Monday’s appearance in the Rose Bowl will be just the sixth for the University of Oregon in the 97-year history of college football’s oldest postseason game.

The Ducks have not won the game since upsetting Penn 14-0 in the third Rose Bowl nearly a century ago, in 1917.

Oregon lost the Rose Bowl in 1920, 1958, 1995 and 2010. The 2011 Pac-12 champion Ducks will have another chance to finally win the game when they take on Big Ten champion Wisconsin on Monday in Pasadena, Calif.

The Bulletin recently caught up with three former UO players from Central Oregon who have been part of “the Granddaddy of Them All” — Prineville’s Darrel Aschbacher, who played in the 10-7 loss to Ohio State in 1958; Redmond’s Jed Weaver, in the 38-20 loss to Penn State in 1995; and Bend’s Morgan Flint, in the 26-17 loss to Ohio State in 2010.

Darrel Aschbacher, 1958

Aschbacher, now 75, called playing in the Rose Bowl “one of the proudest times of my life.” The Ducks lost the game after the Buckeyes made a late field goal, but he said legendary UO coach Len Casanova called it a “moral victory.”

“They were supposed to beat us by three or four touchdowns,” recalled Aschbacher, a lineman on both offense and defense who would go on to play for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Aschbacher — who played for Crook County High School’s 1952 Oregon A-2 state champion football team — still has the jersey and helmet he wore in the 1958 Rose Bowl, and the ring he received for participating. He recalled the team staying at the luxurious Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

“We got to take our wives,” Aschbacher said. “Oregon spent a lot of money on us.”

Aschbacher traveled to Arizona to watch Oregon fall to Auburn 22-19 in last year’s BCS National Championship Game. This year, he plans to watch the Rose Bowl on television at his home in Prineville.

He remains an ardent supporter of the Ducks but was surprised to learn they hadn’t won a Rose Bowl in 95 years.

“I can’t believe it’s been that long,” he said. “I did not know that. That’ll make it damn interesting. Those kids can pull it off, and that’ll stay with them the rest of their lives.”

Aschbacher predicted that Oregon’s speed will be too much for Wisconsin’s defense.

“You’ve gotta be pretty dynamic on the defensive line to subdue that,” he said.

Jed Weaver, 1995

After the 1958 Rose Bowl loss, it was 37 years before Oregon would return to the game. The 1994 season was highlighted by Kenny Wheaton’s interception return for a touchdown to help Oregon beat Washington. The Ducks, after starting the season 1-2, would go on to win the Pac-10 title and earn the trip to Pasadena, creating quite a buzz throughout Oregon.

“The whole thing was just so exciting, because we started the season out not very good,” recalled Weaver, a former standout at Redmond High. “We got some wins, the pick (Wheaton’s interception) against Washington … it was just a Cinderella story. It was really cool, being a walk-on (nonscholarship player) from Redmond and ending up in the Rose Bowl … amazing.”

Weaver was a redshirt (not part of the Ducks’ active roster) during the 1994 season, so he did not play in the 1995 Rose Bowl. But he was suited up and on the sideline throughout the game. He would go on to play tight end for Oregon and play six seasons in the NFL for four different teams. He won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2005.

Weaver, now 35, called the 1995 Rose Bowl appearance the “turning of the program” for Oregon football.

“It’s been really amazing to watch and see the caliber of athletes they’re getting,” Weaver said. “The facilities are now in a whole different league.”

Since retiring from the NFL, Weaver has settled in Miami and now works in the real estate business. He said he enjoys watching Oregon play on television in prime time and the national recognition the program has garnered in recent years.

But Weaver, like so many Ducks fans, believes that because they lost their last two BCS bowl games, the Ducks simply must defeat Wisconsin to avoid being labeled as unable to win a prestigious bowl game.

“We definitely should have won the national championship game last year,” Weaver said. “I think winning a bowl game, against a team not in your conference, that’s important. You have to win on the big stage. That’s been the stigma for Oregon: They can’t win the big game when they have the chance.”

Weaver said he believes the keys to the game will be the Ducks containing Wisconsin running back Montee Ball and establishing an early rhythm in their fast-paced offense.

“It’s important to make some plays and get some first downs (early in the game),” Weaver said. “(The Oregon players) will have jitters and butterflies. Overall, our speed, we can take it to (Wisconsin) in the skill positions.”

Morgan Flint, 2010

Oregon won the Fiesta Bowl in 2002, but it would be another eight years before the Ducks returned to a major bowl game, the 2010 Rose Bowl. The starting kicker for that team was Flint, a walk-on from Bend High who was not put on scholarship until his senior season.

The Ducks struggled to stop Ohio State’s power offense, and Flint made one of two field goals, missing a 45-yard attempt late in the contest.

But what he remembers most, he said, was the atmosphere surrounding the game.

“There’s definitely no other game that I’ve ever played in that’s anything like it,” Flint said. “I went to Vegas, Sun and Holiday (bowls). The Rose Bowl is such a unique atmosphere.”

Despite the loss in 2010 and the setback to Auburn in the title game last season, Flint does not think Oregon must defeat Wisconsin to validate itself as a top-tier college football program. He noted that the Ducks have lost their last two postseason games by a combined 11 points.

“It’s not like we’re getting run over or blown out,” Flint said. “We’ve been right there. It’s been tough to watch.”

Now 25, Flint is living in Beaverton and attending Concordia University. He hopes to become a teacher, in physical education or health.

He plans to watch the Rose Bowl from home Monday.

“I think our offense will be able to make some things happen,” Flint said. “If our defense keeps (Wisconsin’s) athletes from making too many plays, I think we’ll be all right. We don’t always get out to a great start, but the team always shows great composure.

“It’s cool for me to watch guys put in that time and hard work and now be successful on the field. I did my fair share of waiting.”

As have Ducks fans for a Rose Bowl win. Almost a century’s worth.