A Look Back at Oregon's Most Memorable Games Against the Big Ten

Oregon's first season as a member of the Big Ten is rapidly approaching, but Duck fans are already familiar with many of their new conference foes.

Historically, the annual Rose Bowl has pitted the Big Ten champion against the Pac-12 champion in a postseason battle, providing a rich history between the two conferences that Oregon has certainly been involved in.

Now, as the Ducks look to make that history even richer in 2024, a look back at their most notable results against Big Ten teams provides a key piece of context for any college football fan.

Due to the conference tie-ins, many of these notable results came at the Rose Bowl, also known as the "Grandaddy of Them All."

Prior to 2024, there was an element of added spectacle each time a Pac-12 team faced off against a Big Ten team. Now, the lines are blurred and the "Grandaddy" is lost somewhere in translation.

Let's take a look back at a simpler time, shall we?

1995 Rose Bowl: No. 2 Penn State 38, No. 11 Oregon 20

Many Duck fans will remember the 1995 Rose Bowl as the culmination of Kenny Wheaton's "Pick" against Washington, and when it's put that way, it feels slightly underwhelming.

Oregon kept things competitive with the Nittany Lions well into the second half, as Danny O'Neil found Cristin McLemore down the sideline for a 17-yard score that knotted the game at 14 with 4:54 to play in the third quarter. From there, however, Penn State dominated.

After the Nittany Lions responded to McLemore's score with a touchdown of their own, O'Neil was picked off by Chuck Penzenik, and Penn State scored again to make it 28-14 late in the third quarter.

Oregon ultimately fell 38-20, but its first appearance in the Rose Bowl since 1958 would never be seen as a disappointment.

Sept. 1, 2001: No. 7 Oregon 31, No. 22 Wisconsin 28

With Joey Harrington at the helm, one of the Ducks' key wins during their historic 2001 season came over a Big Ten foe.

Having lost to Wisconsin during its first 10-win season in program history a year prior, Oregon was out for revenge in 2001, besting the Badgers in a back-and-forth contest at Autzen Stadium.

The two teams went stride-for-stride with each other for much of the game, trading successful and unsuccessful drives until the Ducks came up with a game-clinching fourth-down stop with just over a minute remaining.

Jim Scorgi's pass was broken up over the middle as the Oregon faithful erupted and the Ducks were springboarded toward a Pac-10 championship and a memorable Fiesta Bowl victory.

Sept. 20, 2003: No. 22 Oregon 31, No. 3 Michigan 27

When Michigan traveled to Eugene to take on the Ducks in 2003, there hadn't been many games of equal magnitude that had ever been played at Autzen Stadium.

With both teams ranked inside the top-25 and Michigan at No. 3, many were tuned in around the country as Oregon stunned the championship-hopeful Wolverines 31-27.

A blocked punt recovered and returned for a touchdown by Oregon's Keith Mitchell ended up being the game's key play, giving the Ducks a 31-21 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Many Oregon fans will remember the 2003 win over Michigan for prompting Sports Illustrated's "Dazzling Ducks: Rich, Cool and 4-0" cover story. After the story was published, the Ducks lost three games in a row in one of the most infamous cases of the "SI Jinx".

Sept. 8, 2007: Oregon 39, Michigan 7

In 2007, Oregon's emphatic blowout win over Michigan was overshadowed by the Wolverines' infamous upset loss to Appalachian State the week prior.

Still, Duck fans knew that traveling to Ann Arbor and leaving with a win wouldn't be a walk in the park, or at least it shouldn't have been.

By the time the game reached the fourth quarter, however, that's exactly what it was, as Oregon was putting on one of its best displays of Chip Kelly offense to date. Duck fans will remember Dennis Dixon's famous fake Statue of Liberty touchdown run and Brian Paysinger's 85-yard bomb reception down the sideline.

At halftime, Oregon led 32-7 and never looked back, sending the Wolverines' already disappointing season spiraling.

2010 Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State 26, No. 7 Oregon 17

In Chip Kelly's first season as head coach, the Ducks made their first Rose Bowl game since the 1995 loss to Penn State, as Jeremiah Masoli, Jeff Maehl and LaMichael James led a near-unstoppable offensive attack to a 10-2 regular season.

While Oregon handled USC during the regular season, Ohio State lost to the Trojans, leading many Duck fans to believe they had the upper hand on New Year's Day.

By the time the game reached the early third quarter, these beliefs seemed correct, as the Ducks took a 17-16 lead with just over 11 minutes left to play in the period.

