The Play Maker
Tony Hartley
has quietly
become Ore
gon ’s lead
ing receiver/
PAGE 2
An independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 54
INSIDE:
Oregon Feature 2B
Joel Hood's Coin mn 2B
Oregon’s Running Woes 3B
Pac-10 Stats 8B
Pac-10 Preview 9B
Pac-10 Picks n B
Pac-10 Standings 11B
Top 25 Schedule 11B
®regonW*€meratt)
m
Scoring
Offense
Oregon 2nd
Arizona St. 4th
Total
Offense
Oregon 1st
Arizona St. 5th
Rushing
Defense
Oregon 8th
Arizona St. 3rd
Total
Defense
Oregon 5th
Arizona St. 4th
Turnover
Margin
Oregon 9th
Arizona St. 5th
* Pac-10rank
Quotable
“This is what I
perceive to be
one of the
biggest games
of the year lor
us, simply
because we
have not had
success against
Arizona State for
three
consecutive
years.”
— Mike Bellotti,
UO head coach
“They’re
probably the
most physical
comers we'll
see this year,
but beatable.
Very beatable.”
— Tony Hartley,
UO receiver
Key
Player
Herman
Ho-Ching
Oregon's
freshman
tailback can
provide the
Ducks with a
much-needed
running game.
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Ducks look to exorcise demons
. Nick Medley /Emerald
Oregon wide receiver Donald Haynes scored his first career touchdown last week on a pass from former junior-college teammate Akili Smith.
Oregon will have to contain a
powerful Arizona State running
game if it hopes to reach third
place in the Pac-10 race
By Rob Moseley
Oregon Daily Emerald
The memory of last season still burns.
When the Oregon football team traveled
to Tempe to play Arizona State last season
it was 5-4, one win shy of qualifying for a
postseason bowl berth.
When the Ducks returned to Eugene they
were 5-5 after a 52-31 embarrassment in
which the Sun Devils ran for 405 yards and
five touchdowns. _
njmougn me ducks
qualified for a bowl one
week later against Ore
gon stare, tne memory
of the loss to Arizona
State still remains.
“We knew going into
this year, regardless of
where we were, that this would be the
biggest challenge of the year in terms of
stopping the run,” Oregon head coach Mike
Bellotti said, “It’s been a game they have
dominated by virtue of running the foot
ball.”
Saturday at 1 p.m. at Autzen Stadium,
Bellotti hopes it will be payback time, as the
No. 20 Ducks (7-2 overall, 4-2 Pacific-10
Conference) take on Arizona State (5-4,4-2)
in a game with far-reaching implications.
At stake is third place in the Pac-10 and
the corresponding bowl qualification, as
well as a chance for Oregon’s players to end
their three-game losing streak against the
Sun Devils.
"I hope they’re taking it as a challenge,”
Bellotti said. "I would if I were them. We’re
not very pleased with our performance, but
the nice thing is we have control of it.”
Paramount to the Ducks’ success will be
stopping an Arizona State rushing attack
that is led by J.R. Redmond, who has played
in just eight games this season but is second
in the Pac-10 with 92.8 yards rushing per
game.
Although Redmond is only probable with
a sprained right ankle, the Sun Devils also
have Gerald Green, who ranks seventh in
the conference with 56.7 yards per game.
onttN
FOOTBALL
Turn to DUCKS, Page5B
Arizona State goes for fourth straight against Oregon
ibe availability oj J.R. Redmond
and Ryan Kealy will help
determine the explosiveness of
the Sun Devils’ offense Saturday
By Tim Pyle
Oregon Daily Emerald
At this point in the season Arizona State
was not supposed to be worrying about
merely earning a bowl bid.
According to preseason predictions, the
Sun Devils would be battling for the Pacific
10 Conference title — if not the national
championship—come their mid-November
| trek to Eugene.
But those hopes were shattered early and
often as Arizona State stumbled out of the
^ gate with four losses in its first six games.
The Sun Devils are still searching for their
I bowl-requisite sixth win as they prepare to
Bt» face No. 20 Oregon at Autzen Stadium on
Saturday.
"This has just been one of those seasons
where everything that could go wrong has
gone wrong,” Arizona State cornerback
Courtney Jackson said. “But it’s a long sea
son, and we
know we still
have work to
do. None of
these players
were born
with a silver spoon in their mouth.”
The Sun Devils have rediscovered their
winning groove of late by defeating three
straight conference opponents and are tied
with the Ducks for fourth place in the Pac
10at4-2.
Last Saturday’s 55-22 home thrashing of
California seemed to serve notice that the
Arizona State everybody expected before the
season may have finally arrived. The Sun
Devils posted their highest point total of the
season despite the absence of explosive tail
back J.R. Redmond and a knee injury to start
ing quarterback Ryan Kealy that forced him
to sit out the second half. Jackson grabbed
two of Arizona State’s five interceptions as
the Sun Devils forced six turnovers.
“Obviously, [Arizona State] does have the
potential to be what a lot of people thought
they could be before the season,” Oregon
head coach Mike Bellotti said. “And they’re
finding ways to get it done and peaking at the
right time.”
During Bellotti’s three-year tenure as
Ducks head coach, he has yet to beat Arizona
State. In Oregon’s 1995 Cotton Bowl season,
the Sun Devils won at Autzen Stadium, 35
24. The last two seasons Arizona State has
rolled over the Ducks in Tempe — 48-27 in
1996 and 52-31 last season.
In last season’s encounter, Sun Devil tail
Turn toASU, Page 4B
On tap
WHO: No. 20 Ore
gon (7-2,4-2) vs.
Arizona State (5-4,
4-2)
WHERE: Autzen
Stadium
WHEN: 1 p.m.
TV: Delayed, Mon
day at 7:30 p.m.,
FoxSports North
west (TCI, 23)
RADIO: KUGN 590
AM