Fouts unloads on Wildcat secondary.
Photo by Wes Loder
Carl Nickerson eyes tackle.
mFouts, Ducks blister Arizona 34-7
By MERLIN MANN
Of the Emerald
Oregon needed that victory over Arizona Saturday
night in Autzen Stadium. ‘‘We needed it for a lot of
reasons,” said Dan Fouts half-dressed in front of his
locker after the Ducks burned the Wildcats 34-7.
The Ducks, indeed, needed a victory. Coach Dick
Enright hadn’t yet lifted his program off the ground
after a first-week loss to Missouri.
The young Oregon team needed some prestige
heading into a tough road trip immediately ahead.
Without a victory over un-powerhouses Missouri or
Arizona, the Ducks wouldn’t have rated the girls’ locker
room against Oklahoma, UCLA and Washington,
Oregon’s next three opponents—all on the road.
But Dan Fouts had the game well at hand. The
senior All-American candidate shredded Arizona’s self
acclaimed stingy defensive backfield for 271 yards
through the air, breaking Bob Berry’s career passing
record. Fouts now has but two more records (career
total offense and career touchdown passes) to overcome
before he owns the Oregon record book.
Even Arizona’s All-American candidate Jackie
Wallace couldn’t stop Fouts. And, ironically, Fouts’ two
touchdown passes were thrown over the highly touted
Wallace’s head to little sophomore Bob Palm. Wallace
may have lost his claim to an All-American team after
his performance. Palm caught five passes for 110 yards
and two touchdowns under the guard of Wallace.
“I thought Wallace would be a little tougher," Fouts
said afterward, “but we feel our receivers can beat
anyone man-on-man. The good protection just makes it
easier for the receivers.”
Actually it was Fouts who made it easy for the
receivers. He hit 20 of 33 passes. He picked up the
defensive maneuvering and effectively picked it apart.
In the first half Fouts went with swing passes to
running backs releasing out of the backfield. “The
defensive backs were playing man-to-man, the
linebackers zone. So we went with the delays,” Fouts
said. After the linebackers began picking up the
receivers coming out of the backfield, Fouts adjusted
again. “Then we started running a little more in the
third quarter.”
That’s when the game was bogged down in a punters’
dual between Palm and Marty Shuford. And then
Oregon’s defense was surprisingly stingy. It didn’t yield
a first down throughout the third quarter as Oregon was
clinging to a 14-7 lead.
And the defense didn’t allow a first down until the
game was well in the Ducks’ hands with only 5:57 left in
the game. By then many reserves were dotting the
lineup.
“Look at that defense,” Fouts said, "you can’t ask
for a better one. Two first half defensive breaks led
directly to both touchdowns.” The defense was
smothering, but part of the Arizona problem was picking
a quarterback. After sophomore starter Jerry Davis was
crushed by defensive standout Fred Manuel when he
was scrambling, Coach Bob Weber shuffled in two
replacements and re-entered Davis when he found out
the offense couldn’t budget the improved Duck defense.
All to no avail.
“Davis got a bruised back,” Weber said, “After that
we didn't have poise offensively. They played sound
football; we didn’t. Oregon’s first two touchdowns came
off fumble recoveries and that hurt.”
Arizona struck first and fast in the first quarter.
Reserve halfback Willie Hamilton surged inside on a
normal off-guard run, then suddenly broke to the out
side, sped around right end and out-raced cornerback
Pete Carlsen to the endzone. The 84-yard scamper was
Arizona’s only chance for rejoicing.
Oregon received its first break early in the second
quarter when Mike Pulver recovered a Jim Upchurch
fumble on the Arizona 29. Five plays later Jim Anderson
carried the ball into the endzone for the tying score.
With just 56 seconds left in the first half, Hamilton
fumbled and Manuel recovered on the Arizona 21 setting
up Oregon’s go-ahead score. On the next play Palm beat
Wallace in the corner of the endzone and Fouts laid the
pass between them. Palm held on just long enough for
the official to signal a touchdown.
Late in the third quarter Fouts kept a touchdown
drive alive with a scramble for nine yards to pick up the
first down. Then Fouts converted another third down
play hitting Greg Specht, who tip-toed on the sideline for
the 10-yard completion. On the next play speedy Maurice
Anderson brought back thoughts of Bobby Moore.
Anderson started with the flow of a sweep around
right end. But he then stopped cut back to the left,
sprinted to the sidelines, and cut the corner at the ten
just inches from the sideline. The fleet junior slipped into
the corner of the endzone just inside the flag for the
score, a 13-yard scamper.
Ironically, Arizona’s crushing blow came on its own
play. Barry Dean raced through the Oregon secondary
with ten minutes left in the game. Five yards in front of
his nearest opponent, Dean dropped Bill Demory’s
perfect pass.
"We needed the big play at that point," said a
dejected Weber. "We fell off a bit after that missed
pass.”
A minute later after Arizona was forced to punt,
Fouts threw a bomb to Palm who again beat Wallace to
the endzone. “In the huddle I told Palm to beat him deep.
We were going for the touchdown." The 45-yard play put
Oregon on top 28-7 and left only sophomore reserve
quarterback Norval Turner to add another touchdown
pass, to John Kerr for the icing.