BMac talks smack page sb
Oregon Ducks vs.
Washington Huskies
7:15 p.m. at Husky Stadium
INSIDE:
Total
Defense
Oregon 5th :
Wash. 7th
Turnover
Margin
Oregon 2nd
Wash. 6th
* Pac-10 rank
Quotable
"Piaying against
Washington and
going to Soattio
la a trig, man.**
— Brandon
McLemora,
UO free safety
Wit
ftfliarkattia
yoang guy... You
wish you had a
, daughter you
1 couSd introduce
Wm to.*
— Rtck Nmthtlstt ,
UW head coach,
on quarterback
Marques
Twasosopo ]
With the running
game hurting,
Feeleywillbe
depended upon to
keep the offense
moving through
the air, Tony
Hartley, who had
242 receiving
yards against the
Huskies last
season, should be
feeley'spnme
target.
Regional dominance within UO’s grasp
■ Oregon wants to further prove
itself the dominant program in
the Northwest with its fifth win in
six seasons against Washington
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
There couldn’t be a better way for
Oregon to follow its triple-overtime vic
tory than by making the trek to Seattle
for a meeting with regional-nemesis
Washington.
For the past week, every aspect of the
Duck-Husky, Mike Bellotti-Rick
Neuheisel rivalry has received the over
whelming media attention that has
come to be expected.
And, for the most part, players and
coaches alike have tried to downplay
the rivalry topic — because they are, as
they say, merely taking it one game at a
time. It’s just that Oregon vs. Washing
ton happens to be next.
But it’s hard to believe such claims.
After all, this is No. 25 Oregon (3-1 over
all, 1-0 Pacific-10 Conference) against
Washington (1-2,0-0), and that in itself
gets the Northwest fired up.
“Playing against Washington and go
ing to Seattle is a trip, man,” Oregon free
safety Brandon McLemore said. “It’s
gonna be a tough game, but we just gotta
focus on what we have to do. We have
all the hype with the coaches and hav
ing some of our players dinged up, but
we just have to keep our eyes focused. ”
The focus lands squarely on both
team’s quarterbacks, A.J. Feeley and
Marques Tuiasospo. Thery’re the two
talented playmakers who have spent
years waiting in the wings, watching
and learning, while their former team
mates — and current NFL employees
Akili Smith and Brock Huard —
worked their magic on the field.
Feeley and Tuiasosopo both had
their respective shoes to fill. Both had
expectations to deal with. And so far,
they’ve both performed admirably, al
though Feeley has the upper hand. It’s
his team that is riding a three-game win
ning streak.
Tuaisosopo’s Dawgs won their first
game last weekend — especially no
table because it was the 600th in school
history, and the first for Neuheisel as
Turn to Oregon, Page 10B
Oregon linebacker Matt Smith has been instrumental in helping the Duck defense become No. 2 in the Pac-10 against the nin.
Oregon ready to humble Huskies
It’s really on now.
With Rick Neuheisel’s arrival at Washington, a
rivalry that was already among the nation’s
hottest has reached epic proportions.
Now, it’s not only state vs. state and Ducks vs.
Huskies, but it’s also Neuheisel vs. Mike Bellotti.
And no matter what the two head coaches might
say about how they get along and how much they re
sped each other, we all know each desperately wants to
defeat the other come Saturday night at Husky Stadium.
You can bet that Neuheisel's 2-0 career record
against Bellotti’s Ducks was a big part of why athletic
director Barbara Hedges and the Husky athletic de
partment pursued him so doggedly in the offseason,
ultimately luring Neuheisel away from Colorado by
telling him “name your price."
The Washington faithful now expect Neuheisel to
earn his money by leading the Huskies (1-2 overall, 0
0 Pacific-10 Conference) to just their second win over
Oregon (3-1,1-0) in the last six seasons.
Bellotti is equally adamant in his desire to continue
his success against Washington and finally defeat his
nemesis, Neuheisel. With a victory, Bellotti would
Turn to Tim Pyle, Page 3B
New Husky
head coach
Rick
Neuheisel
tries to
improve to
3-0 lifetime
against Mike
Bellotti’s
Ducks
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
It may have been Washington’s 600th ca
reer victory, but last week’s 31-24 win over
Colorado was Rick Neuheisel’s first at the
helm of the Huskies (1-2 overall).
With the win, that huge monkey that was
firmly planted on Neuheisel’s back has
been lifted.
But that does not mean that the new boss
is satisfied as he gets ready to lead his
troops into their Pacific-10 Conference
opener against Oregon, 7:15 p.m. Saturday
night at Husky Stadium in his first involve
ment with one of the Northwest’s most-sto
ried rivalries.
“We’re feeling good about ourselves with
the results of last weekend, but we’re quick
to point out that we are far from a finished
product,” Neuheisel said. “There are some
personnel issues that have to be confronted
so we can get guys playing the way they
should be so we can beat a team we all
want to beat.”
Although Neuheisel missed the first 92
meetings between the two schools, he is
well aware of the intensity and emotion
that accompanies this game, as well as the
fact that Oregon has won four out of the
last five contests.
“After having gone around the state on
the state tour in May and June, it’s very ap
parent that this is a passionate game,”
Neuheisel said. “It’s one of those games
where two schools are very proud of their
programs and states. They look forward to
this game on a yearly basis, and it will ring
true again this Saturday night.”
If recent history holds form, then it
should be as close as three of the last four
games, which have been decided by less
than a touchdown. A season ago, Akili
Smith passed for 442 yards to lead the
Ducks over Brock Huard and the Huskies,
27-22.
Washington junior quarterback Marques
Tuiasosopo looks to build off last week’s
come-from-behind performance. He guided
the Huskies to a pair of touchdowns in the
fourth quarter, completing six-of-seven
passes for 112 yards.
Tuiasosopo is a multi-talented quarter
back, effective both on the ground or in the
air. He tops the Huskies in total offense
with an average of 251 yards per game,
Turn to Washington, Page 3B