Oregon Ducks Football: Top 20 Bowl Games in School History
Despite now being a BCS power, the Oregon Ducks have only made it to an embarrassing 24 bowl games.
More embarrassing is that Oregon is only 9-15 in those 24 games.
However, the Ducks have had some great bowl games played and have lost a couple of close ones in their history.
From the 1917 Rose Bowl to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, Oregon has had some up and down moments in the postseason.
No. 24 – 1995 Rose Bowl
1 of 20Oregon 20, Penn State 38.
The Ducks entered the game ranked 12th in the AP Poll with a 9-3 record while the Nittany Lions entered with a 11-0 record ranked second in the nation.
Ki-Jana Carter broke off an 83-yard run to start the game and put Penn State up 7-0. From then on, Oregon would never lead the game and would lose.
It would be Rich Brooks' last game as a Duck before turning the program over to then offensive coordinator Mike Belloti.
No. 19 – 1990 Freedom Bowl
2 of 20Oregon 31, Colorado State 32
In one of the most heartbreaking games in Duck history, Colorado State edged Oregon after a 2-point conversion attempt failed with over a minute left in the game.
Oregon quarterback Bill Musgrave, however, would throw for almost 392 yards in the loss.
No. 18 – 1992 Independence Bowl
3 of 20Oregon 35, Wake Forest 39
In another heartbreaker for the Ducks, Oregon saw their 29-10 lead perish in the final quarter as Wake Forest fought back.
The Demon Deacons outscored Oregon 15-6 in the fourth quarter to pull off a comeback win.
The Ducks' Herman O'Berry would win the game MVP award after a 24-yard fumble return touchdown added to Oregon's lead.
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No. 17 – 1998 Aloha Bowl
4 of 20Oregon 43, Colorado 51
The 8-3 Ducks entered the game with high hopes but soon found themselves down 37-14 at half time to the Buffaloes.
The teams scored seven points apiece in the third quarter before Akili Smith lead the Ducks on a 22-point fourth quarter comeback.
While Smith would finish the game with 456yards passing, Oregon would still fall to Colorado by eight points.
The Ducks would get their revenge against the Buffaloes several years down the road, however.
No. 16 – 1989 Independence Bowl
5 of 20Oregon 27, Tulsa 24
Quarterback Bill Musgrave would again play a great bowl game for the Ducks and Oregon would notch the win over the Golden Hurricanes.
Oregon would play shutdown defense in the fourth quarter while scoring 10 points to win the game.
Musgrave finished with 320 yards passing and two touchdowns while former school record holder Derek Loville would run for 82 yards off of 20 carries.
No. 15 – 2010 Rose Bowl
6 of 20Oregon 17, Ohio State 26
The Ducks' rise to prominence would be dashed by the Buckeyes and Oregon's second dream season came to a disappointing end.
Terrelle Pryor would run and throw all over the Oregon defense while the Buckeye defense shut down Oregon's three-headed rushing attack of Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James, and LeGarrette Blount.
Defensive end Kenny Rowe would finish the game with three sacks, though, and win the defensive player of the game honors.
No. 14 – 2005 Holiday Bowl
7 of 20Oregon 14, Oklahoma 17
Oregon was trying to prove that they deserved a BCS bowl after going the season with only one loss–to the top ranked USC Trojans.
Oklahoma was trying to prove they were a competitive team after two straight losses in the BCS National Championship game.
The Sooner defense shut down Oregon's running game while Adrian Peterson ran for 79 yards and lead Oklahoma to another victory to finish the season 8-4.
No. 13 – 1999 Sun Bowl
8 of 20Oregon 24, Minnesota 20
This year, the Ducks would upset the 12th ranked Golden Gophers and finish the season 9-3.
Quarterback Joey Harrington would be the difference maker, running for a five yard touchdown early in the game to put the Ducks ahead and from there they would never look back.
No. 12 – 1958 Rose Bowl
9 of 20Oregon 7, Ohio State 10
The 17th ranked Ducks played underdog to the first ranked Buckeyes, and it showed.
Oregon was able to hold Ohio State to only 10 points but that was all the Buckeyes needed to win the trophy.
On a brighter note, Oregon quarterback Jack Crabtree won the MVP award despite his teams loss.
