EUGENE, Ore. - The 2012 edition of the University of Oregon football team, which capped its season with a 35-17 victory over Kansas State in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3, equaled the best season ranking in school history by being named No. 2 in both the Associated Press and USA Today (coaches) final top 25 polls behind BCS national champion Alabama.

The 12-1 Ducks matched the 2001 squad, which also ended the year with a Fiesta Bowl win en route to an 11-1 mark.

The No. 2 ranking marks the fourth top 5 finish in UO history and the sixth time the Ducks have ended the season in the top 10. Since 2008, the only time Oregon finished outside of the top 10 was 2009, when Chip Kelly's first team was pegged 11th after falling in the 2010 Rose Bowl Game to Ohio State.

UO has outperformed preseason AP rankings in five of the past six seasons with the exception being 2011, when the Ducks started the year No. 3 and ended it ranked fourth.

Oregon has been ranked in 60 straight AP Top 25 polls, including the last 28 in the top 10. During Kelly's four-year tenure, the Ducks have been ranked among the top 10 schools 49 times by the AP.

UO returns nine starters on offense and seven on defense for the 2013 season.

OREGON ALL-TIME TOP 10 FINAL RANKINGS (AP/USA Today)
2012 - 2/2
2011 - 4/4
2010 - 3/3
2008 - 10/9
2001 - 2/2
2000 - 7/9