Thomas Patterson Emerald
A rowdy Autzen Stadium crowd has aided the Ducks in winning 23 staight home games, right now the longest streak in the nation.
Most of the 40,000+ fans that will cram into Autzen Stadium on Saturday have probably forgotten what it feels like to exit the premises with their heads hanging down after an Oregon defeat.
The streak of consecutive home victories dates back to Oct. 11, 1997, when UCLA entered Eugene and delivered the Ducks a 39-31 loss.
Since then at Autzen, it’s been win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win and win.
Some lopsided, many close — too close in most fans’ eyes. But all 23 home games since that fateful Bruins’ visit have been wins.
When Florida State hosted Miami last weekend and lost, 49-27, it ended its 37-game winning streak at Doak Campbell Stadium that began in 1994 when Florida tied Florida State. FSU hadn’t been beaten at home in 54 games, dating back to 1991.
But all that’s been erased now, and the team with the nation’s current longest home winning streak is the fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks.
“When you have it and it becomes the longest one in the nation, there’s a responsibility, a duty and an opportunity to extend it,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said.
Oregon has been on the road for the past three weeks and will be going after home win No. 24 at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against Stanford in the annual Homecoming game.
The Ducks are sitting on top these days, near the front of the polls and atop the Pacific-10 Conference standings, but they remember the not-so-long-ago times when they were the underdog. And they know that something like “the streak” is the perfect motivational tool for the Cardinal to use to get themselves fired up.
“It does give other teams something to shoot at, and Stanford’s going to come up here and say that they’re going to break the longest home winning streak and we have to be prepared for that,” Oregon tight end Justin Peelle said. “I know if we were going somewhere that had that, that would be our main goal.”
A lot goes into a good home-field advantage. For Autzen Stadium, it’s clear that the energetic game day atmosphere and the bowl shape of the stadium sets it apart from other collegiate venues.
Just recently, Autzen Stadium was voted the 10th-best college football stadium in the country by The Sporting News.
“I think a lot of those wins have to do with the enthusiasm of the fans and the way the stadium was built and how loud it can get because of that,” Oregon fullback Josh Line said. “Also, as a team, we never accept losing in our house.
“And we’ve had some close ones, so I think it’s partly us and partly the environment.”
Including Saturday’s contest with Stanford, the Ducks have three remaining home games this season. Should Oregon beat Stanford this weekend, Arizona State on Nov. 3 and Oregon State on Dec. 1, it would match the Pac-10 Conference record.
During the years of 1919 through 1923, California won 26 straight games at home to set a mark that has yet to be matched. The Ducks do possess the league record for most consecutive Pac-10 victories at home with 14.
The nation’s second-longest current home winning streak belongs to Fresno State and its 17 straight wins since Sept. 26, 1998. And should Stanford head coach Tyrone Willingham have his way with the Ducks on Saturday, the Bulldogs would move up to the top spot on the active list.
“(The Ducks) haven’t lost at home in awhile, but they can be beat,” Willingham said. “If you play better than Oregon, you win, and if you don’t … .”
Well, if you don’t, then it’s pretty easy to succumb to the constant clamor of the sold-out Autzen Stadium crowd, which, after almost a month of resting, is probably antsy to lose some voices.
“The fans give us a great advantage, and with such an advantage, we try to capitalize on that,” Peelle said. “Also, we don’t like to lose at home, and that’s just flat-out. We don’t like to lose to begin with, and especially not at home.
“We take pride in that.”