MICHAEL CRISP/Emerald
Oregon sophomore defensive lineman Jason Nikalao celebrates the
Ducks' 58-3 domination of San Jose State last week at Autzen.
Football: Droughns’ return
should help UO offense
a Continued from Page 1
The Cardinal passing attack has
been decimated in 1998 because
its two most productive players
from last season have missed all
or most of this season. Quarter
back Chad Hutchinson has been
replaced by junior Todd Husak af
ter leaving Stanford to pursue a
professional baseball career, and
1997 Pac-10 receptions and punt
return leader Troy Walters missed
the North Carolina game after
spraining an ankle early in the
Cardinal’s second game.
Stanford adjusted against the
Tar Heels by handing the ball off
a season-high 42 times, something
Bellotti says the Ducks need to be
prepared to face.
“For us to be successful in the
Pac-10, we need to run the foot
ball, and we need to defend the
run,” Bellotti said. “We’re always
going to be a balanced team in
terms of featuring the pass and all
the things that come off of it, but
the most important factor in our
success to this point has been our
ability to run the football.”
Returning for Oregon this week
is tailback Reuben Droughns, who
rushed for 202 yards in the opener
against Michigan State, then left
the UTEP game with a bruised
foot. Droughns sat out last week’s
58-3 Oregon win over -San Jose
State but is apparently ready to
face Stanford.
“I saw him this morning, and
he said he feels good, feels better
and better every day,” Bellotti
said during his Wednesday news
conference. "1 think that by game
time he will be above 90 percent,
maybe even 100 percent.”
One player who won’t be run
ning the ball for Oregon on Satur
day is Herman Ho-Ching. The
freshman strained a knee liga
ment in the win last week and is
out indefinitely after helping the
Ducks to a nearly 225-yard-per
game rushing average in their first
three games.
Ho-Ching and Droughns have
thus far done all they can to help
erase the memory of 1997 Pac-10
rushing champion Saladin Mc
Cullough.
“I’m just amazed at what they
can do,” Willingham said. “You
feel like when you lose a guy of
[McCullough’s] caliber, you get
a reprieve the next year. But
with those two guys, there’s no
reprieve. They are very, very
impressive running backs. To
me, that’s what’s really been
the surprising component of
their offense. They’ve always
had the ability to throw the ball
and have the best quarterback
in the conference right now,
and when the running backs
step up and play the way
they’ve played, it makes them
very difficult to deal with, al
most impossible.”
Indeed, Oregon’s Akili Smith is
the best quarterback in the confer
ence and seventh in the nation.
Smith’s 188.40 rating is more than
25 points better than UCLA’s
Heisman Trophy candidate, Cade
McNown.
JEH3UH-I:
COMING SOON T
PREREQUISITE: ADRENALINE
Drive. Intensity. Those aren't words you’re likely to see in many
course requirements. Then again, Army ROTC is unlike any other
elective. It's hands-on excitement.
Army ROTC will challenge you mentally and physically through
intense leadership training. Training that builds self-confidence,
character and decision-making skills. Again, words other courses
seldom use. But they're the credits you need to succeed in life.
ROTC is open to freshmen and sophomores without obligation
and requires about five hours per week. Register this term for an
Army ROTC elective.
Find out more. Call CPT Rich Lewis. University of Oregon ROTC
346-3102.
IgXCFl I FWtfJ
ARMY ROTC
THE SMARTEST COLLEGE COURSE YOU CAN TAKE
—
Recycle • Recycle • Recyc