by Zach Bigalke

Created on: November 06, 2007

This story has unfolded, high cinematic drama, before my eyes over the past two years. I moved to Eugene and began working for the University of Oregon in May 2006. That first autumn, I watched with the lifers and the students - in the catering department where I was working - as Oregon downed Oklahoma. I saw their late season collapse, culminated with their defeat at Reser Stadium in Corvallis against Civil War rival Oregon State and their horrendous decision to wear those gaudy gilded cranium buckets in Sin City in a crushing by the Cougars of Brigham Young.

There was high hope entering last season. Their were nothing but muted prayers of a fortuitous rise at the beginning of this season. The city didn't know if it wanted Dennis Dixon behind center. The enigmatic athlete had engineered heroics in 2006 (Oklahoma, at Arizona State, UCLA), but too often engineered disaster - see the interception on the first play at Cal en route to three for the day in a twenty-one point defeat, his fumble and two interceptions before yielding to Brady Leaf at Washington State, a fumble and another interception against USC...

No one wanted this kid during the summer. Justin Meyer and the crazies who called him at KSCR 1320 AM didn't know how to really feel about Dixon's decision to sign a contract with the Atlanta Braves, who drafted him in the fifth round, and play rookie ball all summer. He came into fall camp inspiring little confidence, flying under the radar. He had a new offensive coordinator, Gary Crowden having jumped ship to become a Tiger for Les Miles at SEC juggernaut LSU. Chip Kelly came in with a I-AA pedigree from New Hampshire, and Dennis looked to grab control of the signal-caller spot in his senior season...

And Brady Leaf has fallen off the lips of the Eugene faithful, much as the name of his ignominious cousin has fallen off the lips of Chargers fans mournful of Peyton Manning...

Dixon and the Ducks have flown off the charts in a way more expected - and much less achieved - last season than this one. Predicted to finish sixth in one of the tightest Pac-10 races in decades, the Ducks shook off a lethargic home opener against underappreciated tailback Anthony Aldridge and the University of Houston Cougars and headed to Ann Arbor to face a Michigan team in disarray. Coming off the first disastrous defeat of a top-five school by a I-AA program (two-time defending I-AA champion Appalachian State), the Wolverines had a chip on their shoulder and a season to right in

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