The brutal schedule of '71 and a change in staff would have to be overcome to push the Ducks to improvement. Assistant Dick Enright, a former all star lineman at USC spent two seasons with the LA Rams before a car accident cut short his playing career. He became a legendary high school coach at Gardena, California, building a 70-11 record and tutoring collegiate standouts Don Horn, one of Don Coryell's big time QB's at San Diego State and USC's Charles Evans. His fine touch with quarterbacks earned him his assistant's job on Frei's Oregon staff and he was named the head man a month after Frei's resignation. There were changes in the offensive and defensive schemes, and the uniform design. Enright dressed the team in a Green Bay gold shell with a white, one-inch center stripe. He flanked this with three-quarter-inch kelly green stripes and otherwise left the helmet without a distinctive logo that would have immediately allowed fans to identify it with Oregon. He altered the offense to a Pro-T with the expectation that '71 standout QB Dan Fouts would use his roll-out ability as well as his great arm. The defense was changed to a quick-striking 5-2 along the lines of some of the SEC schools and the new scheme did bring results. All American Fouts provided the punch, setting nineteen school records and graduated to a storied professional career with the Chargers that earned his entry to The Pro Football Hall Of Fame. All PAC end Greg Specht gathered in fifty-two of those passes and later played with the WFL Portland entry. The up-front protection came from tackle Tim Stokes who had a nine-year pro career with a number of teams and center Chuck Bradley who played on the Chargers for a few years with Fouts. TE Russ Francis showed promise before going out with a broken ankle and he was spelled by George Martin. Greg “Buffalo” Herd handled the rushing chores and did the same with Southern California of the World Football League. The defense came on well, yielding but five points in the final two contests, with the highlight being the 30-3 win against hated Oregon State in the finale. Coach Enright inflamed the Ducks’ emotions by waving the jersey of DE Alan Eustace towards the huddle. Eustace who had begun to establish himself in ’71 as a sophomore, was lost for 1972 as he battled leukemia. The team responded with a great effort. Comfortably up at halftime, Duck fans attacked the Oregon State field and tore down one of the goal posts. As the rout headed toward its conclusion, Beaver fans entered the field of play to protect the other goalpost and one of the larger “small riots” among fans of the feuding schools ensued. Tragically, Eustace died from his illness five months later. The NCAA rules change that allowed freshman to play varsity football introduced Mario Clark to the lineup, the first true freshman to start in the Ducks secondary and he was a sparkplug. With the late-season defensive improvement, the drop to 4-7 had many looking forward to the team's obvious potential.

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