SAN DIEGO — The final chapter officially closed on Oregon’s storybook season, but it did so in a way that provided much hope for an even better sequel.
Despite being ranked higher than Texas, the Ducks entered the Dec. 29 Culligan Holiday Bowl as seven-point underdogs.
The spread didn’t seem to bother No. 7 Oregon too much, as the Ducks went on to impress a national ESPN audience and the 63,278 in attendance at Qualcomm Stadium with their 35-30 victory.
After the game, players and coaches hugged one another with true emotion and excitement after securing the first 10-win season in Oregon history.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” senior defensive end Jason Nikolao said. “It was amazing how we all pulled together.”
The true spark of the team came from junior quarterback Joey Harrington, who threw for two touchdowns, ran in for another and even received a touchdown pass in which he wobbled and staggered into the end zone.
“I love being an underdog,” Harrington said. “It feels good to open people’s eyes and give them a wake-up call and say, ‘Hey, we can play football out here too.’”
The win propels the Pacific-10 Conference co-championship Ducks into the offseason, and has them exuding confidence toward next fall.
 

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