However fans remember Jeremiah Masoli, he did a bang-up, safety-trucking job as Ducks quarterback in 2008 and 2009. The Ducks went 10-3 and won the Holiday Bowl his first year as a starter, went 10-3, won a conference championship and made the Rose Bowl his junior year.
Cover boy, no poster boy: Masoli and center Jordan Holmes made the regional cover of Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preview in 2009. A month later the Ducks stumbled to an ugly 19-8 loss at Boise State (si.com image).
There were some amazing moments, and probably the most amazing was a 44-41 double overtime comeback victory against Arizona in Tucson. The Ducks trailed 24-14 at the start of the fourth quarter, 31-24 with just 2:58 to play in the game.
Masoli and the offense got the ball at their own 20 yard line, with red-clad students spilling out of the stands, crowding to rush the field, anticipating a Wildcats victory and a share of first place. The stumpy signal caller led an 80 yard, 16-play drive, throwing over two defenders to Ed Dickson for an eight-yard TD with six seconds left. Nate Costa saved the day with a cool-handed recovery of a bad snap on the extra point, getting the hold down so Morgan Flint could punch in the kick to force overtime.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime period, Masoli hitting a diving Jeff Maehl in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard score, then Nick Foles to Juron Criner for the tie at 38-38.
In the second OT Nick Aliotti’s defense held Arizona to a field goal. Masoli then hit Dickson down the middle for a 23-yard pass down to the two, keeping on a zone read on 3rd and goal for the clinching score, final 41-38. The unruly Wildcat fans never got to rush the field, and the curse of the Tucson night game was broken.
A week later Masoli ran over a Beaver defensive back on 4th and 3 to clinch a victory in the Civil War and the Ducks first Rose Bowl in 52 years. He was 14-21 passing in the game for 201 yards, including a 73-yard scoring strike to Maehl.
He left in embarrassment and ignominy, but for two years, the brash, sturdy gunslinger owned Eugene, and brought Duck fans a lot of thrills.
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