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Enthusiastic Oregon football fans storm the field after last season’s dramatic win over
Arizona State and make Autzen Stadium one of the nation’s most feared venues.
Home field
advanta
geiskey -
■The Ducks will have a
16-game Autzen Stadium
winning streak tested by
No. 6 UCLA on Saturday
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
Perhaps it’s the crowd noise.
Maybe it’s the huge fighting ducks
painted around the rim of the stadi
um, or it could be the cheerleaders.
Whatever the reasons are, Oregon
has found a way to win at Autzen
Stadium for the past three years.
The Ducks carry a 16-game home
win streak — the fifth-longest in the
nation and the longest of anv Pacif
ic-10 Conference team — into Sat
urday’s clash with No. 6 UCLA.
The last opponents to win at
Autzen were the Bruins in
1997.The streak is the longest in
Oregon history. The Ducks broke
the old record of 14 straight wins,
set by the 1932-36 team, with a win
over Nevada earlier this season.
Autzen Stadium has gained a
reputation as being one of the most
formidable places in the nation to
play college football. UCLA head
coach Bob Toledo knows that as
well as anybody.
“This is going to be a very tough,
hostile, loud and just a very diffi
cult environment,” Toledo said.
“They have some great fans, they
have a great little stadium and they
have a heck of a football team.
“This is a rabid, hostile environ
ment. It’s easy to come unglued.”
Oregon senior wideout Mar
shaun Tucker agrees with Toledo.
“They haven’t played in Autzen
in a while, and Autzen’s a whole
different atmosphere,” Tucker said.
“Hey, we do well at home, and
that s something UCLA should
think about.”
The Autzen reputation means
the unranked Ducks will be favored
in their matchup with the sixth
ranked Bruins on Saturday. UCLA
did not win a road game last year,
and hasn t won on the road since
November 14,1998.
The Ducks have drawn record
crowds to Autzen over the 16-game
run. Last year, the third-largest
home crowd in Oregon history saw
the Ducks handle the Oregon State
Beavers, while a game against
Washington in 1998 drew onlv 84
fewer people than that Civil War
matchup. The Ducks averaged
44,195 fans per game in 1995, but •
1998 and 1999 were the second and
third-highest average crowd sizes,
respectively, in the team’s history.
“The crowd here is amazing,”
senior linebacker Matt Smith said
before practice Tuesday. “When
you’ve got those people behind
you, that gets you going. We try to
get up for every game, but being at
Autzen just kind of helps a little
bit.”
The streak has included huge
blowouts and nail-biters alike.
1 here was the 29-yard bomb from
Joey Harrington to Tucker that beat
Arizona State in the closing sec
onds, and the triple-overtime
marathon against Southern Califor
nia last year. There were the drub
bings of Michigan State and Stan
ford two seasons ago.
“Every time we come out here
we’re protecting our home,” said
Harrington, an expert on Autzen
magic. “Someone’s invading our
house and that’s something we take
a lot of pride in.”
It would be almost poetic if the
Bruins were to end the streak.
As it did in 1997, UCLA comes
in nationally ranked with the
Ducks unranked. In ‘97, UCLA had
Skip Hicks, who ran for 90 yards,
and Jermaine Lewis, who had runs
of 21 and 26 yards against the
Ducks. This season, the Bruins still
have Lewis, and they have added
DeShaun Foster, who is averaging
140.7 yards per game. Hicks aver
aged 106.8 yards per game in ‘97.
On top of that, the Bruins have
owned the Ducks in the 90’s. The
teams have played each other eight
times since 1990, and UCLA has
won six of those matchups, includ
ing the last four meetings. The
Ducks almost beat the Bruins at the
Rose Bowl last season, but fell one
yard short of a win and possibly a
Pac-10 crown.
Smith says the history won’t af
fect how the Ducks play.
“We’ve got a great tradition '
here,” Smith said. “Once you’ve got
a streak like that going you don’t
want it to end. We’re going to give
it all we’ve got to keep the streak go
ing and get the win.”
Oregon's domination at home
has coincided with the team’s
emergence as a national power. The
Ducks have a 45-16 home record in
the 90’s, 33-7 since their 1994 Rose
Bowl season. Since Mike Belotti
took over as head coach in 1995,
the Ducks have gone 25-6 at home.
Smith described his team’s atti
tude towards the streak — and the
Bruins — perfectly on Tuesday.
“We’ve got them right where we
want them,” the linebacker said.
“At Autzen Stadium.”
Sixteen straight victories at home
would seem to say Smith is right.
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