Thrill Ride

With the college football season now in the rear view mirror, it's safe to say that the University of Oregon Ducks took fans for quite the amusement park thrill ride, leading Head Coach Dan Lanning to ask his team and Duck fans everywhere: "Are you not entertained?" In the end, the team fell short of its ultimate goal in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, but fans can take comfort in the fact it was a helluva ride.

Consider that in their first year in the expanded Big 10 Conference, the Ducks not only won the conference championship, completing an undefeated season, but also became the first Big 10 team to ever beat the heavyweights in the league -- Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State -- all in the same season. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel (top) became the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

Gabriel was also the second consecutive Heisman finalist, following Bo Nix. The team featured numerous all-league and all-American players who will be drafted by the National Football League. Though the Ducks lost to Ohio State (.816) in the playoff quarterfinals, a team they had beaten earlier in the season, UO nonetheless finished third in final poll, and featured the highest winning percentage (.823) in the nation.