Great seasons are always improbable, magical stories where resolve triumphs over ruin.
Nobody gave the Ducks a chance after last year’s loss against Arizona, the 2011 thumping by LSU, or the disaster on the blue turf in 2009.
Go back 35-40 years and Oregon football was a laughingstock and a target for ridicule, a weekly featured player on The Bottom Ten, a candidate for Crummy Game of the Week. Four wins used to be a decent year, and a winning season a glimmer of hope.
The Ducks are hurting right now. As fans, we’re hurting too.