Oregon Ducks Fans: Finding Optimism As The Golden Age Nears Its End

Now that the 62-20 spanking the Oregon Ducks received complimentary of the Utah Utes is almost a week old, more rational takes are prevailing among Oregon media pundits and fans alike. Joey Harrington, in a fiery tone, recently reminded Oregon fans of the program’s humble beginnings. His rant essentially condemned the radical demographic of Duck fans who are are calling for coaching terminations and foretelling the world’s end. And Joey Harrington is right, to some degree.

Oregon’s improbable rise from conference bottom dweller to national powerhouse is a miracle in itself, worthy of complacency even. Oregon can boast achievements not even a handful of other programs can claim. For almost a decade, 10-win seasons, conference championships, BCS bowl games, and National Championship contention have all been the norm in Eugene. Oregon became the epicenter of West Coast football and the flagship program of the Pac-12. More importantly, the program has grown to mean something to prospects, not just in Oregon or the Northwest. The Oregon Ducks became a brand, powerful enough to lure high-school recruits from all over the country.

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But despite all of Oregon’s accolades and notoriety, one fact remains: the Ducks still lack the National Championship needed to validate its program fully. Joining the ranks of the sport’s elite is nice and all, but until the Ducks put the only piece of hardware that truly matters, in their multi-million dollar football complex, they’ll never truly belong.

To compare Oregon to the likes of Texas, Michigan, and USC as a method to cope with Saturday’s disaster is flat out erroneous. Sure, every program experiences peaks and valley’s of success and struggles, but Oregon doesn’t operate under the same circumstances as the traditional powers, which is a crucial difference.

Texas — as putrid as they may be currently — are located in perhaps the greatest hotbed of football talent in the country. Every year they reel in a top recruiting class. The aura of the Texas Longhorns will remain intact forever. With the hiring of Jim Harbaugh, Michigan’s hard times will soon be a thing of the past. Even the Brady Hoke Wolverines were able to pull off top recruiting classes. The winningest program in college football is still an enticing draw to high-school recruits. As for USC, once they finally can overcome the effects of its scholarship reductions completely, the Trojans will resemble the Pete Carroll teams of the mid-2000’s.

The point is, the programs mentioned above have a larger capacity for patience and development. Their respective fan bases have witnessed the confetti fall upon their beloved teams multiple times. And with an abundance of top-level freshman talent coming in every summer to replenish their losses, why would their fans be apprehensive about the future of their program?

Texas is always going to be Texas. A decade of 0-12 seasons couldn’t even tarnish the appeal of the Longhorns.

Oregon does not have this luxury.

It’s no mystery the state of Oregon isn’t exactly the epicenter of football talent. The Ducks must outsource. So Oregon, like the vast majority of Pac-12 teams head to California to fill up of its roster. Occasionally, the Ducks can snag a Bralon Addison from Texas or Charles Nelson from Florida. But the fact remains for all teams in the Pac-12: Feast in the fertile recruits grounds of the Golden State, or famine into irrelevancy. And while Oregon has enjoyed its newfound recruiting advantage in recent years, that run may be over very soon.

As USC drags itself out of the Reggie Bush sanctions, it has remounted itself atop the food chain of recruiting in the Pac-12. But the Trojans aren’t even the best team in Los Angeles. The Bruins own that title now, and since the Jim Mora era began in Westwood, UCLA now isn’t just a formidable force in basketball. As for Cal — a punch line in recent years — now looks primed to take the Pac-12 North.

Oregon couldn’t achieve a top-ten recruiting class at the peaks of its reign. How will the Ducks fare in the midst of a rebuilding period? Will fancy Nike gear and a spread offense be enough to stay afloat? Seemingly every school now has infinite amounts of uniforms combinations, with matte helmets, non-traditional colors, and other sorts of quirky, innovative designs. As for the spread offense: most programs have installed one to combat the growing problem of high-school quarterbacks’ inability to run a pro-style offense. The Ducks no longer stand out like they once did.

So yes, taking an appreciative and positive approach to Oregon’s current situation is fine, but also only partially correct. Oregon’s journey to football prominence has been both unexpected and magical, one deserving of a grateful outlook. But uncertainty looms large over the program. This season may be a brief speed bump on the way to greater things. It could also be the first chapter to the end of the Golden Age of Oregon football. Twenty years from now, fans may look upon the Oregon program akin to Virginia Tech — programs that exceeded expectations and grew to power, but were never able to turn “really good” into National Championships.

In the world of college football, where parity is nonexistent, National Championships are the only thing that separates the haves and have-nots.