Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, October 01, 1997, Page 17, Image 16

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    BEST BETS
Major League Baseball
Baltimore at Seattle,
NBC (6), 8p.m.
Suspensions
leave UCLA
in trouble
Repeated marijuana use is a key
factor in the suspension ofjelani
McCoy and Kris Johnson
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The way things are go
ing, UCLA might not have enough players
to field a team when the basketball season
begins in two months.
And this was a team hoping to contend
for a national championship.
It still might, but not if swingman Kris
Johnson and center Jelani McCoy aren't a
part of it.
Johnson and McCoy, who helped the Bru
ins reach the Midwest Regional finals in
March, were suspended indefinitely Mon
day for violation of athletic department poli
cies and team rules.
The suspensions were announced 10
days after the family of freshman Schea Cot
ton learned that the NCAA’s Eligibility
Clearinghouse had invalidated the SAT
score he earned in June to establish his eligi
bility.
The Long Beach Press-Telegram reported
Tuesday that Johnson and McCoy have test
ed positive for marijuana usage “on more
than one occasion” during their stints at the
school, which, at least in part, led to the
players’ suspensions.
Student-athletes at NCAA member insti
tutions are subject to random drug testing
throughout the school year.
The Press-Telegram also quoted sources
as saying there had been concern in the
UCLA athletic department over Johnson’s
involvement in a number of fights in his
three years at the school, the most recent be
ing with UCLA freshman point guard Earl
Watson during the summer.
It was not known what role, if any, that
had in his suspension.
UCLA said in a statement issued Monday
there is a possibility that Johnson and Mc
Coy might be reinstated later, and it also
said university policy precludes discussion
of details regarding the suspension.
UCLA sports information director Marc
Dellins refused comment on the Press
Telegram story.
“We won’t comment on any speculation
in any of the media,” Dellins said. “The two
young men have a right to their privacy, and
it’s unfortunate that people feel the need to
speculate on the reasons for the suspen
sion.”
Dellins also wouldn’t speculate as to
whether the two players might be reinstat
ed or when such a development might take
place.
Washington State
Leader of the Pac
COURTESY PHOTO
Ryan Leaf leads the nation’s fourth-ranked offense into Autzen Stadium this
Saturday to face the Ducks, who gave up 578 yards to Stanford last week.
Heisman hopeful Ryan Leaf
leads Pac-10 in total
offense with 328yards per
game and 13 touchdowns
By Alex Pond
Sports Reporter
This week will likely include several
sleepless nights for members of the Ore
gon secondary.
After getting chewed up by Stanford’s
offense, led by quarterback Chad
Hutchinson, for 58 points and 340 yards
passing, the Ducks don’t exactly get a re
prieve in the schedule this week.
Not even close.
Not with No. 15 Washington State
coming to town, led by junior quarter
back and possible Heisman Trophy can
didate Ryan Leaf.
And the Ducks thought Hutchinson
was impressive.
Leaf comes in ranked fourth national
ly in total offense at 328 yards per game
and is eighth in the nation in passing ef
ficiency with a rating of 162.0. In just
four games, Leaf has already thrown for
1,327 yards and 13 touchdowns, tops in
the Pacific-10 Conference in each cate
gory.
Those kinds of numbers, combined
with the fact that the Ducks rank last in
the Pac-10 in every major defensive cat
egory, while the Cougars rank first in
passing and total offense, will likely
cause the Oregon defense to change
things a bit this week.
"[Loaf] knows where to go in zone,
and he knows where to go in man to
man, so I think you have to change the
looks of the secondary,” Oregon head
coach Mike Bellotti says. “You have to
pressure him. You have to get people in
his face, and that’s hard because he’s
[six-foot-five], and he’s a very good
physical athlete.”
Leaf has grown up as a quarterback on
the fly, starting every game since late in
his freshman season.
He has matured to the point where he
now has significant control of the
Cougars offense and has the freedom to
call audibles whenever he deems it nec
essary.
“I think it’s because the coaching staff
has stayed the same and the playbook
Turn to LEAF, Page 18
Oregon State on its way up after 26 seasons of futility
The Sun
Devils were
lucky to get
out of
Corvallis
with a win,
head coach
Bruce
Snyder said
By Ryan Frank
Spoils Editor
The Oregon State Beavers may very well be head
ed to their 27th straight losing season, but don’t
count on that streak going much further.
First-year head coach Mike Riley has the Beavers
passing the ball for the first time in recent memory,
and the defense has been playing well. As a result,
Oregon State could conceivably be 3-0 overall and
2-0 in the Pacific-10 Conference. Instead they are 1
2 overall and 0-2 in conference.
“I’m excited and disappointed,” Riley said Tues
day. “We had great effort from our players and we
had opportunities to win big, big games; we’re just
not finishing them off.”
The Beavers were one defensive stop away from
beating Stanford in Corvallis for the second straight
season and one field goal away from beating Ari
zona State in Corvallis last weekend.
"We’re lucky to get out of there with a win,” Ari
zona State head coach Bruce Snyder said. “We
struggled like the dickens with them all the time.
The kids there play extremely hard, and I really re
spect them for that.”
Riley said his team is learning each week.
“Each week is monumental,” Riley said. “We
need to get a win under our belt, and the opponent
doesn’t matter. It is us performing. We lost two
tough ones in a row, we need to come back and win
a game.”
With back-to-back home games coming up
against San Jose State (0-3) and Utah State (2-2),
making it five straight home games to start the sea
son, don’t be surprised if Oregon State is above .500
heading into its game at UCLA Oct. 25.
Game of the week
With the San Francisco Giants in the playoffs, it
may not be the biggest thing in the Bay Area, but
Stanford’s home game against Notre Dame is the •
game of the week in the Pac-10.
The Irish are 2-0 at Stanford in the 1990s, but
have lost two of three in South Bend to the Cardi
nal.
The Irish should have plenty of motivation to go
3-0 at Stanford after losing to Michigan and Big Ten
powerhouse Purdue in their last two games.
Considering Stanford’s play of late, Notre Dame
has to be salivating at the opportunity to go against
the Cardinal defense that gave up 49 points and 530
yards in total offense to Oregon.
“I hope that was an aberration,” Stanford head
coach Tyrone Willingham said.
Catching Keyshawn
Cal wide receiver Bobby Shaw hasn’t been quot
ed saying, “Just gimme the damn ball,” but he may
on his way to breaking Keyshawn Johnson’s confer
ence record of 90 catches in a season.
Turn to PAC-10, Page 19