GLENDALE, Ariz. —

Oregon wide receiver Josh Huff weeped openly, the tears flowing from his cheeks.

Defensive end Kenny Rowe ran over to console his teammate.

While Auburn players reveled in a shower of confetti, Oregon players fought to hold back their emotions, many with lost looks in their eyes as they headed off the field at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Ducks are just not accustomed to losing.

After Wes Byrum’s 19-yard field goal split the uprights with no time remaining to give Auburn a 22-19 win in Monday night’s BCS National Championship Game, Oregon’s dream season was snatched away on the biggest stage of college football.

There is no doubt considerable pain among Duck players and fans today.

But there should not be.

Just consider what the Oregon football program has come back from.

Look back to last offseason, which featured a string of player arrests culminating in quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s dismissal from the team.

“If you look at a lot of these guys’ faces right now, they’re hurting,” said backup quarterback Nate Costa, who suited up for the game but did not play after suffering a career-ending knee injury earlier this season. “It would be hard to match this one, as far as Oregon history goes. From where we’ve come, even from last winter, from the Rose Bowl, to all the trouble we had, to now, it’s unheard of and it’s pretty amazing.”

Now look back to the opening game of last season, Chip Kelly’s first game as head coach — the Boise State loss and the LeGarrette Blount punch.

After that game, a fan sent a note to Chip Kelly, asking him for a refund for his trip to Boise.

Kelly sent him the refund, then brought the Ducks all the way to the Rose Bowl, then went on to win every game this season — until Monday night.

Two nights ago, at the Oregon Ducks pep rally in Scottsdale, Kelly riled up the fans with some moving words, then added: “Just don’t ask for any refunds.”

They won’t.

Because even though they lost, the way the Ducks fought back late in the fourth quarter was inspiring: Quarterback Darron Thomas’ fourth-and-five conversion to D.J. Davis, his shovel pass to LaMichael James for a touchdown, then his dramatic pass to Jeff Maehl in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion to tie the game 19-19.

But Michael Dyer’s 37-yard run set up Byrum’s field goal, and the Ducks were stunned.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Davis said. “These guys fought for 60 minutes, and that’s what the game is about. We just didn’t finish, but I’m proud of how we came together, despite the adversity at the beginning of the year.”

Now look back way beyond last season, some 20 to 30 years ago, when the Ducks were often the doormat of the Pac-10.

Oregon fans who had waited many years for this moment provided an Autzen-like atmosphere, even though just 17,500 tickets were allocated to Duck fans.

Sure, the stadium-record crowd of 78,603 was about 60 percent Auburn fans, and Oregon supporters seemed to have a laid-back, “pinch-me-I’m-dreaming” attitude.

Perhaps the Duck fans’ vibe was a result of the long, steady progression the program has made in the last 25 years or so.

It took awhile, but Oregon was finally here, near the top of college football.

Players from former Oregon teams could be found in the stands, players who helped the program reach this point: quarterback Akili Smith, running backs Reuben Droughns and Jonathan Stewart.

After Rich Brooks led the Ducks to the Rose Bowl in 1995, Mike Bellotti — who received a warm welcome from Duck fans when he appeared on the field before the game — took over and brought the program to national prominence, winning the Fiesta Bowl in 2002.

Perhaps his biggest contribution to Oregon football?

Hiring Kelly as offensive coordinator in 2007.

The brash, fast-talking mastermind of the spread option became head coach in 2009 — and the Ducks’ offense got faster and faster.

It set a blistering tempo Monday night in Glendale at times — but it wasn’t enough to overtake Nick Fairley and the beastly Auburn defense.

The Ducks’ closest game before the national title matchup was a 15-13 win over Cal on Nov. 13.

It was no surprise that Oregon trailed at halftime against Auburn. The Ducks had fallen behind early in their final three games of the regular season, against Cal, Arizona and Oregon State.

Monday night was different — the second-half team scored just eight points in the final two quarters.

But players managed to take solace, as they should.

“Man, we had a great season,” said wide receiver Lavasier Tuinei. “It was the best season Oregon ever had. We have to learn from what happened. We’re ready to focus on next year right now.”

Linebacker Spencer Paysinger shared his teammates’ sentiments.

“It’s been an historic season for us,” Paysinger said. “We’ve had a hard-fought battle since (last January), when a lot of guys were going the wrong direction, to now, standing in the locker room after the national championship.”

And despite the loss, there were memorable moments that should live on in Duck lore: Darron Thomas’ 81-yard pass to Jeff Maehl in the second quarter, the longest pass reception in BCS National Championship Game history.

Thomas completed 27 of 40 passes for 363 yards. Maehl caught nine of those passes for 133 yards receiving.

“I’ve got the greatest teammates, coaches and fans that I ever could dream of,” Maehl said. “(There’s) just a lot of emotions. Obviously, as a senior, it’s not the way you want to go out. But I’m excited to be able to watch these guys next year because a lot of them are coming back.”

Who knows, maybe a return to the Natty is a possibility.

“I said in my first game as head coach, one game doesn’t define you as a person or as a football player,” Kelly said, referring to last season’s Boise State game. “And the same thing still holds true. These guys are champions. I love them.

“We’ll be back.”