Oregon made only a few changes to its uniform this summer, but one interesting development was the lack of a black set. Instead they showcased a dark green that they call "Nightmare Green" They wore it in their opening night loss this season.
The last time Oregon sported a dark "Thunder" green was 2014 during the Mariota years. All of Herbert's 3 previous years have been wearing the pretty and bright "apple green"
This is especially interesting since black has been a major element of the uniforms for the last decade. In my unofficial count of color combos since Chip Kelly started in 2009, the Ducks have played 44 games with at least one of the three main parts (helmet/jersey/pants) being black. And that is not even counting dark gray, silver, etc. So if they averaged 12 games each year, that is 36% of the time!
Last year they wore black on 4 occasions, three of them being MONO black! During the Helfrich years, black was used a lot: two of his seasons they wore black in 5 games. But in 2011-12, the Ducks were black in 7 games!
So how about the combo they sprung on us this last weekend, during a high profile season opening at a neutral site? It was supposedly dark green and white, but to my untrained eye it looked REALLY dark, bordering on black.
August 31, 2019. Oregon loss to Auburn. Register Guard photo
As I mentioned in my week one post, the last time this dark/white/dark combo has been used:
- If you consider this green: 2017 week 3 (that time was apple green)
- If you consider this black: 2015 week 11
- If you consider this dark green: 2013: week 6
- If you consider this a Frankenstein hybrid: 2011 National Championship (another heartbreaking loss to Auburn)
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Updating the Unlucky Uniform game
One of my very first posts as Ducktracker in September 2015 was a post about how the Ducks tend to tank on the big stage when they don't wear school colors. That "laundry list" started with the infamous Boise State punch game loss. (all white) and rounded up the 13 losses from 2009-2015. Spoiler alert: Many of them came wearing non green/yellow uniforms. 9/13 of those losses came wearing no green/yellow.
It got me thinking that I need to update that list. I had the luxury of "only" 13 losses in 5 years, but the last 4 years have been less kind. So here's looking back at 4 years of losses from Sept. 2015-Sept. 2019:
2015 (Mark Helfrich)
| September 12, 2015 | 5:30 p.m. | vs. #3 Michigan State | #5 | | | Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI | ESPN | L 28–31 |
| September 26, 2015 | 5:30 p.m. | vs. #18 Utah | #13 | | | Autzen Stadium, Eugene, OR | FOX | L 20-62
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| Getty Images photo |
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| Getty Images photo |
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| Getty Images photo |
2016 (Mark Helfrich's last season)
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| USA Today photo |
| September 24 | 2:30 PM | Colorado | | Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR |
| L 38–41 | |
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| USA Today photo |
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| AP photo |
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| BANG photo |
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| USA Today photo |
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| AP photo |
2017 (Willie Taggert's only season)
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| AP photo |
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| Oregonian photo |
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| AP photo |
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| Pac-12 photo |
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| Statesman Journal photo |
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| Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau |
2018 (Mario Cristobal's first season)
| September 22 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 Stanford | No. 20 |
- Autzen Stadium
- Eugene, OR
| | L31–38 OT | |
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| AP photo |
| October 27 | 7:30 p.m. | at Arizona | No. 19 |
| | L 15–44 |
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| AP photo |
| November 10 | 2:30 p.m. | at Utah | |
| | L 25–32 |
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So, what's the trend over 4 years of losses?
In 21 losses during 2015-2018 a vast majority were on the road, so the jerseys tended to be white. But a large proportion of those occasions also had no major green/yellow, but instead opted for whiteout or lots of silver. The times they lost at home tended to be the most cartoonish of uniforms: The Lewis and Clark commemoration, the blue Webfoots Oregon flag set, and the orange-socked Duck mascot version—all combos that have now become imfamous, much like their "grellow" helmets from 2006.
- 11 losses where no major background color was green/yellow
- 7 losses had uniforms that sported ONLY white, gray, black, silver or blue
- 14 losses used helmets that were not green or yellow, with a preponderance of the chrome helmets being worn in losses.
What next?
Not to say any set is "cursed" but I might avoid going on the road without much green or yellow to offset the white jersey, and stick with nice solid home sets. While Oregon got the whole chrome helmet trend going, it might rethink it. Revolutionary advice, I know
