Buddy Boy’
Talkative senior
Caleb Smith leads
the defensive line.
PAGE 7B
Arizona State vs.Oregon Ducks
3:30 p.m.
Saturday
at Autzen Stadium
Ducks happy
back at home
■ Just off a three-game road stretch, Oregon plays
three of its final four games at Autzen Stadium
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
Arizona State might not know quite what it’s getting into.
Certainly the Sun Devils (4-3 overall, 3-1 Pacific-10 Confer
ence) expect that Autzen Stadium will be raucous Saturday af
ternoon. They know it’s going to be loud. And they’re figuring
that it will probably be wet as well.
What they don’t realize is how intense it’s all going to be.
“[We’re] glad to be back home,” said flanker Tony Hartley,
one of 26 Oregon seniors determined to make their last few
home appearances particularly good. “Talking with players
across the Pac-10, they say that Autzen Stadium is the worst
place to play.
“They don’t know what the weather’s going to be like, so I’m
sure that’s on [Arizona State’s] mind. And they gotta play
against us. In Autzen. [We’re] coming off a big win. All our fans
are behind us. If they can beat us up here, then I’ll tip my hat to
them.
“But I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Saturday, the Oregon football team (4-3,2-2) returns from an
extended, grueling road trip to play its first home game in 36
days, and its first day game since Sept. 18.
There were the painful back-to-back losses at Washington
and UCLA that started the trip. There was an all-important bye
week that the Ducks used to rest bumps and bruises, strains and
sprains. And then, last Saturday, there was the thrilling 44-41
shootout victory at Arizona.
So Oregon returns home, still a Rose Bowl contender, as long
as it wins its remaining four games — and as long as Stanford,
Washington and Arizona State all get tripped up sometime be
fore the end of the season.
But the Ducks are ignoring any hoopla involving the wacky
Pac-10 standings.
“The only thing we can focus on is controlling our own des
tiny , head coach Mike Bellotti said. “We need to focus on win
ning one game at a time to put ourselves in a good position. ”
The Sun Devils are merely the first of the four remaining steps
in the Ducks’ game-by-game approach to the rest of the season.
Turn to Oregon, Page 15B
Placekicker Josh Frankel has stepped up in place of the injured Nathan Villegas to become Oregon’s unlikeliest hero.
Scott Barnett Emerald
J.R. Redmond, one of the nation’s top running backs, poses a major threat.
Emerald
Wounded Devils still battling
■ Arizona btate needs to overcome several key
defensive injuries to fulfill its quest to win
the Pac-10 and reach the Rose Bowl
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
On the outside, things appear to be rather sunny for
Arizona State as it travels to rainy Eugene this week
end.
Last week’s come-from-behind 33-21 win over Wash
ington State gave head coach Bruce Snyder his 50th ca
reer Pacific-10 Conference win, making him only the
12th coach in the 84-year history of the conference to
accomplish that feat. The Sun Devils (4-3 overall, 3-1
Pac-10) are one of only two teams in the conference that
control their own destiny in the hunt for the Rose Bowl.
But the win against the Cougars came at a price, as
Arizona State’s already thin defense was further de
pleted by injuries. Most notable was the loss of senior
defensive tackle Junior Ioane, whose college career
ended last Saturday when he suffered a third-degree
tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Snyder, a former Duck linebacker and fullback from
1960-62, realizes how crucial defense is to his team’s
chances of a Rosy postseason.
“What has dampened my enthusiasm is the fact that
this last game was really a costly game defensively,”
Snyder said.
The Sun Devils’ defense must come together in a
hurry as the team closes out the season facing offensive
minded Oregon, Southern California, Stanford and Ari
zona.
“As you look at the four teams we
have to play — two on the road, two
at home — all four are high-powered
offenses,” Snyder said. “Right now,
we’re suffering personnel- wise. The timing and the co
incidence of that is not good for us.
“But we’ve got a chance, and we’ll have to win it on
defense and slow down those other offenses.”
A big concern lies in the safety position where fresh
men Alfred Williams and Brandon Falkner are
nowhere near 100 percent. Williams is listed as proba
ble with stingers. Falkner is questionable with a left an
kle sprain.
“If one of them were to play, I think it would be Alfred
over Brandon,” Snyder said. “Brandon has a damaged
ankle, and it’s so hard to come back from that. Alfred is
the kind of injury that on any single play we could lose
Turn to Devils, Page 14B
Sizzling Stats
Scoring Scoring
Offense Defense
Oregon 37.9 Oregon 29.1
Arizona $t 23.9 Arizona St 25.0
i Quotable
: "J.R. Redmond is a great run
; Ring back. He’s as talented a
| football player as there is in the
i United States because he doesa
■ lot of different things."
; —MikeBeliotti,
: Oregon head coach
"We're ready to be home. We
play really welt here. We feet re
ally good when we're playing
here. And to have the next three
offour at home, you can't ask
for more than that.”
Key Player
A.J. Feeley
After consecutive off
games on the road,
Feeley should rebound
back in the friendly
confir tzen.