Biggest Duck win.

[Alan]

Which game in modern Duck history, I know modern is subjective depending on your age…… I’m old, lol. I did this in a poll format but feel free to add another game.

[buckmarkduck]

I’d say

TOSU

UW 94

BYU 90- ranked #2 team, had the headman winner. And they had just beat the defending champs Miami, in Miami.

SC Halloween

FSU 2014

UW mc first year

Michigan st in 98 probably wasn’t even our biggest win in 98. They went like 6-5

[Jesseisabeast]

A few more…

These lists are always tough…I always thought beating SC in the Coliseum in 1994 was way bigger than history remembers. Ducks were without Danny and threw Graziani in there. Going up against Keyshawn and some typical SC studs. Had only beat SC once in last 17 tries and not in LA in decades….kinda got the Gang Green thing going. Realized our secondary was truly special. Some kid named Wheaton had a pick that day also.

Ducks at Iowa in 1989….Ducks 44, Hawkeyes 6. Held them to 26 yards rushing after hearing the Big 10 narrative about toughness and running and blah blah blah. That stadium is massive also, twice as big as Autzen was then.

Oregon over the Dawgs in Husky stadium 1980. Dominated Don James and capped it off with Steve Brown and a knockout pick 6. I got my introduction to how awful husky fans were when I took some abuse and I was only 12 lol

Anyway they were all steps up the ladder. One showed the Huskies we weren’t going away even tho they had so much more resource and talent. One showed the offensive innovation and speed out west. One showed a path to defense without having 5 stars in the trenches…

Now Oregon has resource and talent and recent success so I’d struggle to rate any win now. With Phil Knight all things are possible

[Alan]

I had trouble trying to remember which Spartan game was the big win, so I guessed wrong, I’m sure better memories know it was not 98. Steps of our ladder with the. Ducks is a good way to state it, we were near the top with the FSU win but took a few steps down since, now on the way back up. Loving Cristabol.

[Duck07]

This is the biggest OOC win.
Securing a Heisman, undefeated season and 1st NC game against the Beavs is our biggest regular season win.
Beating FSU in the Rose Bowl to get to a 2nd NC game is our best Bowl/Playoff win.

[pdxduck2013]

What about beating #3 Michigan in 2003?

[duck023]

Beating Ohio State was huge not only was it on the road against a great team but they are the one team that had bragging rights on the Ducks where Duck fans couldn't really defend themselves. However two other games come to mind when it comes to huge college football games for the Ducks. I feel like 09 the black out game against USC was when Oregon changed from a cute contender to a powerhouse of the Pac 12. I also think 2014 Michigan St game was huge because it allowed a 1 loss Oregon team to get in the playoffs pretty easily and I'm not sure Oregon would have beaten out TCU without that game.

[thatbpguy]

The Michigan and FSU games established us as a national power. This game confirms it.

[ducks5ever]

No one paid any serious attention to Oregon prior to 2011. Post 2011, the "pundits" saw Oregon as a team that was weak [in the trenches], had flashy uniforms, and ran a gimmick offense [that may or may not have failed in the NFL]. People thought that we could put together Rose Bowl teams but we weren't sitting at the same table as the big boys (Ohio State/Alabama/Clemson). We've been through a lot of changes since 2011 but that narrative has been stuck with us for over a decade (and playing in the pac-12 further associated us with weakness/irrelevance at the big stage).

This game right here changes it all.

[ducks5ever]

No one paid any serious attention to Oregon prior to 2011. Post 2011, the "pundits" saw Oregon as a team that was weak [in the trenches], had flashy uniforms, and ran a gimmick offense [that may or may not have failed in the NFL]. People thought that we could put together Rose Bowl teams but we weren't sitting at the same table as the big boys (Ohio State/Alabama/Clemson). We've been through a lot of changes since 2011 but that narrative has been stuck with us for over a decade (and playing in the pac-12 further associated us with weakness/irrelevance at the big stage).

This game right here changes it all.

Well... assuming OSU doesn't finish the regular season with any more than 2 losses and OSU wins the Big 10.

[duck023]

No one paid any serious attention to Oregon prior to 2011. Post 2011, the "pundits" saw Oregon as a team that was weak [in the trenches], had flashy uniforms, and ran a gimmick offense [that may or may not have failed in the NFL]. People thought that we could put together Rose Bowl teams but we weren't sitting at the same table as the big boys (Ohio State/Alabama/Clemson). We've been through a lot of changes since 2011 but that narrative has been stuck with us for over a decade (and playing in the pac-12 further associated us with weakness/irrelevance at the big stage).

