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Emerald
Ducks get back to business as they prepare for USC
Oregon
quarterback Akili
Smith did not
play against Utah
because of an
injured throwing
shoulder he
suffered against
UCIA. lie did not
practice until
Thursday of last I
week, but is j
expected to play j
significant |
minutes against I
Southern 1
California. I
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CHAD PATTESON/Emerald
After an uplifting win over Utah, Oregon
focuses on its return to Pac-10play
By Chris Hansen
Assistant Spoils Editor
No doubt a big sigh of relief was breathed by the
Oregon football team after its 31-13 win over Utah on
Saturday that broke a string of three consecutive de
feats.
But with the return to Pacific-10 Conference play
that begins this weekend at Southern California, the
first of three straight road games, that sense of relief
could be short lived.
With a new opponent only days away, head coach
Mike Bellotti said it's time to get back to business and
start looking ahead to bigger goals.
Not that getting a victory for the first time in four
games didn’t feel good.
"We played three close, hard-fought games against
top-20 teams, had chances to win, didn't win, and cer
tainly the frustration was mounting," Bellotti admit
ted. “When you get a win, no matter who it is, no mat
ter how it is, a win is a win. It validates what you do
and gives you more than just relief, it gives you some
joy. Our players needed that, they deserved that. Now
we have to become refocused.”
That means looking at what went wrong in the game
against Utah, but also, what went right.
This past game, we probably did not play a great
football game," Bellotti said. "But we have to take the
positives, which there were many of. The yardage we
piled up in the form of Jason Maas, Blake Spence and
Saladin McCullough, that the defense didn’t allow
[Utah] to score in the second half, those are big things.
“I’m encouraged by those things. We need to under
stand that every game is important now, number one,
for us to have a winning season; number two, to get
into the bowl race; and number three, our own per
sonal pride.”
Sitting at 1-3 in the conference and 4-3 overall with
road games against Washington and Arizona State still
remaining, it may be premature to start talking about
bowl games for this Oregon team.
But get a win in Los Angeles on Saturday, and the
Ducks' postseason chances increase dramatically.
Something that despite LISC’s 3-3 record, won’t be
an easy task.
"They’ve played a pretty tough schedule with Notre
Dame and Florida State,” Bellotti said of the Trojans.
1 heir total offense is not what they’ve become accus
tomed to. They’re doing a good job in special teams,
they’re doing a great job on rush defense. They're 18th
in the nation against the run. Obviously, they’ve held
Turn to OREGON, Page 8
rroTessionai
football has its
day in court
Your honor, today’s hearing was
done in haste, but I feel I must
address the court about a situa
tion of great concern to a large
number of Oregon residents and, in partic
ular, college students.
Your honor, if I mav, I would like to
Joel
Hood
speak frankly about pari
ty and the sad state of the
National Football
League. Or more specifi
cally, your honor, my
client charges that the
NFL has deliberately
made a mockery of the
state of professional foot
ball in this country and
has made it impossible
for hard-working Orego
nians and college stu
uenis 10 supplement tneir income with
Sports Action winnings (courtroom
gasps)!
I submit: Exhibit A.
A collection of Sports Action tickets
purchased by the plaintiff that clearly
shows, your honor, that in eight weeks of
the NFL season, he has yet to win any
money from the Oregon State Lottery. The
plaintiff insists, your honor, that it has not
been a simple case of poor pregame analy
sis, but instead a covert conspiracy by the
NFL to keep bettors from profiting from
non-sanctioned football activities.
Your honor, I assert that my client is in
the right and these testimonies will clearly
show how sick the NFL conspirators real
ly are.
Your honor, I'd first like to call Free
Agency to the stand.
Mr. Agency, is it true that you have aid
ed hundreds of marquee players to switch
teams since you were made legal in 1987?
And is it not also true, Mr. Agency, that
you have made it virtually impossible for
top teams to keep all of the best players
and repeat as Super Bowl champions?
Objection, your honor! I would like to
submit the Dallas Cowboys’ record in the
1990s (courtroom is appalled)!
Objection sustained, counsel. Ask your
Turn to HOOD, Page 8
—m
CHAD PATTESON/Emerald
Alison Pepe slams home a kill for Oregon in the Ducks’loss to LJCIA on Oct. 10. Oregon begins a string of four straight home
matches Tuesday against the Portland Pilots, whom the Ducks heat earlier this season on the road.
Ducks hope to end losing streak against Pilots
A win over Portland would give
Oregon some momentum for its
game with Cal on Friday
Rob Moseley
Spols Reporter
The Portland Pilots visit McArthur Court Tuesday
for what must seem like an oasis in the midst of an in
terminable desert.
After losing to both Arizona and Arizona State last
weekend, the Oregon women’s volleyball team finds
itself in last place in the Pacific-10 Conference, 7-13
overall and 0-9 in the Pac-10.
“The team wants to win so bad that they’re getting in
their own way,” head coach Cathy Nelson said.
“They’re not able to relax and perform because they’re
pushing so hard. We need to push hard, but in a relaxed
manner to play the way we know we can. ”
Oregon’s last victory came Sept. 16 in Portland,
where the Ducks swept the Pilots in three hard-fought
games, 16-14,15-7,15-5. Oregon also holds a 17-2 ad
vantage in the series all-time, including wins in each
of the last six.
“It’s a good time for us to have a match like this,” Nel
son said. “It’s a match that we feel like we should win if
we play well. But we do need to play well this week be
cause Portland’s a dangerous team and has been play
ing well lately.”
A win would give the Ducks a chance for at least two
victories this week.
“Hopefully, we can get some momentum by getting a
win over Portland,” Nelson said. “Cal is someone we’re
going to focus on and is a team we feel we can beat.”
California (6-11 overall, 1-8 Pac-10) visits Mac Court
Saturday night and provides an opportunity for Ore
gon to finally emerge from the Pac-10 cellar.
The match on Tuesday is Oregon’s last chance to gain
momentum heading into Friday’s home match against
1996 national champion and current No. 2 Stanford.
The Cardinal is undefeated in nine Pac-10 matches.
Nonconference losses to Montana and Santa Clara
earlier helped bring the Ducks’ current losing streak to
11 matches.
On tap
m WHO:
Oregon Ducks I
(7-13) vs.
Portland
Pilots (7-14) f
it WHERE:
McArthur
Court
■ WHEN:
7 p.m.