Stanford: Wong plays better against Oregon
■ Continued from Page 2B
ity,” Wong said. “It’s not like I did
n’t have confidence before, but
now I am accepting more of a role
in getting the job done. ”
That is something that worries
Oregon offensive coordinator Dirk
Koetter.
“He is an outstanding pass rush
er,” Koetter said. “The [Oregon]
players and coaches said that he’s
improved, that he continues to get
better with each year they play
against him. Stanford’s deal in the
passing game is to try to put pres
sure on the quarterback, and he is
one of the main guys who does
that.”
While Wong may feel he is ac
cepting a more important role this
year, his teammates think he is be
coming a more intense player.
“[Wong] has always been kind
of leader, he’s always been real vo
cal, always trying to pump the
team up,” said strong safety Eliel
Swinton. “Even though you don’t
see him saying stuff during a
game, he is saying stuff to us like
‘Let’s go, let’s work through this.’”
“[Wong] seems a little bit more
intense this year,” added line
backer Chris Draft, who rooms
with Wong this year. “Our defense
has to be leaders — everybody on
the defense has to be a leader, and
he’s played his part.”
Wong has definitely become
more vocal on the field this year,
as evidenced by his play last week
in Seattle. As time was winding
down in the third quarter last Sat
urday, Wong took exception to a
Husky knocking his helmet off.
His outburst following the play
was perhaps a good sign to many
Cardinal fans.
“That’s just him showing a lot
of emotion this year and showing
how his desire for the game has
grown within him into more of a
hunger for him,” Swinton said.
For Wong and the rest of the
Cardinal defense, this season has
been the first in years in which
people are actually talking about
the defense rather than the of
fense. Most notably, people are
boasting that Stanford has the
20th-ranked scoring defense in the
nation at just 15 points per game.
“We do want to keep scores
down,” Wong said. “We don’t
want to be pushed around and be
considered one of the Stanford
teams of the past with all the of
fense and no defense.”
Despite the defense’s improve
ment, Wong still lacks what the
Ducks have — a Pac-10 Champi
onship.
“I never want to go home be
cause it will be rubbed in my
face,” Wong said. “I’ll go out
places or see my friends, they
make a concerted effort to tell me
about what I missed out on. ”
Accordingly, when Wong takes
the field on Saturday, he’ll be look
ing for a win even more than his
teammates.
“It’s huge for me,” he said.
“These are some of the games that
every athlete likes to play in —
with people back home watching.
"I try to get up for every game
the same, but for some reason or
another I usually end up raising
my level of play a little bit higher
against Oregon.”
If Wong does step his play up, it
could be a long Saturday after
noon for the Ducks.
OREGON DAILY EMERALD FOOTBALL PICKS
STANFORD-4
Oregon
Wash. St.-11
OREGON ST.
Arizona State-4
UCLA
NOIRE DAME -10
Washington
FLORIDA-20
Lsu
Florida St.-5.5
MIAMI
BYU-41
Unlv
BALL ST. -13
OhioU.
Overall
Record
Mark
McTyre
Oregon
Wash. St.
Arizona St.
Wash
FLORIDA
Florida St.
BYU
BALL ST.
6-10
Andrea
DeYoung
Oregon
Wash. St.
Arizona St.
N. Dame
FLORIDA
Florida St.
BYU
OhioU.
Chris
Hansen
Oregon
Wash. St.
Arizona St.
N. Dame
FLORIDA
Florida St.
BYU
BALL ST.
Ryan
Frank
Oregon
OSU
Arizona St.
N. Dame
Lsu
Florida St.
BYU
OhioU.
79
Ryan
Halvorsen
Oregon
Wash. St.
Arizona St.
Wash
FLORIDA
MIAMI
BYU
BALL ST.
6-10
Steve
Asbury
Oregon
OSU
Arizona St.
Wash
FLORIDA
Florida St.
Unlv
BALL ST.
7 9
Dennis
Bolt
Oregon
Wash. St.
Arizona St.
N. Dame
FLORIDA
Florida St.
Unlv
Ohio U.
10-6
Maple Garden
RESTAURANT
Mon.-Thu. 11-10
Fri. & Sat. 11-11 J
Sun. 12-10 i
1275 Alder St. Eugene • 683-8128
BIKE
BARN
rrTT?rgffT3
y
t*Q\N All’96 Bikes
15% Off
Mountain • Cruisers •
Hybrids • Free Style • BMX
Welcome Back
(JO Students
We Service All Brands
Open 7 days a week
come,
Extreme i) cool prices,
I
THOUGHTS
New& Resale Closing for Men & Women • 98 E, Htfi (at Dad) ■ 683-6501
Open Mon - Sat 10 - 6,5m 12 - 5 • Free Parking • Pacing Casfi for Clothes
tell your faraway family and friends
to read the Oregon daily emerald
now available on the world wide web
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ode
DO YOUR
PART.
THIS
PAPER
PLAYING THE
EMU
BALLROOM
ANOJHE HOLY
highba^ltti the devil
mUEtmffliiu&i...
THE PLACE TO FIND THE MUSIC YOU'RE LOOKING FORI
2IMAZINGLY STOWED LOCATIONS AT: J
WESrfklTH & SENEC?WUGENE /
ANO Ik
955 NOrWsT KINGS BLVO. IN CORVALLIS
THIS COOL OFhWqOD THRU 10 27 96