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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2000)
Pac-10 set to prove rankings are no fluke ■ No more byes: Every Pac-10 team is in action this weekend, looking for revenge By Adam Jude Oregon Daily Emerald It’s a great weekend for Pacific 10 Conference football. Heading into Saturday’s match ups, seven Pac-10 teams boast rankings in the top 30, led by Ore gon’s No. 9 Associated Press stand ing. And don’t be surprised if, in two days, that figure changes. Three of the five games have spreads of eight points or less, which should lead to an exciting, and perhaps surprising Saturday. Stanford (2-3,1-1) at Oregon State (3-2,1-1) What in the mug is going on in Beaverville? Head coach Dennis Erickson has the Beavers off to their best start since 1967... is any one in Eugene a little nervous? “Were making a great deal of progress,” Erickson told The Regis ter-Guard, “but I'm not into moral victories.” The Beavers narrowly lost in Seattle last week, 33-30, and are looking to take out their losing frustration on last season’s Pac-10 champion, which lost 20-14 against Notre Dame last week. One of Stanford’s biggest weak nesses is at quarterback. Randy DISCOUNT SPORTS & VITAMINS (VITAL FOOD) BEST PRICE & SELECTION 255 E. 18TH, EUGENE 343-0971 wEAS.com MUD °®Labs -^ BEST SELECTION OF BRANDS AND PRICES N. 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However, Stanford head coach Ty rone Willingham said he sees a huge difference from the Beavers of old. “What's happened is their stadi um is becoming one of those un friendly places for the enemy to walk into,” Williams said of Reser Stadium. “They're starting to cre ate some very nice things in their program that allows them to have success.” Oregon State’s Ken Simonton is fourth in the nation with 164 yards per game, but was held to just 104 yards against Washington. “This young man really attacks the line of scrimmage, or shall I say the goal line,” Willingham said of Simonton. “He is very deter mined and very good.” Washington State (3-2,1-1) at No. 22 Arizona (4-1 Last year in Pullman, Arizona won 30-24 on a questionable call in the game’s final play. But Cougars head coach Mike Price said he is not bitter about the last-second loss. “We haven't talked about it much," Price said. "I'm sure we have kids who remember what ex actly did happen. It wasn't Ari zona's fault.” Price said it was a bad call on the official’s part that cost the Cougars the game. “I feel it wasn't a catch,” he said. “It’s not a rallying cry for us this year, though.” To be competitive against Ari zona this year, however, Washing ton State must play even better against a Wildcat defense that is second in the nation against the run — allowing just 62 yards per game — and No. 6 overall in points allowed at 10.2 per game. “We just have to double our ef fort to continue to prove that we deserve to be ranked,” Arizona head coach Dick Tomey said. “We did a good job of handling the fact that we were underrated earlier in ( ( Against Oregon you see that [UCLA] msn Y as strong as suspected; they have a few weaknesses They have some things that they can explode on and they can be really good, but if they don’t have all their people together they can struggle at times. Tom Holmoe Bears head coach the year, and now we have to do the same thing with the recogni tion that we have gotten.” Cougar quarterback Jason Gesser leads the conference with a 147.5 pass efficiency rating and has not thrown an interception in four games. “When you look around the con ference, there were a lot of return ing quarterbacks, but Gesser is leading the conference in passing efficiency by miles,” Tomey said. If the Cougars can put up 42 points against the Wildcats — like they did in their 42-35 victory over Boise State last week — they might have a chance in Tucson. Washing ton State’s defense, however, has been its Achilles heel; it allowed 474 yards to Boise State. No. 13 UCLA (4-1) at California (1-4,0-2) Things aren’t looking so golden for the Bears; It’s pretty sad when the team’s only strong spot is its punter. Oh yeah, the Bruins are also rag ing for revenge after losing to the Bears 17-0 last year. “It left a terrible taste; not just [for] me but all the offense," UCLA quarterback Cory Paus told The L.A. Times about last year’s per formance against Cal. “We didn't play particularly well last year as a whole. But that game was the worst offensive performance.” Despite posting the worst Pac-10 record, Bears head coach Tom Hol moe said he sees some weaknesses in UCLA’s game, which has given his team some confidence. “Against Oregon you see that [UCLA] wasn’t as strong as sus pected; they have a few weakness es,” Holmoe said. “They have some things that they can explode on and they can be really good, but if they don't have all their peo ple together, they can struggle at times.” UCLA comes off a much-needed bye week to refresh some its many injured players. Tailback DeShaun Foster, one of the nation’s leading rushers, went down with a fractured hand against Arizona State Sept. 30 and is not expected back for at least a couple weeks. “A lot of people didn't think we'd be 4-1 right now,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. “A lot of the big teams have already gone down. I predict that the winner of this conference will have one loss.” ASU, UW ready to light it up ■ Offensive-minded Washington and Arizona State battle it out for second place By Adam Jude Oregon Daily Emerald It’s a clash of teams with identical records and identical desires, And it’s not going to be easy for either of them After a tight 33-30 victory over Oregon State last week, the No. 11 Wash ington Huskies head to Tempe, Ariz., in hopes of continuing their march toward the post-season. Arizona State, coming off a 30-10 wallop of California, is 4-1 on the sea son and a win against the Huskies would do wonders for the Sun Dev ils’ Rose Bowl dreams as well. "This is a big game,” Arizona State head coach Bruce Snyder said. r. “Not only are we playing a good op ponent, but we're both fighting to stay in that group that can still make it to the Rose Bowl. So I think you're going to find two teams that can re ally go after each other. This is a They are not throwing for an unbelievable percentage; it's just the yards they are getting per attempt, which is the major concern. Rick Neuheisel Husky head coach huge game for us and for them. We're both in the same boat. We both have an oar and we’re going to beat each other over the head with it and see who can knock the other guy out of the boat. ” Washington leads the Pac-10 in total offense with 414.8 yards per contest while the Sun Devils are the best passing team in the conference. “They have struck and struck quickly,” Husky head coach Rick Neuheisel said of Arizona State’s big play offense. “They are not throwing for an unbelievable per centage; it's just the yards they are getting per attempt, which is the major concern.” Neither team’s defense has proven itself yet this season. The Huskies are the worst rushing de fense in the conference and allowed Oregon State 474 yards of total of fense. Similarly, Arizona State is ranked eighth in the Pac-10 in total defense. Don’t be surprised if both teams score more than 50 points. The key to the game: If the Huskies can take a lead into the fourth quarter, a win is almost guar anteed. The Sun Devils have scored just nine points this season in the fi nal period, while allowing their op ponents to score 27. NAME THAT DEFENSE Want to name the Oregon football defense? They’re a gang and they’re green, but defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said that these Ducks can’t share the same nickname as the 1995 Rose Bowl squad. So, we at the Emerald sports desk are hosting an informal “name that defense” competition. It’s simple: Just e-mail your nickname ideas to Smittside@aol.com. We’ll publish the top-10 ideas in next week’s Homecoming Game Day supplement, along with your name, of course. For the top nickname, we are giving away a copy of the 1995 book titled, “The Year of the Duck.” The book is written by former Oregon sports information director George Beres, and it is a detailed look into the Oregon Ducks’ 1995 Rose Bowl season, full of unique anecdotes and captivating pictures. And hey, who knows. Your idea might make headlines across the nation.
