Update — Nov. 3, 2024: The Ducks won over Michigan 38-17 in Ann Arbor Saturday.
Original story below:
For the first time since a weeklong stint in 2012, the University of Oregon’s football team is ranked No. 1 in the country.
Fans pack Autzen Stadium in Eugene on Oct. 25, 2024, as the #1-ranked Oregon Ducks played University of Illinois. Oregon went on to win the game, 38-9, and retain the top ranking in the country.
Julia Boboc / OPB
The ranking followed the university’s momentous change in the conference from the Pac 12 – where Oregon State and Washington State remain – to the Big Ten conference back in August.
The conference change meant new, better opponents for the Ducks, who lost eight of their star players to the NFL Draft last year. That draft included quarterback Bo Nix and key players on both the offensive and defensive sides of the team.
For sophomore UO student, Ari Wagman, the Ducks’ ability to succeed with significant player loss and tougher competition is especially impressive.
‘‘Most of these opponents are teams that we haven’t faced in years or ever. And the fact that we have to travel so far for most of our away games just attests to how this team is and how we deserve to be number one,” he said.
Early on in the season, it wasn’t clear whether Oregon deserved the top spot in the nation. The Ducks won their first games, but weren’t as dominant as expected. UO was limited to just 24 points in its win against University of Idaho, and needed a last-second field goal to defeat Boise State.
The answers to doubts surrounding the team’s skill level and competitiveness would have to be answered in the most anticipated matchup of the season: a home game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
A record-breaking stadium attendance of 60,129 people, and an almost ear-drum-breaking noise level of 127 decibels made it feel like all eyes were on the Ducks.
For students, the climate of the game was unlike anything Autzen Stadium had ever felt before. Sophomore Robbie Clyde remembers the energy filling up the space.
“That was probably the most insane game I’ve ever been to,” he said, a sentiment mirrored by numerous Ducks fans.
A mischievous play by UO coach Dan Lanning and poor time management from Ohio State kept the Ducks one point above their opponents in the final seconds of the game.
The stadium erupted.
A week later, the Ducks routed Purdue and were ranked number one in the country.
Kate Wolfinbarger, a junior at UO, said her first reaction was “it’s about damn time.” But eventually, it started to sink in how big this moment really was.
The Ducks compete for a top spot with 133 other teams in Division I-A football, including teams that are regularly at the top, like Ohio State.
Wolfinbarger grew up watching her home state’s team, the University of Oklahoma Sooners, but being there when her own university’s team became #1 felt different.
“Something about watching the team and school that I chose on my own, rather than being born into, make it to the number one spot carries an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment that I’ve never felt anywhere else,” she said. “And the fact that it’s happening while I’m at school here, while I can be in the student section, while I feel like I am one of the biggest fans, it’s everything.”
The energy in Autzen’s student section has only grown since the win against Ohio State.
Nick Toohey, a junior at UO, said the volume of the crowd was overwhelming, saying you could feel the thousands of people urging their team on.
And it’s not just students. Toohey’s parents, Charlie Toohey and Mary Hannah, live in California and have now become Ducks fans.
“As a huge college football fan, it’s amazing. I’ve been a big UO fan since he started going here,” Charlie Toohey said.
“The energy at this school has always been amazing. There’s always so much school spirit and people rallying behind the team,” Hannah added.
Now, Nick is looking to the future of the Ducks with high hopes.
“I would love to win a championship while I’m in school,” he said. “Like Michigan last year, they won their first national championship in 25 years, and the whole city erupted. It would be pretty cool.”
On Saturday, the Ducks will meet University of Michigan in their stadium, looking to beat the defending national champions and stay at the top for a while longer.