I had been looking forward to this game for a few months, as I decided well before the season started that I would be at this game. It was my (mostly)annual away game where I paint my chest and BYU always win.
See this earlier post for further details:
https://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=29341441

Before the game we parked on campus to look around and grab some food. Other than Hayward Field, which looks pretty cool, the campus was a bit underwhelming. Pretty and green but I expected more for some reason. Lots of smaller, ugly, brick buildings.

Walking over to the stadium was cool. If you come up from the North side of campus you take a narrow footbridge over the Willamette river, and then follow a path through the woods to the stadium. Autzen just kind of appears out of of nowhere. On the outside it looks pretty big, but feels small when you are inside. In your seats there is no wi-fi and I had very limited cellular service. Dave Rose was came through the security line at the same time I did. I said "Good to see you Dave" and he gave me a "Go Cougs".

We had seats near the BYU visitors section at about the 10 yard line, row 16. That area was probably about 75% Oregon fans, and mostly seemed like season ticket holders. I talked to several different groups around me that had made the trip to the Oregon-Georgia game so they were dedicated fans. Overall pretty good seats, but it felt like 80% of the game was played on the other side of the field.

One thing about painting your chest is that a lot more people end up talking to you. In general they respect the dedication but since I was the only person doing it, people ask where the "B" and "U" are. Some people don't know what our logo is, and so they think I should just have a "B" on my chest instead of a "Y". 4 different Oregon fans made comments to me about "soaking". Seemed clear it's something they think actually happens. One guy told me to put a shirt on. A pretty overweight guy told me I need to hit the gym more. A 10(ish) year old kid came over to me to ask if he could have my shirt so he could became of BYU fan, I did not give it to him. Towards the end of the game a guy made a video of me and then started yelling to the people around us how it was going to go viral, his buddies apologized for that. A few different fans reminded me that "Ty died in Eugene". I personally didn't hear the "F the Mormons" chant. It was much more clear last year at USC. I did see a guy wearing a shirt that just said "No Garments".

Easily the most fun part of the game was the Isaac Rex TD. It still felt like we had a chance at 10-7. But it was clearly over when they went on the long drive before halftime for the TD, and then were going to get the ball back. Disappointing showing from the team obviously.

Oregon has a few traditions I didn't know about. The biggest one seems to be in between the 3rd and 4th quarter the crowd sings "Shout" by the Isley Brothers. Everybody is into it, including the players. I do wonder how into it they would be if they were losing instead of clearly in control though. After the game they let anybody who wants onto the field, after the teams and officials have gone to the locker room. Not sure if this is every game but it felt like it.

Overall I'm glad I made the trip. But with the loss I will probably be retiring the painted chest. All good things come to an end. Go Cougs!