Oregon football has continued to live up to its national brand during the 2012 campaign.
Finishing this season with a 12-1 overall record and a 35-17 Fiesta Bowl victory over Kansas State, the Ducks continued to once again prove themselves as one of the top college football programs in the nation.
Oregon fans can look back at this football season as a near picture perfect masterpiece, with the only blemish being a tough 17-14 home overtime loss to Stanford on November 17.
After the Ducks dominated in their opening three home games, the first true test arose when they faced off in their first Pac-12 matchup against Arizona.
Once again, the Ducks were in the race for the Pac-12 and BCS championship.
The 49-0 win against the Wildcats provided a glimpse of the Ducks defense for the upcoming season.
The Oregon “D” picked up two touchdowns off two of four interceptions and the Ducks earned their first conference shutout since beating Stanford in 2003.
With the senior leadership and experience of defensive end Dion Jordan, as well Michael Clay and Kiko Alonso at linebacker, the Ducks defense rivaled the production of the offense.
In addition, the breakout year for sophomore cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who led the team in interceptions with four and forced fumbles with six, provided depth to the UO defense.
While still under Chip Kelly’s reign, the electric offense of Oregon, led by true freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota, proved to be a force to be reckoned with, especially when it counted under pressure late in games.
The Ducks were able to dominate teams in the second half, as seen in their match up against Washington State at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, where their rushing touchdowns put the Ducks on top in the second half.
Even with Oregon’s bad start against Arizona State in Tempe and struggles with injuries in their away game against Cal, the offense made scoring simply look effortless.
However, the game that prompted the biggest hype of the season was against USC down in Los Angeles.
After the Trojans stripped away Oregon’s shot at a perfect Pac-12 season in 2011, redemption was something the Ducks craved.
In a battle of talented offenses, it was Barner who stood out.
In Oregon’s 62-51 win over the Trojans, Barner ran for a school record of 321 yards and picked up five touchdowns.
The Ducks also picked up wins against long-time rivals Oregon State and Washington.
Oregon beat the Huskies handily at home 52-21. The Ducks earned their fifth straight Civil War victory, cruising to a 48-24 against the Beavers in Corvallis.
Although the Stanford loss crushed the Ducks’ shot at the national title game, Oregon’s performance in the Fiesta Bowl left people with little to complain about.
Ignited by De’Anthony Thomas’ opening kickoff touchdown, the Ducks were able to control Kansas State’s offense, led by Heisman Trophy finalist Colin Klein.
Making their fourth straight BCS Bowl appearance, the Ducks win over the Wildcats marked Oregon’s third-straight 12 win season.
The cherry on top of a sweet season, Oregon left the Arizona desert winners. The Fiesta Bowl win propelled the Ducks to finish No. 2 in the national rankings.
Even though the Ducks face some uncertainty for next season with the new era of head coach Mark Helfrich and an NCAA investigation, taking a look back on this past season, there is simply nothing else for Duck fans to do but smile about it.