use
continued from page 3B
and had only 10 yards last week in
their 31-15 loss to Arizona. This
week, they will face an Oregon de
fense that is ranked first in the Pac
10 in total defense and third in
rushing defense.
Tailback Sultan McCullough —
whose brother, Saladin, was the
Ducks’ tailback the last time the
teams met in Los Angeles in 1997
— leads the Trojans with 84 yards
per game. Back-up Petros Pa
padakis averages just more than 20
yards a game.
“We cannot run the ball right
now,” Hackett said, “Abandoning
our running game has put more
pressure on [Palmer].”
If the Trojans have a strong point
this year, it comes from the line
backer position. Zeke Moreno and
Markus Steele are both candidates
for the Butkus Award, which is
given to the nation’s best line
backer, and have combined for 21
tackles for a loss, totaling negative
63 yards.
“Zeke is the leader of this de
fense,” Hackett said. “But his best
football, and our best football, are
yet to come.”
That’s what worries Oregon
head coach Mike Bellotti, who
( i They are very scary be
cause obviously their
backs are to the wall, and
I have to have my kids
play with the same kind of
intensity.
Mike Bellotti
Oregon head coach
thinks the Trojans are more dan
gerous because of their losses.
“They are very scary because ob
viously their backs are to the wall,
and I have to have my kids play
with the same kind of intensity,”
Bellotti said.
“I just hope they don’t get it all
figured out against us.”
USC didn’t get it all figured out
against Arizona last weekend. The
Backup USC quarterback Mike VanRaaphorst (11) came in for the injured Carson Palmer in the Trojans’ heartbreaking 33-30 triple-overtime loss at Oregon last year.
Emerald
Wildcats ran off 21 points in the
first quarter as the Trojans’ defense
crumbled. South California gave
up its biggest pass play since 1992,
a 75-yard bomb from Ortege Jenk
ins to Bobby Wade to open the
game, and an 80-yard run by tail
back Clarence Farmer to end the
quarter. When the dust settled,
Arizona had 188 yards of total of
fense to the Trojans’ 93.
“Our defense has been bitten by
the big play bug,” Hackett said.
Besides Arizona’s big plays, USC
gave up a 36-yard touchdown pass
against Colorado and a 36-yard
touchdown run to Oregon State’s
Ken Simonton.
The bottom line, according to
Hackett, is that the Trojans just
aren’t clicking.
“We have stumbled, we are out of
sorts. There’s no question about it,”
Hackett said. “There are a lot of rea
sons for it, not one particular rea
son.”
Now USC will try to “figure it all
out” against the ninth-ranked team
in the country.
Pez Sez
continued from page 3b
games the rest of the way.
Revenge.
Looking beyond USC, think
about Arizona, and then Arizona
State. Both were games that were
decided in the final moments.
Both of those final moments
swung fatefully in the Ducks’ fa
vor.
The Wildcats are looking good.
What would be more fitting than
snapping the glorious Autzen
winning streak?
Revenge.
After facing the Arizona
schools and Washington State,
Oregon plays its final home game
on Nov. 11 against California.
Sure, they’re not so great this sea
son, but they weren’t last season,
either. Again, the teams’ last
meeting came down to the final
moments, with the Ducks con
verting a certain loss into a
breathtaking win when Brian
Johnson intercepted the Bears’
pass into the end zone.
Revenge.
Of course, no team would love
to shove the dagger into Oregon
like Oregon State would.
More than anyone, the Beavers
have reason to hate the Ducks.
Those poor Oregon Staters. Made
fun of by fans, media and the foot
ball community throughout the
nation, while just a 45-minute
drive away, that other state uni
versity was propelling itself into
the nation’s elite. How dare it!
Now, those Beavers have a de
cent team. Anything could hap
pen, including Oregon and Ore
gon State running their tables
through Nov. 18. The big prize —
the Rose Bowl — would be on the
line.
Not simple revenge.
The ultimate revenge.
So don’t think for a moment
that the Ducks are out of the
woods yet. Had they not made so
many enemies last season, well,
then perhaps the road to Pasade
na would be a little more certain.
For those who still don’t buy
the power of redemption, look at
what happened in Seattle last Sat
urday. The Beavers were a missed
field goal away from taking Wash
ington into overtime. Is it mere
coincidence that Oregon State’s
game against Washington the year
before was its worst that season?
The point is this: What goes
around, usually comes around.
Oregon better be ready to put
up some fights.
m
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