DAYS LEFT TO
THE CIVIL WAR
I m going to see a bunch of Beavers on our scout
team and am going to try to kill somebody. ”
- UO defensive end Jason Nikolao
“ We’ve been looking at Oregon the whole year. ”
-OSU linebacker Richard Seigler
Monday
Best Bet
NFL: Oakland vs. Denver
6 p.m., ABC
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
ms
Oregon junior quarterback Joey Harrington leaps in for one of his
two rushing touchdowns against
Cal. He also threw for
Dan Brunell Emerald
252 yards in Oregon’s
It s never easy for these Ducks
HAKUNA
MATATA
JEFF SMITH
It couldn’t have been that easy.
You knew that. I knew that.
Heck, even the Oregon players
knew it.
After the Ducks beat California Sat
urday afternoon, 25-17, there was
some celebration after securing at least
a Pacific-10 Conference co-champi
onship.
But there wasn’t the celebration. The
celebration that signifies a trip to the
Rose Bowl. The celebration where
everybody breathes a sigh of relief and
basks in their accomplishments.
Instead, it was business as usual. The
Ducks knew that if Oregon State lost to
Arizona Saturday night, then a Rose
Bowl berth would be theirs. You
wouldn’t have known it, though, if you
saw the Oregon players and coaches
talk after the game.
They spoke as if the Beavers had al
ready won. They spoke as if they al
ready knew that the Civil War next
week would be where the Pac-lO’s Rose
Bowl representative would be decided.
“Oregon State’s going to bring their ‘A’
game and we’re going to bring our ‘A’
game and two teams are going to col
lide,” junior cornerbackRashad Bauman
said. “Somebody is going to fall and we
don’t plan on being the one that does. ”
In a season where Oregon has always
taken the hard way out, it must do so
one final time. And anybody who
Turn to Smith, page 9
Ducks win in
Autzen finale
■ Oregon scores its 20th-straight win at Autzen
Stadium and earns a share of the Pac-10 title
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
It was definitely cold at Autzen Sta
dium early Saturday afternoon, and the
weather wasn’t so hot, either.
As the day wore on, the 45,845 fans
endured cold, crisp 43-degree tempera
tures — but somehow, the Oregon foot
ball team heated up.
The Ducks’ offense came alive in the
second half and Oregon came from be
hind in the fourth quarter to beat de
fensive-minded California, 25-17, in its
final home game this season.
Oregon secured at least a share of the
Pacific-10 Conference title by beating
the Golden Bears.
“I don’t think we’ll be completely
satisfied until it’s done, until it’s all
ours,” said place-kicker Josh Frankel,
who scored the Ducks’ six first-half
points on two field goals. “It just feels
like another win.”
Oregon didn’t seem like a team that
had won a conference championship
for just the sixth time in history. Nor
did it seem like the No. 5 team in the
nation, which it is — for the first time
and for a new Oregon record — accord
ing to the Associated Press.
Rather than reflect on their most re
cent victory, several Oregon players
talked about their upcoming matchup
with No. 8 Oregon State.
“Every year it’s been a physical game
with the Beavers,” defensive end Jason
Nikolao said. “We’re hoping for anoth
er one, I’m hoping for another one, I
want another one. No matter how
many injuries I have, or how many in
juries are on this team, everybody
wants a physical game because it’s our
last one for awhile before the bowl
game, and we want to leave it all out
on the field.”
“We could be Pac-10 champions and
go and, and ... I don’t even want to think
about it,” Oregon quarterback Joey Har
rington said. “This season’s not going to
Turn to 20th win, page 12
ii This
season’s not
going to be
complete
until we
play a good,
physical
football
game next
week.
Joey
Harrington
Oregon
quarterback
_n
Ducks fourth at Regionals
■ Smedstad, Hartmann and Kasahun
all place in the top-eight at the
Western Regional meet
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
In the sport of cross country, only two
competitions in a season really mean much
of anything: The championship meet, and
the championship-qualify
ing meet.
All season long, the Ore
gon women’s cross coun
try team struggled — that
is, in the meets that don’t
count for anything. The
Ducks were even in danger
of missing the NCAA Championship meet
(one of the meets that count).
Oregon broke out of its season-long slump
Saturday, placing fourth overall at the
NCAA Western Regional meet in Fresno,
Calif, (the other meet that counts).
“I’m really proud of our team for battling
because it’s been a rough season,” Oregon
women’s coach Tom Heinonen said. “Once
again, the team ran well at the end of the sea
son when it was important.”
The Ducks have positioned themselves
well for an at-large berth in the NCAA meet
on Nov. 20. After placing a disappointing
seventh at the Pacific-10 Conference Cham
pionships on Oct. 28, the Ducks faced a do
or-die situation in Fresno. Fortunately, six of
Oregon’s seven runners responded with per
sonal bests through the 6,000-meter course.
Senior transfer Hanna Smedstad led the
way with an eighth-place finish in a time of
20 minutes, 42 seconds. Her place is Ore
gon’s highest at the Regional meet since
Marie Davis’ fourth place in 1998.
Senior Katie Crabb put forth her best race
of the season, and possibly her cross coun
try career, with a 15th-place finish in a time
of 21:00.
“Katie beat several people who she lost to
at Pac-lOs.” Heinonen said. “She was a solid
Turn to Cross country, page 8
UO pins loss on UC Davis
■ Sonnen and Webb lead Oregon wrestlers to a season
opening win against UC Davis
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
Veterans and newcomers alike
got a head start on the 2000-01
wrestling season Friday.
The Oregon wrestling team (1
0) was victorious in its Pacific-10
Conference and
season opener
with a 31-9 win
against Califor
nia-Davis.
The match
was played at
Crater High
School in Central Point, Ore., the
former home of three Duck
wrestlers.
“For our opening match we
wrestled well,” head coach
Chuck Kearney said. “UC Davis
had already wrestled in a match
this season and that made a dif
ference, but I thought our kids
competed well.”
Senior Chael Sonnen came up
with a big pin in his first colle
giate match in more than a year.
The All-American took the 1999
GO season off to train with the
U.S. Olympic team. Sonnen
pinned UC Davis’ Brandon Arse
nault at the 197-pound level to
clinch the dual match for Oregon.
Sophomore Eric Webb also
won, icing the victory for the
Ducks. The Eugene native pinned
the Aggies’ Mike Maben in one
minute, 16 seconds at the heavy
weight slot.
Turn to Wrestling, page 8
ii We need
to open up
and be
more
opportunis
tic, but that
will come as
the season
goes along.
Chuck
Kearney
Oregon head
coach
_n