■ Emerald
ONE TO WATCH
TB Saladin McCullough is finally living
out his dream of playing Div. I football
HOMECOMING WEEKEND
Mike Bellotti and Jerry Allen, among
others, will take part in the festivities
SPORTS EXTRA
Novembers, 1996
Playing for Respect
The end of the season means
very little and a whole lot at the
same time for the Ducks
I have to admit that before I decided to
come to Oregon to go to school, I nev
er knew the school had a football
team.
And then I came here and that first year,
the Ducks went to the Rose Bowl. While I
stood inside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on
January 2,1995,1 decided I made the right
choice to come to Oregon.
The following year, I was giving myself a
OPINION
Andrea
Deftuig
bigger pat on the back tor
being a Duck when the
team went to the Cotton
Bowl.
So what if we lost both
bowl games? The sea
sons were still exciting
ones.
But this season is a
whole new story. When
Arizona comes into
town this weekend,
mere is very nme on me line.
Respect, pride, a winning record — but
little else. At least that’s what some people
believe.
Remember two seasons ago when the
Ducks were 5-3 overall going into the game
against the Wildcats? Oregon had just beat
Washington at home and was riding an
emotional wave. Gang Green was in prime
form against Arizona, and the Ducks won
10-9 en route to a 9-4 season and a Rose
Bowl bid.
Last season the game in Tucson was just
as critical. Oregon had two losses in the Pa
cific-10 Conference and could ill afford an
other if it wanted to go to another New
Year’s Day bowl game. The Ducks came
away from the game with a 17-13 victory
and were flying to Dallas less than two
months later.
And now? A bowl game is out of the
question, a winning conference record is
out of the question, an exciting game this
weekend is out of the question. Or is it?
There are more than 40 Ducks who will
hit the field this weekend and play like
there is no tomorrow. These athletes have
made it through spring drills, fall two-a
days and practices in the cold and rain of
early evening throughout the season. They
are not about to roll over and die because
the record says their season is a loss.
Turn to DeYOUNG, Page 8B
MARK McTYRE/ Emerald
Senior cornerback LaMont Woods celebrates an interception against Nevada during Ore
gon’s three-game winning streak earlier this year. The Ducks, especially the seniors, hope
to begin another winning streak that will continue throughout the rest of the season.
■ GAME PREVIEW: The Oregon
football team has found ways to beat
Arizona the past two years
By Ryan Halvorsen
Sports Reporter
Being winless in the Pacific-10 Confer
ence with three games remaining in the
league schedule is something new to the
Ducks of recent years. Still, it has been an im
possible accomplishment for the Oregon
football teams of the last 20 years to have
three winning seasons in a row, and it will
be a big accomplishment if the Ducks can
pull it out this season.
After the Ducks’ 33-14 loss to the Huskies
two weeks ago, head coach Mike Bellotti
guaranteed that his team --—
wuuiu win umii icisi
three games. No dis
respect was meant
toward their oppo
nents, Bellotti said.
His statement was
more along the lines
of motivation for the
team.
“It was more a
challenge, and 1
think the kids ral
lied to that,” Bellotti
said. “The main
message is that we
cannot make mis
takes and help other
people win. We’ve
got to play good,
hard football. If we
do that and elimi
nate mistakes on our
OREGON
VS.
ARIZONA
■ KICKOFF:
1 p.m. Autzen
Stadium
■ TV: None
■ RADIO:
KUGN590 AM
■ REPLAY:
Fox Sports
Northwest,
Nov.11,7 p.m.
jjaii men i utjiitjvc
that we can win every game we play.”
This weekend, when the Ducks face Ari
zona, their hopes of a winning season will
be on the line against a Wildcat team that is
looking for revenge after the Ducks ended
their hopes of getting to a bowl game last year
in Tucson. Oregon has had Arizona’s num
ber for the past couple of years, beating the
Wildcats at Autzen 10-9 in 1994 and then
grabbing a 17-13 win last year. But, the two
teams have very different looks this year, and
this is especially evident in Oregon’s de
fense. Bellotti hasn’t seen his defensive team
get much better as the season has progressed.
“I don't think that we are where we should
be,” Bellotti said. “I haven’t seen a marked
improvement yet. 1 think that we got better in
practice last week in basic fundamental un
Turn to PREVIEW, Page 3B
Key Player
Facing a blitz-happy Arizona
defense that also plays well against
the run, Tasi Malepeai and the
rest of the Oregon offensive
linemen will have to step up
to the task of protecting
the quarterback and
opening holes for the -4
running backs. „ '%
W -
YARDS ALLOWED PlifiJIifi
University of Arizona
University of Oregon
Rushing
Passing
Rushing
Passing
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 20
1. Florida 8-0
2. Ohio State 8-0
3. Florida State 7-0
4. Arizona State 9-0
5. Nebraska 7-1
6. Tennessee 6-1
7. Colorado 7-1
8. North Carolina 7-1
9. Michigan 7-1
10. Alabama 7-1
11. LSU 7-1 i
12. BYU 9-1 |
13. Kansas State 7-1
14. Penn State 8-2
15. Virginia 6-2
16. Wyoming 9-0
17. Notre Dame 5-2 \
18. Northwestern 7-2
19. Washington 6-2
20. Southern Miss. 8-1