THE
BOX
Total
Offense
■ ■ ac-10 rankings)
OREGON 3rd
California 10th
Total
Defense
OREGON 3rd
California 6th
Passing
Offense
OREGON 4th
( ilifornia 9 th
Rushing
Offense
OREGON 4th
California 9th
Passing
Defense
OREGON 1st
California 10th
Rushing
Defense
OREGON 5th
California 4th
Turnover
Ratio
OREGON +9
California -1
QUOTABLE
"He's a damn good quarter
back. That guy's a player."
-Washington State head
coach Mark Price on Oregon
quarterback Ooey Harrington,
after last Saturday's 27-24
Duck victory over the Cougar:
"It's going to be a special da
senior place-kicker
__ com asked
ans: "Which is worse: the
BCS or the Electoral College?"
With the presidential race in
Florida too close to call and 2!
electoral votes on the line,
the fans' choice was ironic:
The Electoral College narrowly
won with 52 percent of the
vote.
Stepping up, running hard
■ Sophomore Allan
Amundson has been filling in
nicely for Maurice Morris
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
Two years ago, Oregon was po
tentially on its way to making his
tory before losing starting tailback
Reuben Droughns to an injury near
midseason. Oregon’s running game
left with Droughns — as did any
chance of going to Pasadena.
Fast forward to Oct. 28, 2000: The
Ducks’ offense, locked in a double
overtime battle with Arizona State,
with control of the Rose Bowl race
hanging in the balance, took the
field with starting tailback Maurice
Morris standing injured on the side
line.
Only this time, Oregon had an
other weapon in its arsenal.
Sophomore tailback Allan
Amundson came to the rescue
from the fourth quarter on, scoring
the game-winning touchdown on a
one-yard run in the second over
time period. He finished the day
with 41 yards in 14 carries.
“It didn’t seem like the winning
touchdown at the time,” said
Amundson, recalling his dash to the
left side of the Sun Devils’ end zone.
“I was confident that I was going to
get into the end zone because of the
blocking, and because we were on
the right hash and that’s so much
room to get there. It was sort of a race
to the comer and with the blocking, I
was confident and I thought I could
make it.”
Amundson — the 23rd-best kick
returner in the nation, with an av
erage 24.65 yards per return —
stepped into the lineup at tailback
again last Saturday against Wash
ington State and played almost the
entire second half while Morris
nursed his injured ribs. He had
eight carries for 48 yards and
helped to move the chains on a
day when the offense never quite
found its groove.
Oregon coaches and players
were so impressed by Amundson's
contributions through the past two
weeks, both as a tailback and kick
returner, that he was named a team
captain for the Ducks’ game
against California Saturday.
“He’s done very nicely,” Oregon
head coach Mike Bellotti said. ‘ I
think that certainly we thought Al
lan had the potential really since
last year. Then he broke his ankle
last year and pulled a hamstring in
fall camp, and really was not
healthy for the first couple games of
the season, so it’s nice to see him be
healthy and perform where we
know he can.”
Morris practiced in non-contact
drills earlier in the week, but his
sore ribs could keep him out of
portions of Saturday’s game as
they did the past two games.
If that’s the case, Amundson
said he’ll be ready to play. He’s
been ready so far this season, mak
ing appearances in all nine games
and rushing 56 times for 222 yards
and two touchdowns.
“Hopefully I’ll get more playing
time, but I don’t know,” Amund
son said. “I won’t know until the
night before, the day before. Anyone
wants to play and when I get out
there I’m going to try to do the best I
can.”
Morris has confidence in
Amundson’s ability to back him
up.
“It’s great; this is the time of the
season a lot of people are going to
get banged up,” he said. “So it’s
good to have somebody back there
that can get the job done as well.”
Turn to Amundson, page 10B
sxxtmiim
Emerald
Oregon tailback Allan Amundson (34), a sophomore, carries the ball downfield against a physical, stingy Arizona defense.
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