The Most wrong-headed color schedule decision ever

Every year at this time the Oregon football office comes out with the color schedule, the week-by-week guide to what color gear Duck fans should wear for each game.

The opener against Montana State has counted down to just 60 days away. Time to check the closet for rips, tears and laundry malfunctions. That's a stripe-out game, color assigned by section.

Road games are easy. If fans are fortunate enough to score a ticket for an Oregon away game, the instruction is simple and consistent: Wear green. It only makes sense to display true, traditional school colors on the road.

The Wisconsin game remains intriguing. "Stay tuned," it says. Fans have to wonder if that one will be designated as a "Stomp Out Cancer" game, one where real men (and women) wear pink. No official news has been released.

But the most maddening and nonsensical color menu item is the directive for Oregon State at Oregon, in Autzen Stadium on September 20, time to be announced: "Wear Black."

Wear black? What in the name of Jeremiah Johnson's stiff arm is going on here? BLACK is a Beaver color, as in orange and black, the colors toddler Duck fans are taught to loathe since the time they were old enough to hold their own Halloween plastic trick-or-treat pumpkin, except on Halloween night.

It's absurd to dress the entire stadium in the opponent's primary color, particularly because the 128th renewal of the in-state clash formerly identified as the Civil War (most fans still call it that) is likely to be an afternoon game, as the Group of 5 Beavs were 5-7 last year and unlikely to merit a prime time viewing slot.

According to extremeweather.com, the historic high for September 20 in Eugene is 94 degrees, with the average temperature reaching the high 70s. The daytime high hasn't been below 72 anytime in the last seven September 20s.

That's too hot (on average) to be wearing black, especially while making the entire Oregon fanbase look like Barkrat sympathizers. Of course, there's a swath of Duckdom that wears whatever they darn well please anytime they show up at Leo Harris Parkway, including head-to-toe green facepaint and combat gear or a Daisy Duck bedazzled cowboy hat.

But black? Not so fast, my friend. That's fine for a November showdown against USC, but against the Beavers, it's sacrilege.

Dan Lanning is a big fan of the atmosphere at Autzen Stadium. It'd be foolish to do anything to mute or diminish it.

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