Bellotti’s starters always changing ■ Oregon football continues the season-long shuffling of its starting lineup for a variety of reasons By Mirjam Swanson Oregon Daily Emerald Pity the opposing coaches who have to prepare for the ever-eclec tic Oregon football team. Factors ranging from injuries to opponent’s strengths and weak nesses and even individual Duck performances have given head coach Mike Bellotti reason to con tinually shake up his starting line up. Bellotti sent seven starters onto the field Saturday against Wash ington State who had not started in the Ducks’ previous outing. “We’ve been making changes,” Bellotti said. “Sometimes they’re subtle changes. There might be three guys on the offensive line starting at different positions than the week before. “ [We’re] continuing to work very hard to get better, and we’ve been able to look at who’s performed on the field, and that actually makes us win and makes us better. ” Of course, one of the seven new starters last weekend was quarter back Joey Harrington, who took over for former starter A.J. Feeley. Harrington’s performance —15 of 24 for 239 yards passing and three touchdowns to go with one rushing score—earned the sopho more his second start this week end against the Pacific-10 Confer ence’s best defense. “Yes, we do [have a new starter],” Bellotti said earlier this week. “Joey Harrington handled himself very well. He operated the offense very well. At this point in time, he’s the starter.” So after having began the season so tremendously — ranking among the nation’s top-20 in both passing efficiency and total of fense after five games — Feeley fell into a rut against UCLA on Oct. 9 and is the backup, for now. “I think that A.J. was not healthy,” Bellotti said. “It was a cumulative toll of playing five or six games and getting hit and that type of thing. He has some rib and muscle injuries that aren’t out wardly visible, but they do affect the way you throw the ball. I feel bad myself that I put him in that situation.” Like Harrington, Justin Peelle also enjoyed a productive first start against the Cougars, catching two passes for 12 yards. Unlike Harrington, Peelle ad mitted that he was plenty nervous before the game. “I was nervous and tense throughout the whole week,” Peelle said. “I didn’t sleep that much. But once I got playing, the nerves got out of me.” The lineup is due for even more reconfiguration Saturday, with the return of two offensive lineman from the injured list. Sophomore tackle A1 Cotton and redshirt freshman Corey Chambers are expected to play af ter missing several weeks of action. Reunited This weekend’s trip to Berkeley, Calif., is the Ducks’ first since 1995. And it’s a trek that Bellotti — a HH ill! Scott Barnett Emerald Tight end Justin Peeile was admittedly nervous before his first start last Saturday. Central California native — should especially enjoy. Before coming to Oregon in 1989, Bellotti held coaching positions at three different colleges in the region. “We haven’t been back there too much,” Bellotti said. “But I still have a tremendous amount of friends and family and followers down there in the Bay Area, and so I’ll get a chance to visit with them. ” But Bellotti isn’t the only one who will be stepping into his coaching past. Oregon defensive line coach Don Pellum was the Golden Bears’ recruiting coordi nator and assistant athletics direc tor between 1990 and 1992. Concurrently, Cal running backs coach Ron Gould started nine games for the Ducks as a de fensive back in 1987 and was a graduate assistant with the Ducks in 1990 and 1991. Nickerson Continued from Page 11A would make it hard for some ath letes to gain attention, but Ducks head coach Tom Heinonen was well aware of the talent that ex isted in the small town. “I took note of her when she was a sophomore,” Heinonen said. “Anybody who’s ever seen her run knows she is a smooth runner and strong competitor. She came from a high school with not a lot competition, and she’s someone who loves to com pete.” Nickerson will be the first to tell you, however, that there is something she loves much, much more. i1 I think she'll be the next big-time runner over the next couple of years. Katie Crabb cross country runner “The hardest thing I ever had to do was leave my mom,” Nicker son said. “We’re only two and a half hours apart, but there was a time when I didn’t think I could leave her. We’re really close, and I still call her every other night. Looking back though, I realize it was best to venture out on my own.” Her first fall hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Nickerson has had to deal with pesky injury problems that seem to keep her from enjoying her success. Although she did win that first - meet at Clackamas, she strained her Achilles during that race and was forced to miss her team’s vis it to Notre Dame on Oct. 1. “It was really tough to miss the first traveling trip with the team,” Nickerson said. “I spent about two weeks aqua jogging and rid ing my bike and had to work my way back into shape.” The Achilles injury and an ail ing quadriceps make Nickerson’s impressive finishes at the Pre NCAAs and Pacific-10 Champi onships all the more remarkable. “This whole season has really been frustrating,” Nickerson said. “As far as results, I’m ecstatic about that, but it’s hard when you hurt every other day. I’ve gotten to know the treatment cen ter a little too well.” With an upbeat attitude and a tremendous work ethic, big things are expected from the freshman that never really liked cross country until she started competing for Oregon. Sports Brief Women golfers claim second Led by Pam Sowden and Ang ie Rizzo, the Oregon women’s golf team finished second at the Rainbow Wahine Fall Golf Clas sic in Oahu, Hawaii. The No. 21 Ducks shot a com bined 929, which left them six strokes behind first-place No. 25 UCLA in the 14-team tournament. Sowden and Rizzo paced Ore gon by tying for fourth place in dividually at 229, four strokes behind individual winner Laura Moffat of the Bruins. The Ducks’ Jerilyn White also played well, tying for eighth place with a 231. Oregon doesn’t compete again until Feb. 21-23, when the Ducks travel to Tucson, Ariz., to partake in the Arizona Wildcat Classic. “Amy’s raced really well in spite of not having gone through the same amount of training,” Heinonen said. “She’s rested a lot, and what she has done this fall has been based on pure talent and not on preparation.” “I don’t even think Amy has tapped into anything running wise,” Crabb said. “She has a lot of raw talent, and I think she’ll be the next big time runner over the next couple of years.” YOUR SNOWBOARDING HEADQUARTERS 13th & Lawrence • Eugene • 683-1300 4k Join us in CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF BUSINESS IN EUGENE FREE BOOK BAGS OR T-SHIRTS WITH EVERY $50 PURCHASE IN NOVEMBER! 25% Off ALL BOOKS (Except textbooks) November 11-13 768 East 13th 525 Willamette (near the UO campusl (across from the Post Office) 345-1651 343-4717 smithfambooks@uswest.net DUCKS! One in a Millennium. 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