Oregon football: 5 best seasons in Ducks history, ranked
By Ethan Lee
The five best Oregon football seasons in Ducks history.
Throughout the program’s history, Oregon football has accomplished plenty. Winning the Rose Bowl, competing for national titles, winning its conference, and even producing a Heisman Trophy winner.
The Oregon Ducks have a national brand when it comes to college football. They’re well known and are arguably a powerhouse, but a significant portion of all of Oregon’s success has come in recent years. In fact, a significant number of the Ducks’ best seasons ever have come in the past decade.
Throughout the history of Oregon football, the Ducks have been to eight Rose Bowls (and has won three in the past 10 seasons), claimed 12 conference titles (four in the past 10 seasons), developed a Heisman winner (in 2014) and played in two national championship games (both in the past 10 seasons).
Oregon has become a powerhouse program over the past 20 years, and the five best seasons in program history come in this century.
5. Mike Bellotti elevates Oregon to new heights in 2001.
Before Chip Kelly turned Oregon into a team that would regularly compete for the national title, Mike Bellotti was guiding the Ducks into the national spotlight. Coming into 2001, Bellotti and the Ducks were fresh off a season during which they won a share of the Pac-10 and won 10 games.
During the 2001 season, the Ducks reached new heights thanks to an exciting offense and a defense that did just enough (a recipe that is used to make most of Oregon’s success).
No. 7 Oregon started off the season with a 31-28 win over No. 22 Wisconsin. After surviving the Badgers, the Ducks claimed wins over Utah and USC in their next two games. Oregon then hit the road for three weeks, rattling off back-to-back-to-back wins, beating the likes of Utah State, Arizona, and California with ease.
And then, inexplicably, No. 5 Oregon faltered. The Ducks fell short at home against Stanford, losing in a shootout 49-42. The Ducks were dropped to No. 11 but bounced back with a 24-17 win over No. 14 Washington State.
After an easy win over Arizona State, the No. 7 Ducks headed on over to UCLA where Oregon beat the No. 17 Bruins 21-20. A close win over rival Oregon State a few weeks later sealed up the conference for Oregon and put the No. 2 Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl where they met up with and clobbered No. 3 Colorado 38-16.
But many believed that this Oregon team should’ve had a shot at competing for a national title. However, the BCS system disagreed, and instead had Nebraska take on Miami (a game the Hurricanes won with ease).
Still, an 11-1 record, a BCS bowl win and a conference title make for a pretty great year.