Nov 3 - Eugene, OR

I consider myself lucky to have had a pair of ESPN Gameday shows done right in my backyard in Baton Rouge. However, they also doubled up on one of the most distant campuses for me - Oregon. Since it's too far and expensive to bring someone else on the trip, I had to do both of them on my own.

The other downside to having Gameday in Oregon is the start time - 7 AM local. Since I was staying in Portland, I had to get up at 4 AM to drive down to Eugene. Even after doing that, I only arrived about 30 minutes before the show. That meant that I started 12-15 people deep in the crowd (although I later got up to about 3 deep). I still can't get over how many people have shown up before dawn for both of the shows - not just students, but fans in general. People in the SEC think of themselves as the most hardcore fans, but that certainly hasn't been my experience.

Now for the weather. As I drove down I-5, the temperature kept dropping and eventually reached 32 degrees. It was also raining most of the way down there, but it luckily subsided before I got out of the car. As many of you saw on Gameday, the fog was incredible. The stage was set up so that Autzen Stadium would be clearly visible in the background; however, it did not actually appear until late in the show due to the quarter-mile visibility.

I know a lot of this sounds like complaining, but I honestly had an excellent time in Eugene. The Ducks have certainly earned the right to be considered a top program (thanks in large part to Phil Knight).