It was pure joy.
Everywhere you looked, all you could see was the unbridled, uninhibited joy of 59,592 fans celebrating perhaps the biggest win in Autzen Stadium history.
It was a school and state of Oregon record for attendance at a football game. Still no word on whether the decibel record was broken, but it sure seemed possible.
Within seconds after the final horn, there was a swarm of students — dressed in all black for the game — rushing around midfield. Students were jumping up in down in elation while Duck players wandered through the crowd, soaking up the moment.
It was absolute bedlam.
But no matter about the record of the worst loss for USC in Pete Carroll’s coaching run, the only thing that mattered to the fans was that the No. 10 Oregon Ducks (7-1 overall, 5-0 Pacific-10 Conference) beat the No. 4 USC Trojans (6-2, 3-2) 47-20 on Halloween night.
“It was a distinct home field advantage,” head coach Chip Kelly said. “My ears are still ringing. I love it …there’s no place like it in college football.”
After a week of hearing about it, and USC players downplaying the noise, the nation was finally able to see that Autzen Stadium is indeed a scary place for opponents to play. And the players who call it home are a resolved bunch that has claimed its territory at the top of the Pac-10 halfway through the season.
“This group is just a great group of guys to be around,” Kelly said with a smile. “I love these guys and what they did tonight.”
Kelly then went on to say much of what he’s said in the past: it’s just one more game. He called it the “biggest game of this week” and while some reporters groaned, it showed that no matter how big the stakes get, he’s a level-headed guy and he’s got his entire team thinking the same way.
“Another game under our belt,” running back Kenjon Barner said. “We knew we could do it. There might have been some doubters out there, but now who can doubt?”
When asked about rankings and whether Barner thought the Ducks should be ranked above Boise State now, he scoffed.
“Rankings don’t even matter,” Barner said. “It’s just about going out and performing each and every week, and in our minds, we’re a good team and whatever the rankings come out to be that’s what they come out to be.”
For now they’re just celebrating this game. Running back LaMichael James, who rushed for a game-high 183 yards, said that the atmosphere was what he expected and then some.
“The atmosphere was really crazy tonight,” James said. “I think we fed off the fans and all the hype. They were really loud, and we played with a lot of emotion tonight.”
A famous alumni by the name of Dennis Dixon also commented on the crowd saying that he’s heard Autzen rocking in his day — especially in 2007 — and Halloween night 2009 was right there at the top.
“They don’t call it the zoo for nothing,” Dixon said. “Everywhere it was chaos. It was great.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers reserve quarterback also commented on Oregon’s chances to continue this amazing ride and perhaps sneak into the national title race. He said it starts with keeping a level eye on the future.
“I always envision our Ducks being in that type of picture,” Dixon said. “It’s easier said than done, but I think they’re going to handle it well and take it one day at a time.”
But that’s still a long way down the road. Oregon still has four more games to go in conference, and Kelly said the team still has to “finish.”
As for Kelly’s team, he talked about getting players to come to Oregon to succeed, not just to try.
“We don’t recruit guys to play in games like this,” Kelly said. “We recruit guys to win games like this.”
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There’s no place like Autzen
Daily Emerald
October 31, 2009
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