Although he has far fewer appearances in Autzen Stadium than many of his Oregon teammates, Chase Cota has already had many great memories there.

The Medford native grew up watching his father Chad's old highlights from his historic career in Eugene.

He and his family would frequently take the 2.5-hour drive from southern Oregon to watch games. In 2018, he played in Autzen Stadium for the first time, but on the opposing sideline when Chip Kelly made his return to Eugene with the UCLA Bruins.

A freshman at the time, Cota ended the game with a blank stat sheet, only receiving real minutes on special teams.

He's been able to add some even more memorable highlights there this fall, his first as a Duck after transferring from UCLA in the offseason.

Against Stanford on Saturday night, Oregon was still without a touchdown in the first quarter when Cota got a screen pass and bolted up the field for not only the team's first touchdown of the game but also his first as a hometown hero.

“Growing up always watching the games and stuff – I knew I had family in that same corner of the endzone where I scored, so it was exciting,” Cota said. “All the defensive guys were excited too. So going into the next possession it helped them. From there it just opened up a lot.”

His family and the rest of the packed Autzen crowd were at their loudest as No. 23 crossed the goal line. It was a much-needed energy boost that sparked a 45-point scoring outburst.

“I could definitely feel from the crowd for sure,” Cota said. “When I was running I could hear a roar and everything, so it definitely got everyone excited. It was a good start to a lot of good drives in a row there.”

Cota has quickly become one of Bo Nix’s favorite targets. In just five games, he has already put together his third-best season statistically with 16 catches for 219 yards and that touchdown.

Just like coach Dan Lanning emphasizes, Cota and the rest of the team are not content with their start and continue to work for improvement.

“On Sunday and Monday, it’s going to the doctor. It’s realizing that, yeah, we won but it's really not going to be that fun of a Monday,” Cota said. “There were so many mistakes. Stanford is a really good team, but if you play a great team it just won't fly like that. I think everyone's aware that we have a lot of veterans on both sides of the ball that will keep everyone to the standard.”