However, Oregon's electric offense was held scoreless from that point forward as Terelle Pryor and the Buckeyes responded with a field goal and ultimately put the game out of reach with a touchdown connection from Pryor to Devier Posey with seven minutes left to play.

Still, Duck fans finally knew what it was like to have a team competing for the Rose Bowl again.

2012 Rose Bowl: No. 5 Oregon 45, No. 10 Wisconsin 38

Just two years later, Oregon finally got over the hump, beating Russell Wilson's Wisconsin team in a Rose Bowl instant classic.

A game that was filled with iconic plays -- De'Anthony Thomas' lightning-quick 91-yard touchdown run to close the first quarter, Kiko Alonso's diving interception in the second half, and Michael Clay's fumble recovery that balanced on the sideline for what felt like an eternity, to name a few -- resulted in the first Oregon victory at a Rose Bowl since 1917.

It was Chip Kelly's first postseason win and perhaps the first true blockbuster matchup the Ducks had won in some time. Losses in the 2010 National Championship Game and to LSU earlier in the season made the Rose Bowl victory that much sweeter.

Sept. 6, 2014: No. 3 Oregon 46, No. 7 Michigan State 27

In 2014, Autzen Stadium hosted its highest-ranked opponent since No. 6 Cal came to town and played spoiler back in 2007.

Unlike that game, Oregon's non-conference matchup against Michigan State resulted in an emphatic victory that served as a springboard for the remainder of the 2014 season, which ended with an appearance in the national championship.

Against the Spartans, the Ducks' offense started hot, as Marcus Mariota found Devon Allen for a 70-yard touchdown that gave them an 18-7 lead with just over ten minutes left to play in the first half.

From there, Michigan State regained control, scoring 20 unanswered points to take a 27-18 lead well into the third quarter. Then, Mariota pulled his early-season Heisman moment out of the bag, weaving between multiple defenders behind the line of scrimmage before shoveling a pass to Royce Freeman for a clutch first down on 3rd-and-11.

From that point forward, it was all Oregon, as the Ducks outscored the Spartans 28-0 to close the game and pick up a monumental non-conference win.

2015 National Championship: No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20

Later that same season, Oregon got its second chance against a Big Ten team when it met Ohio State in the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship.

Unfortunately for Duck fans, it ended in heartbreak as Ezekiel Elliott ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns en route to a dominant victory for the Buckeyes.

After Mariota connected with Byron Marshall for a 70-yard touchdown that cut the score to 21-17 early in the third quarter, the Ducks went scoreless in the fourth as Ohio State ran away with the title.

Still, it had been two national championship appearances in four seasons for Oregon, which had wriggled its way under the national spotlight for good.

2020 Rose Bowl: No. 6 Oregon 28, No. 8 Wisconsin 27

The Ducks' second Rose Bowl matchup with Wisconsin of the 21st century resulted in the second drama-filled matchup between the two teams.

Still fresh in the mind of most Oregon fans, Justin Herbert rushed for a trio of touchdowns, the last of which gave the Ducks a 28-27 lead with 7:41 left to play.

From there, the Ducks' defense recorded a pair of clutch stops to keep the Badgers out of field goal range and hold onto the win.

Brady Breeze provided his own pair of memorable plays, scooping and scoring a botched snap on a punt early in the third before forcing another fumble that set up Herbert's go-ahead touchdown.

With the win, Oregon won its first New Year's Six bowl game since its semifinal win over Florida State in 2014.

Sept. 11, 2021: No. 12 Oregon 35, No. 3 Ohio State 28

The Ducks' most recent game against their new conference was also one of their most memorable, as they beat Ohio State for the first time in program history.

Prior to the 2021 matchup at The Shoe, Oregon was 0-9 against the Buckeyes, but Mario Cristobal's team made sure history wasn't going to repeat itself.

In a stunning display of offensive efficiency and all-around game-planning, the Ducks controlled the contest from start to finish, taking leads of 7-0, 14-7, 21-7, 28-14 and 35-21 before holding on to win 35-28.

CJ Verdell ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns, including a back-breaking 77-yard score that gave Oregon its first two-score lead of the game to open the second half.

Meanwhile, Anthony Brown threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns and the Ducks' defense recorded a number of fourth down stops while holding the explosive Buckeyes offense to just 28 points.

It was an emphatic, statement-making win for both the Ducks and the Pac-12, which was currently unaware of its impending disintegration.