3. Bill Musgrave
Later going on to find success coaching at the NFL level, Bill Musgrave went to Oregon when the program only had four winning seasons to its name.
As soon as Musgrave took the field, fans could tell that the Ducks were going to make a name for themselves. Starting as a freshman, he carried the Ducks to a top-16 finish with wins over Washington and USC.
The next season, the sophomore quarterback’s season was cut short when he broke his collar bone against Arizona State. Before his injury, Musgrave had led the Ducks back to a top-20 ranking and a 6-1 start to their season.
Musgrave’s third season was when he truly took off.
He recorded 3,081 passing yards in one season as well as 22 touchdowns. Musgrave also broke the then-school record for most passing yards in a game with 489 yards against the BYU Cougars.
His senior year was filled with accolades like MVP, All-Conference Quarterback, and more. To top it all off, despite injuring his shoulder in his final game, Musgrave returned against UCLA to throw the game-winning touchdown.
Musgrave has the third-highest career passing yards for the Ducks with 8,343 yards. To this day, he is tied for the highest single-game passing yards from his performance against BYU.