankings the very next week.
After a tumultuous start to the season the 1989 Ducks won seven of their last eight games including a 27-24 win over Tulsa in the Independence Bowl.