Oregon Football: Ducks and Autzen Enters Season with 82 Straight Sellouts

As the 2012 season gets set to begin, the Ducks and their fans are riding a 82-game sellout streak and are looking to extend that streak to 89 games once this season is over. 

Around the nation, fans pile into their respective stadiums looking to make a difference but it has become clear that the fans at Oregon continue to make a difference year in and year out when opposing teams make their way into Autzen Stadium.

Speaking from experience, the noise inside of Autzen can become deafening and forces opponents to go to a silent count from kickoff through the end of the game. While watching a game at Autzen, it is not uncommon to watch a team dig themselves into a hole with false start after false start.

For a period of time last year, the Ducks held the national record for longest home winning streak. That streak was snapped late in the year by USC and the Ducks hope to start to build that streak back up in 2012.

This year, the Ducks welcome in Arkansas State, Fresno State, Tennessee Tech, Arizona, Washington, Colorado and Stanford. Based on that home slate, the Ducks should extend their sellout streak. While some of these game will certainly be one-sided affairs, the Oregon faithful have yet to let down their team and have kept the stadium packed since 1999.

It is uncertain what will happen this year, and if the Ducks can defend their Pac-12 title one thing is for sure: Oregon fans will continue to pack into Autzen Stadium and make life difficult on any team that steps on the field. 

Joe Penkala is a B/R National Featured Columnist who covers college football. You can contact him @joepenkala.