Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2000)
A I DAYS LEFT TO THE CIVIL WAR “We’ve been answering questions about Oregon for four weeks, so it is nice to finally be playing them.” OSU quarterback Jonathan Smith “ I t’s goi ng to be Wo rid Wa r 111 -UO cornerback Rashad Bauman Best Bet NBA: New York vs. Seattle 7:30 p.m.,TBS SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com One day down, four more to go ‘til the War {*% ' W* HAKUNA MATATA JEFF SMITH This was no normal Monday for Oregon football players. This was “day one” of “War week.” All of the oth er weeks in the season combined don’t add up to the same importance as this one. . There’s just one game left — against your in-state rival — with both teams being ranked in the top 10 — and the Rose Bowl on the line. Each day of practice will be crucial, and each day will also bring another dose of hype that already has the state of Oregon in a frenzy. Listening to the Oregon players speak Monday, it sounds as if they wish they could just strap on the pads today and play the 104th edition of the Civil War. “I’m not sure yet whether this week is going to fly by or whether it’s going to drag on,” senior linebacker Michael Callier said. “But it doesn’t matter man, because in five days it’s going to be on.” The Ducks practiced behind closed doors Monday, as they will all week, and were only made available to the me dia in the Pittman Room of the Casanova center earlier in the afternoon. Fox Sports Net cameras shone on one side of the room, while scribes from throughout the state and beyond picked these players’ brains to see what their attitude was heading into the week. “Yeah, there’s a lot of news cameras, and the media and everybody wants to be talking all about the Civil War game, but we have to look at it just like another hard-fought foot ball game that we have to play on Saturday,” sophomore free safety Rasuli Webster said. Other Oregon players weren’t so bashful when discussing the attention that they were receiving in regards to the game. Callier, for one, didn’t believe the hype was too much for this game. “Heck no, this is expected,” he said. “It’s good. Bring on all of this. Not just the media circus, but the fact that [Ore gon State’s] playing well and we’re underdogs now. What ever man, it’s all good. We’re ready to play.” The spread on Saturday’s game lists the Beavers as four point favorites. Also, the Bowl Championship Series rankings were released Monday and it had Washington at fifth, Oregon at seventh and Oregon State sitting in there at ninth. Sports Illustrated joined in on the parade and ran a big feature on Beaver tailback Ken Simonton titled, “Eager Beaver,” with a tease on its cover stating, “Oregon State’s Re naissance Runner.” Indeed, the hype for this game — which has been build Turn to Civil War, page 8 Emerald Defensive end Saul Patu (48) tackles Oregon State quarterback Jonathan Smith in last season’s Civil War at Autzen Stadium, which Oregon won 25-14. Oregon ‘not worried’ by OSU ■The Ducks aren’t fazed by Oregon State’s convincing win Saturday at Arizona By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daily Emerald Television sets across Eugene tuned in to Oregon State’s game against Ari zona in Tucson 7:30 p.m. Saturday, as Oregon football players and fans antic ipated the possibility of an early Rose Bowl berth. By halftime, when the score was Beavers 23, Arizona 3, many of those people were probably changing the channel. The Beavers’ suffocated the Wildcats defensively and dismantled them of fensively. They left little doubt as to who the best team was in Arizona at the moment. "I was impressed,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said of the game, during a Sunday conference call. “The Beavers are a good football team that is peaking at the right time. They never gave Arizona a chance to get back in the game after the first quarter.” They may have even made a case as to which was the best team in the state of Oregon, or even the whole Pacific-10 Conference. The Las Vegas gamblers thought so, naming Oregon State a four-point fa vorite to win the Civil War as of Mon day morning. But even the Beavers’ total domina tion of an Arizona team — on its home coming night — didn’t convince Bel lotti that his team should be viewed as underdogs. “Personally, I like being the under dog,” Bellotti said. “If we’re the fa vorite, awesome. We should be favored because we’re undefeated in the con ference. “If we’re the underdogs because we’re playing at their place, that’s awe some too.” Defensive end Saul Patu watched the Wildcat massacre with his wife. Walking between television interviews in the Casanova Center’s Pittman room, he said he was disappointed with the way Arizona played. “Being at their house on homecom ing weekend, there’s a lot to play for, a lot of pride and things at stake, for them and their season,” Patu said. “I like to see things happen where they Turn to Oregon Notes, page 8 Oregon State beefs up stadium security for Civil War Emerald Beaver fans show no mercy toward the Oucks.in 1998's Civil War. ■The Ducks still steam about Beaver fans’actions toward them after losing in 1998 By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daily Emerald Memories of the 1998 Civil War in Corvallis’ then-Parker Stadium still don’t sit well with Oregon players and coaches, but it has nothing to do with a dramatic, 44-41 double-overtime loss. What chaps head coach Mike Bellot ti’s hide is what happened after Oregon State’s Ken Simonton ran into the end zone for the win, and what happened at the end of the first .overtime when fans presumed the game to be oven • Tbtal’chaos. V.Y.V Oregon players and coaches were mobbed and harassed by unrestricted Oregon State fans who stormed the field in wild celebration of their team’s upset win. Bellotti’s voice turns gravely serious when he recalls the situation, which in volved taunting, name calling and bot tle throwing. Players talk about trying to pray afterward, and not being able to without fans shouting in their ears to “get off’ of their field. “After that game, I witnessed a lot of things that I never want to witness again,” defensive end Saul Patu said. “It’s not something I fear or am afraid of, b.ut jt’s a determination that I’m never going to be treated like that again.” “It was a very difficult situation,” Bab lotti said. “Our kids remember that, 1 re member that and it’s something I’ll nev er forget.” When asked how he feels two years after the incident, Bellotti didn’t say whether he is still angered by what hap pened. "That was an out-of-control situa tion,” he said. “That was detrimental to the game of football.” Since September, Oregon State has taken steps to prevent such a scene from happening again. Oregon State Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart met with Oregon Athletic De partment officials Monday to present his department’s “tactical plan” for control ling the Reser Stadium crowd Saturday. •Turn to 05U Security, page 8
