The 1968 Oregon Webfoots football team represented the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...

during the

1968 NCAA University Division football season In the 1968 NCAA University Division football season, the system of "polls and bowls" changed. The Associated Press returned to its pre-1961 system of ranking the Top 20 rather than the Top 10, and voted on the national champion after the bowl ga ...

. All five home games were played on campus in Eugene at

Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, in Eugene, Oregon. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium h ...

, which opened the previous year. Under second-year head coach

Jerry Frei Gerald L. Frei (June 3, 1924 – February 16, 2001) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of OregonMcCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, OR: McCann Communication ...

, the Ducks were 4–6 overall and 2–4 in the

Pacific-8 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

. Oregon did not play

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

for the tenth consecutive season, but tormented top-ranked

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

deep into the fourth quarter; a late touchdown broke a tie and the Trojans escaped with a win at Autzen in early It was USC's first-ever trip to Eugene; previous games had been at

Multnomah Stadium Multnomah may refer to: *The Multnomah people, a Chinookan people who lived in the area of modern Portland, Oregon, United States **''Multnomah'', the middle Chinookan dialect of the Multnomah people ;Places, vessels, and institutions whose name ...

in Portland, last in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. Senior running back O. J. Simpson rushed for 980 yards in the Trojans' first five games but the Ducks held him to just 67 yards on 25 carries. He had been similarly contained by Oregon the previous year in Los Angeles. Simpson won the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

later in the month and was the first overall pick in the

1969 NFL/AFL Draft The 1969 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League (AFL) held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft be ...

in late January. Oregon opened with three losses, evened up at .500 after six, but lost three of the last four. They defeated both Washington schools, but in the season-ending

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

Parker Stadium Reser Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. It is the home of the Oregon State Beavers of the Pac-12 Conference, and opened in 1953 as Parker Stad ...

in Corvallis, #16

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

won their fifth straight in the It was the last in the series played on natural grass, as both schools installed

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has ...

before the

Schedule

College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
Retrieved 2015-May-10.

Roster

References

{{Oregon Ducks football navbox

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Oregon Ducks football seasons

Oregon Webfoots football The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Although ...