Oregon 31, Washington 28
£( I just want
to give [Pat
Johnson] a fat
kiss on the
mouth. ^
Saladin McCullough
UO tailback
Typically not a
big fan of
excessive
celebration,
Saladin
McCullough
jumps for joy
following
Oregon’s
stunning 31-28
upset over
Washington.
MARK McTYRE for the Emerald
Players, fans seize the moment
A wild celebration in the West end of Husky Stadium followed the
Ducks’ come-from-hehind victory
By Alex Pond
Sports Reporter
SEATTLE — More than 15 min
utes had elapsed since Washing
ton quarterback Marques Tuia
sosopo was stuffed on fourth
down, clinching the Ducks’ 31-28
upset of the No. 6 Huskies.
Yet nearly all of the Oregon
players remained on the track that
surrounds the field in Husky Sta
dium, celebrating wildly just be
yond the West end zone, the same
end zone in which Pat Johnson
forever etched his name into the
memory banks of Duck fans with
his spectacular game-winning
touchdown catch on third and 20.
Players danced to the tune of
the Oregon Marching Band and
screamed in ecstasy along with
the large contingent of Oregon
fans who made the 300-mile trek
north from Eueene.
Nike magnate and Oregon alum
Phil Knight swaggered around in
glee, excitedly hugging and high-liv
ing several equally as excited Ducks.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti
hugged several of his joyful play
ers, including an extra-long em
brace with tailback Saladin McCul
lough, who little by little pounded
his way through the Huskies de
fense for 115 yards and a touch
down. Bellotti was engulfed by an
ear-to-ear grin that brought with it a
look of relief and satisfaction.
Nobody, neither the team nor the
fans, seemed to want to leave the
field, almost as if they were waiting
for time to freeze so they could en
joy the moment for eternity.
By the looks of the celebration,
it seemed as if the Ducks had just
completed their schedule with an
undefeated record and had earned
a trip to the Rose Bowl with a na
tional championship on the line.
The truth is, of course, that Ore
gon just pulled one game over .500
on the season and still resides in the
bottom half of the Pacific-10 Con
ference standings with a 2-4 record.
But at least for one afternoon,
the Oregon coaches and players
put that behind them. In all four of
the Ducks’ losses this season, the
games could have easily gone in
the win column if they would
have or could have made a crucial
play here or got a break there.
Just as easily as the game against
Southern California could have
been a win had Joshua Smith’s
field-goal attempt not fallen about
a yard short, the game Saturday
could have been a loss.
But on this day, the Ducks made
the key play down the stretch
when they had to, namely John
son’s touchdown and the ensuing
defensive stop.
The frustration of a what-if sea
son had been lifted, and the play
ers were enjoying the moment.
“This is the best day of my life
— period,” linebacker Peter Sir
mon said.
miarterDacK axiii i>mnn, wno
played his first full game as a Duck
and led the good-enough-to-get
the-job-done game-winning drive,
said it was the type of game he
imagined playing in when he
signed with the Ducks.
“This is Pac-10 football at its
finest right here,” he said. "I was
looking at the schedule, and I
knew that we had three tough ones
late, which was USC, Washington
and Arizona State, and we went
out there and beat them today.”
And proved that they could in
deed beat an elite team rather than
just stay competitive with one.
“I don’t know why people are
really overlooking us,” Smith said.
“ We’ve been in all the games this
year—against UCLA, Washington
State, Stanford—we’ve been in all
the games. I don’t understand why
the nation and people in the Pac
10 are overlooking us, but we
made a good little statement today
that we are a good football team. ”
That seemed to be the theme in
the Ducks’ locker room following
the game—that they had something
to prove, and prove it they did.
“We came in and proved that
our team is something,” McCul
lough said. “We proved to them
that we are a winning program,
and we knocked them off.”
Tight end Blake Spence, who
contributed on the winning drive
with a key 23-yard first-down re
ception, agreed.
“I’ll remember this one forever,”
he said. “I think we proved how we
can play. We still faded off in the
second half, but we came up with
the plays when we needed to. Beg
gars can’t be choosers. We won the
game, and that’s all we needed.”
That’s what they got, thanks to
Johnson’s big play, which McCul
lough, for one, was especially ec
static about.
“I just want to give him a fat kiss
on the mouth," he said. “I’m so
happy for him and just for the
whole team in getting the victory.
That’s going to go down in history
right there.”
Usually mild-mannered and
one to keep his emotions in check,
McCullough was whooping it up
with the best of them during the
postgame celebration.
“I really don’t celebrate like
that, but it felt so good I had to,” he
said. "I had to tell them ‘y’all take
that to the Rose Bowl,’ but I think
they’re not even going to go there
now. We messed that all up, so I’m
happy. I’m real happy.
“I want to go home, and I want
to watch ESPN and see us on TV
defeating Washington.”
At least for a night, the Ducks
were going to enjoy this one.
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