The Oregon Ducks have had a problem with the Arizona Wildcats over the past couple of decades. While the two teams have played a total of 21 times, and the Ducks have won 16 of those games, a handful of those 5 losses have been absolutely excruciating defeats. Let’s quickly relive some of them:
- 2007 — No. 2 Oregon loses to unranked Arizona, 34-24. Dennis Dixon suffers knee injury that ends Heisman Trophy campaign and derails Ducks’ potential national championship run.
- 2013 — No. 5 Oregon loses to unranked Arizona, 42-16. Loss derails Ducks’ potential national championship run.
- 2014 — No. 2 Oregon loses to unranked Arizona, 31-24. Loss briefly derails Ducks’ national championship run, but Oregon gets revenge with Pac-12 Championship blowout, makes it into inaugural College Football Playoff.
- 2018 — No. 19 Oregon loses to unranked Arizona, 44-15.
Yea, safe to say there’s some history in this matchup.
While Oregon is the far-better team, the past experiences make this an annual trap game for the Ducks, with promising seasons always having the potential to go up in flames. The new coaching staff hasn’t experienced that phenomenon in the desert, but the possibility remains.
Will it come to fruition once again this season as No. 11 Oregon takes on an unranked Wildcats team? We want to see that, and several other things from the Ducks on Saturday.