They’re fast, exciting and now scheduled to play each other in the mecca of football venues in 2019.
Both Auburn and Oregon announced yesterday that the two football teams will face off in the Advocare Classic at AT&T Stadium on Aug. 31, 2019. The game is a rematch of the 2011 BCS National Championship that Auburn won 22-19 – the only other meeting between the two in each school’s history.
“An invitation to participate on a stage likes this speaks to the reputation Oregon football has earned, and we’re excited to be part of such a prestigious matchup,” University of Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens told GoDucks.com.
On ESPN talk-show host Paul Finebaum’s Tuesday broadcast, Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs asserted that the match between the Tigers and Oregon is an example of two similar teams playing each other, according to Brandon Marcello of Al.com.
“Auburn and Oregon are two of the cool teams right now,” Jacobs said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “The kids want to play for us because we’re fun and we’re fast.”
Auburn released a hype video for the game with clips of Wes Bynum hitting a 22-yard field goal as time expired to win the BCS National Championship.
Auburn joins Michigan State (2015), Virginia (2016), Nebraska (2016-17) and Ohio State (2020-21) on the list of notable non conference matches for Oregon.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to compete against another high quality nonconference opponent,” Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said in the athletic department’s press release.
– Uncle Phil is stepping down as chairman of Nike.
Phil Knight, the University of Oregon graduate and co-founder of Nike, announced his plans to step down in a press release from the organization yesterday.
Instead, Knight is starting “Swoosh,” a limited liability company that would hold a majority of his Nike Class A Common Stock shares—roughly 15 percent of the company’s total shares.
The Emerald’s Kenny Jacoby has the full report.
– Oregon basketball players haven’t had success in the NBA. Why? Emerald sports reporter Will Denner gives his insight into the question.
– The Emeralds were all out of sync. They wore four different uniforms on Tuesday against the Tri-City Dust Devils.
Still, they shared one goal: to honor the late Civic Stadium.
The Emeralds won 9-4 on Tuesday after Civic Stadium, where they played for 40 years, burned down on Monday.
– Four-Star safety CJ Pollard compares Oregon’s football facilities to the convenience and style of Las Vegas.
“It was good, because when I went up there I would describe it like the college football facilities are like Vegas,” he told Andrew Nemec of the Oregonian/OregonLive. “I went up there and they have everything for you. There was nothing up there that would allow an athlete to fail, as far as facilities, tutoring, the nutritionist… everything you need to succeed in life.”
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt