1968 Oregon Ducks football team

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.

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

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]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21at Colorado*L 7–2844,723[12][13]
September 28StanfordL 12–2825,000[14][15]
October 5at No. 6 Ohio State*L 6–2170,191[16][17][18]
October 12at WashingtonW 3–052,500[19][20]
October 19Idaho*
  • Autzen Stadium
  • Eugene, OR
W 23–817,250[21][22][23]
October 26Utah*
  • Autzen Stadium
  • Eugene, OR
W 14–617,000[24][25][26]
November 2No. 1 USC
  • Autzen Stadium
  • Eugene, OR
L 13–2033,500[2][3][4]
November 9Washington State 
  • Autzen Stadium
  • Eugene, OR
W 27–1323,000[27][28][29]
November 16at No. 18 CaliforniaL 8–3628,000[30][31]
November 23at No. 16 Oregon StateL 19–4140,141[7][8]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[32][33][34]

Roster

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1968 Oregon Ducks football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 17 Tom Blanchard So
RB/G 44 Andy Maurer
WR 81 Bob Newland So
RB 22 Claxton Welch
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

[35]

References

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  1. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 24, 1968). "Ducks' Frei pays tribute to 'fighters'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 3B.
  2. ^ a b c Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 3, 1968). "Magnificent Oregon gives Trojans scare". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  3. ^ a b c "Late Southern Cal scoring drive salvages 30-13 win over Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 3, 1968. p. 3, sports.
  4. ^ a b "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. ^ a b Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 24, 1968). "Webfoots 'Pumpkinized' by Enyart, Beavers, 41-19". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 3B.
  8. ^ a b "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.
  12. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 22, 1968). "Anderson scores 3 times; Buffs decision Oregon 28-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  13. ^ "Buffaloes overrun Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 22, 1968. p. 6, sports.
  14. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 29, 1968). "Tribe's circus downs Ducks". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  15. ^ "Tribe trims Ducks". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 29, 1968. p. 16.
  16. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (October 6, 1968). "Sputtering offense ruins Oregon, 21-6". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  17. ^ "Buckeyes spurt in second half to spurn, Oregon 21-6". Youngstown Vindictor. (Ohio). Associated Press. October 6, 1968. p. D1.
  18. ^ "OSU stops Ducks 21-6". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 6, 1968. p. 9, sports.
  19. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (October 13, 1968). "Woody's field goal upsets Huskies, 3-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  20. ^ "Ducks drop UW 3–0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 13, 1968. p. 7, sports.
  21. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (October 20, 1968). "'Hasty' Ducks recoil, thrash Vandals again". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  22. ^ Payne, Bob (October 20, 1968). "Vandals 'get it going' too late". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 3, sports.
  23. ^ "Welch, Ducks too much for Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 20, 1968. p. 13.
  24. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (October 27, 1968). "Sputtering Ducks still flog Utah". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  25. ^ "Ducks drop Utah". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 27, 1968. p. 16.
  26. ^ Ferguson (October 28, 1968). "Opportunities knock – Utes don't answer!". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. C1.
  27. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 10, 1968). "Olson's passes, runs trip WSU". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  28. ^ Missildine, Harry (November 10, 1968). "Eric Olson guides Oregon to 27–13 win over Cougars". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  29. ^ "Olson sparks UO to win over WSU". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 10, 1968. p. 12.
  30. ^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 17, 1968). "Ducks held to the 'Bear minimum' as California scores 36-8 triumph". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  31. ^ "Cal dumps Ducks". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 17, 1968. p. 11.
  32. ^ "1968 Oregon Ducks Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  33. ^ "1968 Football Schedule". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  34. ^ "2023 Oregon Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Oregon Athletics. p. 48. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  35. ^ "Probable lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). September 27, 1968. p. 3B.