VIDEO: Pac-10 champ recalls '95 UO win vs Illinois
Gang Green DB Jaiya Figueras on 'Turn Back the Flock' podcast
VIDEO: Pac-10 champ Figueras recalls ’95 UO win over No. 2 Illinois
Gang Green DB Jaiya Figueras helped Oregon win the 1994 Pac-10 title.
Since his time at Oregon, Figueras coached high school and junior college football. He now trains athletes in his Cats Not Bears methodology — Learn more: @CoachJaiya
Previously in 30-Year Throwback:
Emboldened by culture-shift wins over Iowa and No. 19 USC, the 1994 Oregon squad faced two of the year’s strongest Pac-10 defenses — Washington State and Cal.
Gang Green 30-Year Throwback is an Oregon FansEdge series, built from our exclusive interviews with Oregon's 1994 Pac-10 Champions. Subscribe and have subsequent chapters of the Gang Green 30-Year Throwback delivered to your inbox:
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon's uniform reveal of a 'Gang Green' homage makes it clear at first glance: The 30th-anniversary party for Oregon's 1994 Pac-10 Championship squad is officially underway.
This second reveal in 2024's "Generation O" uniform series shows modern fit blended with historical gestures to Oregon's success in the closing chapter of the Rich Brooks era:
The modern cut of cap sleeves with the current Duck icon is reminiscent of the Fighting Ducks motif of the 1980s and early '90s.
The modern iteration of the Oregon O helmet decal in place of the currently favored Wing lids — a clear reflection of the minimalist helmet decor of the Coach Brooks era.
All in a traditional Oregon color palette — classic tones of the Ducks’ green and yellow.
30-year throwback
Not only is 2024 the first season of Oregon's move to the Big Ten — It's also the 30th anniversary of the 1994 squad cementing nearly two decades of Brooks' relentless building of Oregon into a championship program.
The 'Gang Green' update shows expressions of today's uniform functionality visibly rooted in those pivotal mid-1990s seasons of Oregon's steady ascent.
The timing for a design like this makes it chock-full of meaning for Oregon football OGs. The execution too — Oregon’s mid-July uniform reveal included a video featuring eight-year NFL veteran DB Alex Molden from Oregon’s 1994 conference championship team.
Foundations of Oregon’s arrival
Those original Gang Green teams of the early '90s inherited a solid foundation — steadily elevated by each wave of Oregon players through Brooks’ 18 years at Oregon.
Brooks' players in the academic classes of 1994-97 marked Oregon's arrival as a perennial contender and a national brand.
Molden and I sat down recently to discuss the 1994 team’s decisive step up from a 5-6 previous season, and their transformation to Pac-10 champions.
"It shows when you can lock-in and put the team ahead of yourself you can do some really powerful things,” Molden said.
History-making at the time, back in '94 — powerful enough to still earn headlines 30 years later.
"It shows when you can lock-in and put the team ahead of yourself you can do some really powerful things.”
— Alex Molden, DB for Oregon’s 1994 Pac-10 championship
Wearing the Gang Green originals — one green jersey; one white, and one set of yellow helmets — 1994 Oregon rose from the ashes of a 5-6 previous season and the frustration of a 1-2 start in '94 to beat three ranked conference opponents in a span of five games, then went on to win Oregon's first outright Pac-10 title, and earn the Ducks’ first Rose Bowl appearance in 37 years.
Up next in Gang Green 30-year Throwback: ‘94 vs. UW — The Pick
Gang Green 30-Year Throwback is an Oregon FansEdge series, built from our exclusive interviews with Oregon's 1994 Pac-10 Champions. Subscribe and have subsequent chapters of the Gang Green 30-Year Throwback delivered to your inbox:
More from Oregon FansEdge:
#GoDucks #30YearThrowback