Week 1: Aug. 31, 2019

A pretty decent game for the Ducks until the last few minutes. They wore a "new" dark green called "Nightmare Green" which kinda lived up to its name. At first glance on twitter and in the news media, this shade of green seemed similar to other "dark green" uniforms they have sported in the past in their "Thunder Green" days. But in further viewing, they seem REALLY dark green—bordering on black, especially the helmets. I'll be hones, I'm not a fan. The shiny numbers are decent though and play off the old school "mallard green" helmets of yore. If they had used lighter green helmets it might have worked.

This was the first time that Oregon has worn a dark green since Marcus Mariota wore it in week 12 of 2014 (the Heisman and Natty year). This is the first time since week 3 of 2017 that they have worn a green/white/green combo. But that uniform was the bright "apple green." But, since they did not preview any black uniforms parts last month, this is the 2019 version of "black." So you have to go back to week 11 of 2015 to get black/white/black. And in ten years, this "nightmare oreo" look is VERY uncommon. You have to go back to the 2010 season in week 6 and then in some respects the last time Oregon lost to Auburn they way dark gray/white/dark gray!

A topic for another blog post this week will be why the Ducks have had a history of choosing pretty dull (Or at least pretty non-traditional) colors when they play in these high profile games. And how they tend to lose on a big stage doing so!