Under second-year head coach
Jerry Frei, the Ducks were 4–6 overall and 2–4 in the
Pacific-8 Conference.[1] Oregon did not play
UCLA for the tenth consecutive season, but tormented top-ranked
USC deep into the fourth quarter; a late touchdown broke a tie and the Trojans escaped with a 20–13 win at Autzen in early November.[2][3][4]
It was USC's first-ever trip to Eugene; previous games had been at
Multnomah Stadium in
Portland, last in
1958. Senior running back
O. J. Simpson rushed for 980 yards in the Trojans' first five games (196 avg.),[5] but the Ducks held him to just 67 yards on 25 carries.[2][3] He had been similarly contained by Oregon the
previous year in Los Angeles.[5][6] Simpson won the
Heisman Trophy later in the month and was the first overall pick in the
1969 NFL/AFL Draft 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 at
Parker Stadium in
Corvallis, #16
Oregon State won their fifth straight in the rivalry.[7][8] It was the last in the series played on natural grass, as both schools installed
AstroTurf before the next season.[9][10][11]
Under second-year head coach
Jerry Frei, the Ducks were 4–6 overall and 2–4 in the
Pacific-8 Conference.[1] Oregon did not play
UCLA for the tenth consecutive season, but tormented top-ranked
USC deep into the fourth quarter; a late touchdown broke a tie and the Trojans escaped with a 20–13 win at Autzen in early November.[2][3][4]
It was USC's first-ever trip to Eugene; previous games had been at
Multnomah Stadium in
Portland, last in
1958. Senior running back
O. J. Simpson rushed for 980 yards in the Trojans' first five games (196 avg.),[5] but the Ducks held him to just 67 yards on 25 carries.[2][3] He had been similarly contained by Oregon the
previous year in Los Angeles.[5][6] Simpson won the
Heisman Trophy later in the month and was the first overall pick in the
1969 NFL/AFL Draft 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 at
Parker Stadium in
Corvallis, #16
Oregon State won their fifth straight in the rivalry.[7][8] It was the last in the series played on natural grass, as both schools installed
AstroTurf before the next season.[9][10][11]