This game right here changes it all.

I'm a wrestler so I always liked Chip Kelly going with the small players with great endurance and toughness. The offensive line and Lamichael James looked like wrestlers. So I never personally bought into that narrative that those Oregon teams can't play with big teams because they did fine against USC and Stanford while almost beating Auburn. Also the fumbles are what cost Oregon the LSU game not size. However I'm not going to deny that the narrative did exist and Ohio State seemed to have a lot of confidence playing against Oregon's smaller players. I think Ohio State was shocked that Oregon is now just as big as they are.

[ducks5ever]

I'm a wrestler so I always liked Chip Kelly going with the small players with great endurance and toughness. The offensive line and Lamichael James looked like wrestlers. So I never personally bought into that narrative that those Oregon teams can't play with big teams because they did fine against USC and Stanford while almost beating Auburn. Also the fumbles are what cost Oregon the LSU game not size. However I'm not going to deny that the narrative did exist and Ohio State seemed to have a lot of confidence playing against Oregon's smaller players. I think Ohio State was shocked that Oregon is now just as big as they are.

This big guy named Nick Fairley made it incredibly difficult for Oregon to run its normal game plan. They simply didn't have an answer for him. Chip's offensive philosophy starts with the run or ground and pound. I'm sure LMJ's numbers that game were ok but they weren't good enough to win us the game because we had trouble running against that front. Stanford back then was not a bad measuring stick even though we struggled against them too (more post 2011). I don't think USC has really had an identity since the mid-2000's, but I firmly believe Clay Helton can get them back on track and they need to extend him asap!

[dthomas=ddixon]

Personally, I feel like this is the biggest regular season win ever. Other games definitely had bigger implications but looking at the circumstances of the game itself, winning at the horseshoe against a top 3 tOSU team in the controlled & dominating fashion we did is as good as it gets.


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[pezsez1]

It's impossible to know which games are the most important without the gift of hindsight. It's too early to know whether this win (which was AMAZING) will go down as one of the most impactful. If the Ducks trip up a couple times this season, then it will ultimately be pretty meaningless.

That said, here are my picks for biggest Duck wins:

Biggest OOC: The 2007 win over Michigan at the Big House not only thrust the Ducks back on the national scene but also marked the unofficial beginning of the Chip Kelly Era of Oregon football. The season went downhill with Dennis Dixon's injury, but that game sparked major excitement in the program and helped cement Oregon's brand as an offensive powerhouse that nobody wanted to **** with.

Biggest regular season win: Oregon beats No. 5 USC on Halloween 2009 with College Gameday in town! This was Chip's first signature win and sent a clear message that the Ducks, not the Trojans, were the class of the Pac-10 and the newest national title contender. Sure, the Ducks would lose a week later at Stanford (doh!), but Oregon won the conference title and started its run of high-profile bowl appearances.

Runner up regular season win: The 2009 War of The Roses over No. 16 Oregon State. In a bizarro world, maybe the Beavers win that game and both programs take completely different trajectories. Instead, Ducks won a thriller and went to the Rose Bowl while the Beavers crumbled into irrelevance.

Biggest postseason win: Going with an oddball pick here that everyone will probably disagree with... but I'm picking Oregon's 2000 Holiday Bowl win over Texas. The Athletic Department had just recently started to aggressively build Oregon's brand -- introducing the "O" and new uniforms over the previous couple of years -- but nobody really believed the Ducks could go toe-to-toe with a team like Texas. That same year, the Beavers went to the Fiesta Bowl and smoked an overmatched Notre Dame team and Washington went to the Rose Bowl and beat a so-so Purdue team. The Ducks, Huskies and Beavers finished the year in a three-way tie, and Oregon got the short end of the tiebreaker stick and ended up with the toughest matchup with Texas in the Holiday Bowl. I was in the press box for the game, and for those of you who don't know this, it's extremely unprofessional to show emotion in the press box. (Or, at least, that's how it was back then.) All was quiet as the game started and Oregon pulled ahead. But when Harrington passed to Howry, who passed it back to a streaking Harrington who stumbled into the endzone for a touchdown? I swear, that press box filled with gasps and whistles lol. You could just FEEL the disbelief from these pre-social media sports journalists who'd probably never really watched Oregon. Texas made a comeback but Oregon held on for the win and Harrington was all over the highlights. The Ducks finished the season no. 7 in the country, setting the stage for a wildly influential 2001 season that started with Harrington on a billboard in NYC and ending with the Ducks winning a BCS game and finishing with a no. 2 ranking. I believe that 2001 season was perhaps the most influential season in school history as it completed our ascension to a national brand, and we won enough big games over the next several years to stretch that into the Chip Kelly era... but that incredible 2001 season with Joey's billboard, his Heisman campaign, the BCS controversy, and the huge win over Colorado doesn't happen without Oregon pulling out that razzle-dazzle Holiday Bowl win over Texas.

