1968 Oregon Ducks football team

1968 Oregon Ducks football
ConferencePacific-8 Conference
Record4–6 (2–4 Pac-8)
Head coach
CaptainGeorge Dames, Omri Hildreth
Home stadiumAutzen Stadium (natural grass)
Seasons
← 1967
1969 →
1968 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 USC $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1
No. 15 Oregon State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Stanford 3 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
California 2 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Oregon 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
UCLA 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Washington State 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Washington 1 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon during the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. All five home games were played on campus in Eugene at Autzen Stadium, which opened the previous year.

Under second-year head coach Jerry Frei, the Ducks were 4–6 overall and 2–4 in the Pacific-8 Conference.[1] Oregon did not play UCLA for the tenth consecutive season, but tormented top-ranked USC deep into the fourth quarter; a late touchdown broke a tie and the Trojans escaped with a 20–13 win at Autzen in early November.[2][3][4]

It was USC's first-ever trip to Eugene; previous games had been at Multnomah Stadium in Portland, last in 1958. Senior running back O. J. Simpson rushed for 980 yards in the Trojans' first five games (196 avg.),[5] but the Ducks held him to just 67 yards on 25 carries.[2][3] He had been similarly contained by Oregon the previous year in Los Angeles.[5][6] Simpson won the Heisman Trophy later in the month and was the first overall pick in the 1969 NFL/AFL Draft in late January.

Oregon opened with three losses, evened up at .500 after six, but lost three of the last four. They defeated both Washington schools, but in the season-ending Civil War at Parker Stadium in Corvallis, #16 Oregon State won their fifth straight in the rivalry.[7][8] It was the last in the series played on natural grass, as both schools installed AstroTurf before the next season.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 24, 1968). "Ducks' Frei pays tribute to 'fighters'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 3B.
  2. ^ a b Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 3, 1968). "Magnificent Oregon gives Trojans scare". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  3. ^ a b "Late Southern Cal scoring drive salvages 30-13 win over Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 3, 1968. p. 3, sports.
  4. ^ "Trojans, Buckeyes survive". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. November 3, 1968. p. 1, sec. 4.
  5. ^ a b Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 1, 1968). "Winning streaks collide Saturday". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 3B.
  6. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (October 29, 1967). "Ducks put squeeze on 'Orange June'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  7. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 24, 1968). "Webfoots 'Pumpkinized' by Enyart, Beavers, 41-19". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 3B.
  8. ^ "Beavers trounce". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 24, 1968. p. 12.
  9. ^ "Turf, lights approved". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). April 1, 1969. p. 2B.
  10. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (July 27, 1969). "Tomorrow we roll out the green carpet". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Emerald Empire). p. 13.
  11. ^ "Autzen turf work nears end". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). August 13, 1969. p. 5B.