Las Vegas Bowl Special The Oregon Ducks never left a doubt in their 41-13 thrashing ofthen-No. 23 Air Force in the Las Vegas Bowl By Chris Hansen ] Assistant Spoils Editor LAS VEGAS — Christmas came five I days early for the Oregon football pro- 1 gram this past year in the form of a deci- 1 sive Las Vegas Bowl victory over then-No. 23 Air Force. i It was Oregon’s first postseason win in five tries dating back to the 1990 Freedom i _ Bowl. : ^ I was thinking I wish there was a hole, could jump into. Fisher DeBerry Air Force head coach on what he was thinking after Oregon scored on its first two plays from scrimmage uregon set me tone with touch- i r downs on its first two plays from scrimmage — a 69- i yard bomb from Ak ili Smith to Pat John- i son and a 76-yard ; run by Saladin Me- i Cullough — to lead 13-0 only two min- i utes into the game I ana rolled to a 41-13 thumping ot the r al cons (10-3). By halftime, the Ducks (7-5) had bro ken the game wide open with a 26-0 lead and in the process, broke scores of records as well. Individually, McCullough, who rushed for 150 yards, became Oregon’s all-time, single-season rushing leader with 1,343 yards. He also broke the school’s single season all-purpose yards record, accumu ating 1,944 yards this season. Johnson’s game total of five receptions or 169 yards put him over 1,000 yards for he season and marked only the second ime in school history Oregon has had a : ,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver n the same season. Oregon’s five touchdowns pushed the :eason total to 50, one more than last sea ion’s record-breaking total of 49. And while it might not be an official ecord, Oregon set another mark that vould seem to be hard to top. The Ducks’ 11 points came on five scoring drives and me blocked punt that took a total of 3:20. All this against a Falcon defense ranked linth in the country that allowed an aver ige of 12.5 points per game in the regular ;eason. Not to be overshadowed by the domi lance of Oregon’s offense was the spec acular play of the defense. It limited the \ir Force running game, which was aver iging 232.6 yards, to 152 yards. It also imited Falcon quarterback Blaine Mor ;an, who played the game with a bruised ight thigh, to 59 passing yards. Of equal importance, the win allowed Dregon to retain its claim on its fourth :onsecutive winning season and to stay ied with Washington as the winningest ’acific-10 Conference team in the last our years. “ For aU of us> f°r me> f°r Oregon, for my football team, for our administration, for our fans, winning is the best thing that could have happened. This got us back, in my mind, not in the limelight, but I think we made a statement about the kind of football program we are. ^ Mike Bellotti UO head coach McCullough gave the Ducks their second touchdown in as many possessions when he went76 yards on his first carry of the game. With his 151 yards rushing in the Las Vegas Bowl, McCullough became Oregon’s all-time single-season rushing leader with 1,343. 1 Head coach Mike Bellotti hoists the Las Vegas Bowl trophy during the team's postgame celebration on the field of Sam Boyd Stadium. Johnson shreds Air Force; sheds track star image Split end Pat Johnson ends his Oregon career ivitb five receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the Ducks' win By Chris Hansen Assistant Spoils Editor LAS VEGAS—Years from now fans won’t remember that Duck split end Pat Johnson struggled to shed his imaoo of tAtnrlrl.rlaeo cnrinfor nrnntlrui Johnson made a great over-the-shonlder catch, shook defender Nishawn Smagh off his back and ran into the end zone. “My friend gave me a Superman shirt [to wear under my jersey], ” Johnson said after the Las Vegas Bow] win. “So I wanted to be Superman. "This was a great opportunity, in front of the national media, for me to come out because I’ve always felt 1 was one of the best receivers in the nation. ” instead to be recognized as a quality, go to receiver on the Oregon football team. Instead, Johnson will be most remem bered for the incredible four-game span that ended his senior season. It started with his diving, game-win ning touchdown catch to beat Washing ton in Seattle on Nov. 8. Two weeks later in the Civil War game against Oregon State at Autzen Stadi um, Johnson caught six passes for 199 yards, including touchdown grabs of 36, 45 and 90 yards. He also returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown. And on Dec. 20, in the Las Vegas Bowl (( My friend gave me a Superman shirt [to wear under my jersey]. So I wanted to be Superman. Pat Johnson UO split end It s been getting others to notice that has been the hard part. At 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, John son could be considered too small for the professional ranks and thus over looked in this spring’s NFL draft. “If I can’t prove that 1 am one of the best receivers in the nation by my ac tions, then I don’t even want to worry about it,” Johnson said. "I just wanted to come out and show what I could do.” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said: “He’s always had the speed, al ways had the moves, always had the mental toughness, now he has a great agcuiiai .nil i uilc, juillisuil IldU live UdlUIltiij IUI 109 yarUS with two touchdowns to earn the game’s most valuable player award in the 41-13 win. Johnson's first touchdown came on Oregon’s first play from scrimmage, a 69-yard pass from Akili Smith that Johnson ran under and sped untouched down the left sideline for the score. His second touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a 78-yard bomb from Jason Maas. set or nands ana me desire and will to go get any ball. “I am tremendously excited to watch Pat play for many, many years on Sunday.” When that happens, Johnson’s record-setting days on the Oregon track team will only be an afterthought. Johnson will now be remembered first as a great foot ball player. Johnson, sitting behind his MVP trophy, talks with the media dur ing a postgame press conference. Johnson hadfive catches for 169 yards, including touchdown catches of 69 and 78yards. Oregon linebacker Terry Miller trips up Air Force quarterback Blaine Morgan during the Ducks’ Las Vegas Bowl victory. The Ducks ' defense turned in one of its best performances of the season in defensive coordinator Rich Stubler’s final game with Oregon. The Ducks limited the Falcons ’ triple-option offense to just 152 yards rushing. Defense shines in Stubler’s final game with the Oregon Ducks By Ryan Frank Sports Editor Oregon's defense had its best showing in two seasons in Rich Stubler’s farewell game LAS VEGAS — It could be said that Rich Stubler had his share of problems during his two-year stint with the Oregon Ducks. The defense never found the success it had in the years prior to the defensive coordinator’s arrival. Who knows whether Bellotti would have sent Stubler on his way or retained him for an other season, but Stubler made Bellotti’s deci sion for him, resigning on Dec. 5 to pursue a head coaching job in the Canadian Football League. But in his final game with the Ducks, Stubler’s young defense played its finest game in the last two seasons. The Ducks were phenomenal in their 41-13 Las Vegas Bowl win. They limited the Falcons to 152 yards on the ground. But for Stubler, the end had come. It didn’t matter how well the Oregon defense played; he would have no remorse for his decision to leave the college ranks. The 48-year-old Glenwood Springs, Colo., native had had enough of college football. He was ready to get back to professional ranks “be cause 1 work on football there,” he said. “1 don’t go recruiting. I traditionally go to work at 5:30 in the morning and when my work was done, I could go home," Stubler said of his work in professional football. "When my work’s done now, I make two hours of recruit ing calls, I go do [interviews] then I get home at midnight. 1 don’t see my wife much. “We’re a big part of each other’s life, and I've missed that part of my life. I love football to death, and that is what I do for a living, but that’s not my life. There are other things in my life that I love. "I love going to the ocean. I love being able, after the season’s over, to go put my feet up for a few days and rejuvenate and not get on a plane and fly to Chicago and tell some kid how great he is when I know he’s not as good as what we’re playing with. ” 41 Oregon Air Force 1 13 0 2 13 0 3 8 13 Team Totals First Downs Rushing Att. Rushing Yards Passes Att. Passes Comp. Passing Yards Total Yards Penalties Possession time Third-down con. Fourth-down con Kickoff returns Punt returns Interceptions Fumble Returns Punts Avg. per punt Rushing Oregon Att McCullough 17 Oregon 22 43 266 30 16 317 583 19-166 23:22 7-15 1-1 3-54 5- 58 1-0 1-2 6- 232 38.7 Maas Latimer Cooper Air Force Singleton Ruff Brown Farmer Passing 5 5 6 Att 13 7 1 1 4 Final 7 41 0 13 Air Force 11 41 152 21 6 59 211 7-57 29:42 3-15 1-2 7-114 3-27 1-7 1-45 10-366 36.6 Yds Long Avg 150 76 8.8 40 28 8.0 30 16 6.0 27 11 4.5 Yds Long Avg 66 51 5.1 27 11 3.9 16 16 16.0 13 13 13.0 Oregon Maas Smith Feeley Johnson Air Force Morgan Bonds Att-Comp-Int 15-9-0 10-4-1 4-3-0 1-0-0 Att-Comp-Int 19-6-1 2-0-0 Yds 188 87 42 0 Long 78 69 22 0 TO 3 1 0 0 Yds Long TO 59 15 0 0 0 0 Receiving Oregon Johnson Hartley Spence Collins Oregon Newman Ruff Rillos Farmer No. Yds Long TO 5 169 78 2 3 35 2 59 2 5 21 2 34 0 5 0 No. Yds Long TD 29 10 13 7 15 0 8 0 13 0 7 0 Notes ■ THE END OF AN ERA: Defensive line coach Joe Schaffeld coached his final game for Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl. The 62-year-old coach had been with the Ducks for 24 seasons, longer than any coach in school history. “They kept telling me they were going to win it for me,” Schaffeld said after the win in Las Vegas. “They're really good kids, and I’m going to miss the hell out of them.” ■ BIG WIN CATCHES VOTERS' ATTEN TION: In the final college football polls re leased this weekend, Oregon was 27th in the Associated Press poll (14 votes shy of the 25th spot) and 30th in the USA To day/ESPN poll (49 votes shy of the 25th spot. m TOUCHDOWN HAPPY: The Ducks' three touchdown plays of 69-plus yards were the three longest touchdown plays ever against Air Force in a bowl game. Photos by: Chad Patteson