[duck023]

It's impossible to know which games are the most important without the gift of hindsight. It's too early to know whether this win (which was AMAZING) will go down as one of the most impactful. If the Ducks trip up a couple times this season, then it will ultimately be pretty meaningless.

That said, here are my picks for biggest Duck wins:

Biggest OOC: The 2007 win over Michigan at the Big House not only thrust the Ducks back on the national scene but also marked the unofficial beginning of the Chip Kelly Era of Oregon football. The season went downhill with Dennis Dixon's injury, but that game sparked major excitement in the program and helped cement Oregon's brand as an offensive powerhouse that nobody wanted to **** with.

Biggest regular season win: Oregon beats No. 5 USC on Halloween 2009 with College Gameday in town! This was Chip's first signature win and sent a clear message that the Ducks, not the Trojans, were the class of the Pac-10 and the newest national title contender. Sure, the Ducks would lose a week later at Stanford (doh!), but Oregon won the conference title and started its run of high-profile bowl appearances.

Runner up regular season win: The 2009 War of The Roses over No. 16 Oregon State. In a bizarro world, maybe the Beavers win that game and both programs take completely different trajectories. Instead, Ducks won a thriller and went to the Rose Bowl while the Beavers crumbled into irrelevance.

Biggest postseason win: Going with an oddball pick here that everyone will probably disagree with... but I'm picking Oregon's 2000 Holiday Bowl win over Texas. The Athletic Department had just recently started to aggressively build Oregon's brand -- introducing the "O" and new uniforms over the previous couple of years -- but nobody really believed the Ducks could go toe-to-toe with a team like Texas. That same year, the Beavers went to the Fiesta Bowl and smoked an overmatched Notre Dame team and Washington went to the Rose Bowl and beat a so-so Purdue team. The Ducks, Huskies and Beavers finished the year in a three-way tie, and Oregon got the short end of the tiebreaker stick and ended up with the toughest matchup with Texas in the Holiday Bowl. I was in the press box for the game, and for those of you who don't know this, it's extremely unprofessional to show emotion in the press box. (Or, at least, that's how it was back then.) All was quiet as the game started and Oregon pulled ahead. But when Harrington passed to Howry, who passed it back to a streaking Harrington who stumbled into the endzone for a touchdown? I swear, that press box filled with gasps and whistles lol. You could just FEEL the disbelief from these pre-social media sports journalists who'd probably never really watched Oregon. Texas made a comeback but Oregon held on for the win and Harrington was all over the highlights. The Ducks finished the season no. 7 in the country, setting the stage for a wildly influential 2001 season that started with Harrington on a billboard in NYC and ending with the Ducks winning a BCS game and finishing with a no. 2 ranking. I believe that 2001 season was perhaps the most influential season in school history as it completed our ascension to a national brand, and we won enough big games over the next several years to stretch that into the Chip Kelly era... but that incredible 2001 season with Joey's billboard, his Heisman campaign, the BCS controversy, and the huge win over Colorado doesn't happen without Oregon pulling out that razzle-dazzle Holiday Bowl win over Texas.

The Holiday Bowl against Texas was the first bowl game I watched. I remember that game felt bigger than the typical Holiday Bowl because Oregon was arguably one of the best Pac 12 teams that year and Texas is Texas. From what I remember it was a Joey Harrington vs Chris Simms battle. Also I'm glad you agreed with me on that USC game in 2009. Although I loved the next year when Oregon won at USC and Will Farrell was at gameday. The black out game at Autzen in 2009 was what started it!!!