The Nation’s Finest
Josh Bidwe'll (left)
and Nathan Vil
legas are the best
kicking tan
dem in
the na
tion. /
PAGE 2
An independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 19
INSIDE:
Column 2
Pac-10 Preview
**
10
Oregon Injury Update 12
Stanford Feature 13
The Box
Scoring
Offense
Oregon 1st
Stanford 9th
Total
Offense
Oregon 1st
Stanford 4th
Rushing
Defense
Oregon 9th
Stanford 7th
Total
Defense
Oregon 7th
Stanford 10th
Turnover
Margin
Oregon 2nd
Stanford 5th
* Pac-10 rank
Quotable
“I don't think
anyone has
found a way to
defend Oregon.
They can score
in a lot of
different ways.”
— Tyrone
Willingham,
Stanford head
coach
“You have to be
very aware of
Troy Walters.
He's a guy that
can turn an
average catch
Into a long gain,
and he can also
beat you deep.”
— Mike Beiiotti,
Oregon
head coach
Key
Player
Reuben
Droughns
After sitting out
most of the last
two games with
an ankle injury,
the Oregon
tailback is
expected to play
Saturday.
Ducks attempt first 4-0 start since ’88
No. 20 Oregon faces Stanford
in the Ducks’ Pacific-10
Conference opener for the third
time in the last four seasons
By Rob Moseley
Oregon Daily Emerald
In each of his four seasons as head coach,
Mike Bellotti has led Oregon to victories in
its first three games, all nonconference af
fairs.
As encouraging as that record is, the fact
that Bellotti’s Ducks have dropped their Pa
cific-10 Conference opener in each of the
past three seasons is just as discouraging.
Saturday in Autzen Stadium at 1 p.m., the
No. 20 Ducks (3-0 overall, 0-0 Pac-10) get a
chance to end that record of futility against
an all-too-familiar opponent.
The Stanford Cardinal (1-2,0-1) has beat
en the Ducks in two of those three confer
ence openers during Bellotti’s tenure and is
one of three Pac-10 teams the Ducks have
never beaten under Bellotti.
Last season, the Ducks lost 58-49 in Palo
Alto, Calif. Including that game, Oregon
won just two of its next seven contests, one
a nonconference victory over Utah. Two
fumbles and an interception thrown by Ja
son Maas prevented the Ducks from win
ning the most prolific scoring battle in con
ference history.
“I see it as a classic matchup,” Bellotti
said. "Turnovers have been the most im
portant factor in our games the last couple
of years. Last year vve turned the ball over
three times, and that was the difference in
the ball game.”
1998 has been a different story for Ore
gon, as the Ducks have gone from being
ranked ninth in the Pac-10 in turnover mar
gin last season to tied for second — and
19th in the nation — with a plus-four mar
gin after three games.
What hasn’t changed since last season is
the two teams’ abilities to score. Stanford
put up 37 points against a usually stingy
North Carolina defense last week, and Ore
gon leads the conference in scoring with
139 points this season.
“I don’t think anyone has found a way to
defend Oregon,” Stanford coach Tyrone
MICHAEL CRISP/Emerald
Akili Smith follows center Deke Moen for a short gain in the Ducks 58-3 win against San Jose State.
Willingham said. “They can score in lot of
ways.”
While Willingham focused on the Duck
offense, Bellotti seemed more concerned
with the Oregon defense.
“The most important thing a defense can
do is stop the run, and we need to do that,”
Bellotti said. “We’re better than we were
last year, but we need to get better still.
We’re playing better pass defense, but all of
that comes from putting people in situa
tions where they have to pass. We need to
be prepared to try to make them one-di
mensional and then defend that dimension,
and we’d like to make that dimension the
pass.”
Turn to FOOTBALL, Page 11
MICHAEL CRISP/Emerald
Dietrich Moore corrals Spartan tailback Roger Ratliff.
Cardinal hopes to continue its domination of Oregon
Stanford enters
the game with
six wins in its
last seven
meetings with
Oregon,
including
three straight
victories at
Autzen
Stadium
By Tim Pyle
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Las Vegas betting line for Saturday’s
1 p.m. Pacific-10 Conference game be
tween Oregon and Stanford at Autzen Sta
dium is a startling 18 points in favor of the
Ducks.
Perhaps the professional bookies have
been too busy shooting craps to consider
the history of the Oregon-Stanford series.
The Cardinal has defeated the Ducks in
six of the last seven meetings, including
three straight wins in Eugene. In fact, Stan
ford has won two-thirds of its 63 all-time
games with Oregon, dating back to a 34-0
shutout of the Ducks in 1900.
Recent meetings between these two
teams have been close, exciting and usual
ly Cardinal victories.
Last season, the teams combined for
1,108 yards in total offense as Stanford
blazed to a 59-48 win in Palo Alto, Calif. In
1996, the Cardinal kicked an overtime
field goal in Palo Alto to squeak past the
Ducks 27-24.
Even in 1995, when Oregon went to the
Cotton Bowl, Stanford humbled the Ducks
28-21 in Eugene. The last time Oregon de
feated the Cardinal was in the 1994 Rose
Bowl season, when the Ducks blew out
Stanford 55-21.
Head coach Tyrone Will
ingham is 3-0 against Oregon,
but he says he doesn't know
why.
“[I can’t explain it] at all,”
Willingham said. “We’ve just
been very fortunate to win
some close ball games.”
So history is on the Cardi
nal’s side. However, recent records are not.
After starting last season 4-1, the Cardi
nal has lost seven of its last nine games.
This season, Stanford began by losing
home games to San Jose State, 35-23, and
Arizona, 31-14.
Last week, the Cardinal rebounded with
a scintillating 37-34 defeat of North Caroli
na, which was ranked in the top 10 this
preseason. Kevin Miller provided the win
ning margin with a last-second field goal.
Stanford’s early-season inconsistency
has Willingham puzzled.
“I don’t really know where we are; we’re
still growing,” Willingham said. “But 1 do
believe that we have improved from week
1. Last week against North Carolina, we
feel like we made some gradual improve
ment and made some plays much better.
But we felt fortunate to win against a good
football team.”
Quarterback Todd Husak, who became
the starter when Chad Hutchinson decid
ed to play professional baseball full-time
in the off-season, is coming off the best
game of his career. He completed 23 of 38
passes for 313 yards and a touchdown
against the highly regarded Tar Heel de
fense, which includes preseason All
American Dre Bly in its secondary.
That performance came with star wide
receiver Troy Walters sidelined by an an
kle injury. In Walters’ absence, wide re
ceivers DeRonnie Pitts, Dave Davis and Jeff
Turn to STANFORD, Page 5