No. 11 – 2003 Sun Bowl
10 of 20Oregon 30, Minnesota 31
Minnesota would have their revenge on the Ducks after the 1999 Sun Bowl.
Oregon lost after allowing a Golden Gopher field goal with five minutes left and then not scoring again.
Quarterback Kellen Clemens would connect with receiver Samie Parker 16 times on route to his 363-yard game but that would not be enough to come away with the victory.
No. 10 – 2007 Sun Bowl
11 of 20Oregon 56, South Florida 21
This upset win over South Florida would be bittersweet for the Ducks as they should have played for the national title but lost Heisman favorite Dennis Dixon to ACL surgery in November.
Running back Jonathan Stewart would run for 253 yards and a touchdown while redshirt freshman Justin Roper passed for four touchdowns in Oregon's rout of the Bulls.
No. 9 – 1963 Sun Bowl
12 of 20Oregon 21, SMU 14
Even without All-American Mel Renfro, Oregon's fourth ranked offense nationally jumped out to a 21 point lead and held on for the victory over the Mustangs.
Quarterback Bob Berry was the game's MVP after passing for 146 yards and a touchdown.
No. 8 – 1949 Cotton Bowl
13 of 20Oregon 13, SMU 21
Hesiman winner Doak Walker was too much for Oregon.
Despite Oregon being able to out gain SMU in rushing, their passing offense–the school's first to pass for over a 1000 yards in a season–struggled and fell to an early 14-0 deficit.
Despite scoring 13 points in the final quarter, SMU had too large of a lead for Oregon to pull off the win.
The game would however end the Ducks 29-year bowl drought, dating back to the 1920 Rose Bowl.
No. 7 – 1920 Rose Bowl
14 of 20Oregon 6, Harvard 7
Playing in their second bowl game, the 5-1 Ducks were edged by the 8-0-1 Harvard Crimson in the 1920 Rose Bowl.
The Crimson's one touchdown and extra point was enough to win the game and Oregon would then not play another bowl game for 29 years.
No. 6 – 1997 Las Vegas Bowl
15 of 20Oregon 41, Air Force 13
Despite being 6-5, the unranked Ducks routed the 10-2, 25th ranked Falcons to win the 1997 Las Vegas Bowl.
Lead by quarterback Akili Smith, Oregon dominated the game from the start after Smith threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Pat Johnson.
From there Oregon would never look back.
No. 5 – 2011 BCS Natinal Championship Game
16 of 20Oregon 19, Auburn 22
Despite losing to Auburn, this game deserves to be ranked 5th in my mind.
It was the Ducks' first National Championship and the loss really was kind of flukey.
Michael Dyer was only able to break off a run because it appeared that Spencer Paysinger had tackled him, heck, even Dyer himself thought he was down. From there, Auburn was able to score a last second field goal to win the game.
No. 4 – 2000 Holiday Bowl
17 of 20Oregon 35, Texas 30
In a tight battle, the 11th ranked Ducks edged the 12th ranked Longhorns to win the Holiday Bowl.
Despite letting Texas score 21 points in the second quarter, the Ducks held on, before pulling ahead in the fourth quarter and never letting up.
Joey Harrington played a great game, throwing, catching, and running for a touchdown on the Texas defense.
No. 3 – 1917 Rose Bowl
18 of 20Oregon 14, Penn 0
In their first ever bowl game, Oregon won their first and only Rose Bowl over the Pennsylvania Quakers by double digits.
Shy Huntington threw and ran for a touchdown in the second half to give the Ducks the shutout victory.
No. 2 – 2008 Holiday Bowl
19 of 20Oregon 42, Oklahoma State 31
Thanks to the three-headed rushing attack of Jeremiah Masoli, Jeremiah Johnson, and LeGarrette Blount, Oregon gave their legendary coach Mike Belloti his last victory.
The Ducks fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter but stormed back and won by 11 points in the end.
Masoli was the MVP after having 258 yards passing, 103 rushing and scoring four touchdowns.
No. 1 – 2002 Fiesta Bowl
20 of 20Oregon 38, Colorado 16.
Oregon finally got their revenge over the Buffaloes.
The second ranked Ducks, who should have played for the national title, routed Colorado completing their first dream season.
Joey Harrington threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns while Steve Smith had three interceptions to hold off Colorado and finish the season with one loss.
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