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Oregon's history repeats itself
HAKUNA
' •**#'* MATATA
a
A
11 conference eyes
will be on Eugene
Saturday as the
fight for the Pacif
ic-10 title and Rose Bowl bid heats
up on the Omni-Turf of Autzen Sta
dium.”
So it said in the Oct. 28,1994,
edition of the Emerald.
Let me continue.
“The Arizona Wildcats and Ore
gon Ducks hook up [and] more than
just pride is at stake as the game
represents a crucial step in decid
ing this year’s conference title.”
Sound familiar?
The lead, written by former
Emerald writer Chris Metz, would
work just as well in this year’s edi
tion.
Also, as you may have noticed,
this week’s Game Day cover is teas
ing our story about the surprisingly
strong Oregon defense. Well, back
in ‘94, the defense also earned a
spot on the cover next to the head
line of “Gang Green.”
But missing from both covers is
the quarterback.
Back in ‘94, the Ducks were com
ing off of a sensational victory over
Washington that was clinched
when true freshman Kenny
Wheaton took an interception 97
yards for the touchdown — a mo
ment in Oregon athletics lore that is
hailed as "The Pick. ” But what
most people forget about that
Washington game is that Oregon’s
quarterback finally came to life.
The Ducks began that year win
ning games, but quarterback Danny
O’Neil could never quite get it go
ing. He missed a few games be
cause of injury and was frustrated
that he could not help his team the
way he knew he could.
Then, against the Huskies, he put
it together on one special series that
would have been forever remem
bered as “The Drive” had it not
been for “The Pick.” O’Neil and the
offense started the drive at their
own two-yard line at the 7:40 mark
of the fourth quarter with the Ducks
trailing, 20-17.
He started out by drilling wide
receiver Dameron Ricketts for 36
yards. After some failed running at
tempts , he hit receiver Pat Johnson
for 10 yards and then Ricketts for
21 more. O’Neil got the Ducks
down to the Husky 12-yard line,
but was faced with a critical third
down. He audibled at the line and
ran an option play to fullback
Dwayne Jones, who rumbled in for
the go-ahead score.
It would be the 98-yard drive that
would bring O’Neil’s confidence
back and help lead his team to the
Rose Bowl that year.
“I finally got it,” said O’Neil of
his game-winning drive. “It was a
big achievement for me personal
ly-”
Sound familiar?
Here’s what present Oregon
quarterback Joey Harrington said
after last week’s 28-17 win over
USC: “This was a big game for my
self because I finally got over that
hump. I felt very good out there.”
While last week’s win over USC
didn’t have a nail-biting fourth
quarter drive like O’Neil’s, it did
have one drive that was similar. But
instead of taking place in the final
moments of the game, it took place
on Oregon’s first offensive drive.
Harrington had been admittedly
“off” for the first five games of the
year. But against the Trojans, he
was “on.” He connected on his
first pass to tight end Justin Peelle
and threw for 14 yards to receiver
Marshaun Tucker. He then zipped
a 17-yard dart to receiver Keenan
Howry, followed by a 13-yard
completion to Tucker and 13 more
in a pass to Howry.
It was the Harrington of last year.
He was clicking.
Finally, on a third down from the
Trojan eight-yard line, Harrington
threw a shovel pass to tailback
Maurice Morris, who scampered in
for the touchdown.
Like O’Neil before, it was Har
rington’s own personal “drive.”
Flashback to that Arizona game
in ‘94. The eighth-ranked Wildcats
entered Autzen with roses on their
minds. Arizona took a 9-0 lead into
the fourth quarter, but O’Neil went
at it again. He drove his team for a
field goal, then capped a later drive
with a 15-yard game-winning
touchdown pass to tight end Josh
Wilcox that would put the Ducks
atop the Pac-10 for good.
Just over two months after that
game, a fully confident O’Neil ex
ploded in Oregon’s Rose Bowl
game versus Penn State and threw
for 456 yards — 55yardsmorethan
any other quarterback had ever
thrown in the Rose Bowl. It would
be just one of the six Rose Bowl
records that O’Neil would set that
day.
Sound familiar?
Of course it doesn’t now, but
check back with me on Jan. 1.
Jeff Smith is the sports editor of the Emer
ald. He can be reached at
Smittside@aol.com.
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