[Quack Attack]

Ducks bring the noise at Autzen Stadium


By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com


Long before Autzen Stadium became known for its lack of hospitality, long before visiting teams contracted case after case of the false starts, long before ranked teams from Wisconsin and Michigan and Oklahoma learned the loud way that Autzen is the toughest place to play on the West Coast, it wasn't like this. It wasn't like this at all.

Joe Nicholson/US PresswireThe last time USC came to Autzen Stadium, Oregon fans enjoyed the outcome.

The Autzen of two decades ago shares a name, a location and little else with the Duck Pit where No. 10 Oregon will play host to No. 5 USC and its head coach, Pete Carroll, on Saturday. Oregon caps season ticket sales at 41,000 in a stadium that seats 54,000. The string of sellouts will extend to 66 this week.

"They have a good attitude about supporting their team," Carroll said at his news conference Tuesday. "That's a good way of putting it. … They are very outspoken and, of course, they do a great job of orchestrating the game environment."

And so the stories are told. How UCLA quarterback Pat Cowan lost his voice shouting audibles above the din in 2006 (Oregon 30, UCLA 20).
How Dennis Erickson, when he returned to the Pac-10 at Oregon State in 1999, didn't realize how Autzen had changed since his time at Washington State in the 1980s and neglected to create hand signals for audibles (Oregon 25, Oregon State 14).

And how USC sophomore Mark Sanchez, making only the third start of his career, threw two interceptions in 2007 (Oregon 24, USC 17). The Trojans are back, this time with an even younger quarterback, freshman Matt Barkley.

For the rest of this story:

Autzen Stadium has been house of horrors for two decades - ESPN