Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
ajude@dailyemerald.com
Best Bet
No. 21 Ohio State at
No. 7UCLA. 12:30p.m., ABC
Friday, September 21,2001
Just a bit
of advice,
freshman
Dear freshman,
I know we’re just be
ginning to get to know
each other, but I think
you should hear me out, if only un
til the fifth paragraph. It may save
you much grief and agony in the
years to come.
If, by Tuesday evening, you were
lucky enough to pick up a ticket to
Oregon’s Pacific-10 Conference
opener Satur
ua) agaiuai
— Southern Cali
t fornia, you are
no doubt deliri
| ous with excite
I ment about at
tending your
first game at
Autzen Stadi
um (humor me
cuiu jubi piay
along if you’ve
been to every
game since you
could say, “Go
Ducks”).
The tension and uncertainty of
your first year away from home, I
know, are heavy on your mind. It’s
hard to focus on the game when all
you can think about is your Cali
fornian roommate, whom you met
just less than 48 hours ago, as he
snores in his sleep a few feet away
from you in that Bean box.
But, please, do not let these dis
tractions distort your judgment on
this lovely Saturday evening.
Just take a deep breath, relax and
remember these words of wisdom:
Do not leave the game early. Let me
repeat that to make certain you
heard (er, read) me correctly: DO
NOT LEAVE EARLY.
Regardless of the score, the
time, the frustrations, the need to
relieve yourself of bodily fluids or
whatever it may be — whatever
you do, do not leave Autzen Stadi
um on Saturday until the lights go
out and you are forcibly removed
from your seat.
I don’t care if the Ducks are down
by three touchdowns with four
minutes to play. I don’t care if Joey
Harrington has three cracked ribs
(knock on wood). I don’t care if you
can’t stand looking at coach Mike
Bellotti without a mustache. I don’t
care if your mom is waiting for you
in the car. I don’t care if it’s the day
after the game began. And I don’t
care if you don’t care about football.
Just don’t leave the game early.
I promise — and I’m speaking
from personal experience — you
will not regret it.
Almost two years ago to the day,
the unranked Oregon football
squad won an amazing triple-over
time thriller against the 16th
ranked Trojans of Southern Cali
fornia in what is now considered
one of the most memorable games
in Autzen history.
And I was there ... for 5 7 min
utes, 44 seconds of action.
It was, like it will be for you this
weekend, my first experience with
Oregon football. I knew the Ducks
* Turn ter Jude, page-17 • -*■
Adam
Jude
Out in left field
Adam Amato Emerald
Junior receiver Keenan Howry (right), seen here against Wisconsin on Sept. 1, hopes to continue Oregon’s recent dominance
over Southern California. Last season, Howry caught eight passes for 126 yards in the Ducks’ 28-17 victory in Los Angeles.
Ducks look to past, present
■ Oregon has won four of the
last five games against USC
and knows that Saturday’s
game will be a unique one
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Before the football kicks off
at 7:15 p.m. Saturday amid the
roaring Autzen Stadium crowd
and in front of a Fox Sports
Net national television audi
ence, there will be a moment
of reflection.
Both the Ducks and the Tro
jans, as well as their fans, will
take part in a national anthem
that will join the Pacific-10
Conference rivals as united
Americans.
They will stand proudly and
honor their thousands of fel
low citizens who lost their
lives during the terrorist attack
on America the fateful morn
ing of Sept. 11.
They will again flash back to
the dreadful images of the two
110-story buildings collapsing
like a planned demolition and
the horror that became of it.
And then, because they have
to and because at this point in
time, many want to, they will
move on.
They will play football.
“It’s going to be nice to get
back on track with all the stuff
going on,” Oregon fullback Josh
Line said. “In light of what has
happened, it definitely puts a
perspective on all this stuff.”
Certainly, “all this stuff”
may not seem as important as
it did earlier in the month, but
Saturday’s Pac-10 opener be
tween USC (1-T) and No. 7
Oregon (2-0) still carries great
significance. And once that
game begins, the emotion of
the past two weeks will pour
over into the emotion of the
game itself and the recent his
tory that these two teams have.
On a late October night in
1998, then-Oregon quarterback
Akili Smith ran 62 yards
across the Autzen Stadium turf
for the go-ahead touchdown in
the Ducks’ 17-13 victory
against the Trojans.
A year later, USC again trav
eled to Eugene for a night game
and again was dealt a crushing
defeat. In a game that has grown
legendary over time, the Ducks
and Trojans battled, and battled
and battled some more. Sixty
minutes of action didn’t prove
to be enough time.
And after two overtime ses
sions, the teams were still at a
standstill. Finally, with the
clock approaching midnight,
Oregon’s third-string kicker
Josh Frankel booted through a
27-yard field goal to give the
Ducks a dramatic 33-30 triple
overtime victory.
Turn to Preview, page 9
USC brings tough defense to Autzen
■With its offense struggling,
the Trojan defense hopes to
stop a three-game losing skid
against the No. 7 Ducks
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
Two games into the 2001 sea
son, the jury is still out on the
USC Trojans. Will this year’s ver
sion revert to 1095, when the
team went 9-2-1 and defeated
Northwestern in the Rose Bowl,
or will it be an extension of last
season’s squad that finished 5-7?
After a convincing 21-10 win
over San Jose State in week one,
it looked as though the Trojans
might be a lock to return to the
top of the Pacific-10 Conference
standings and national promi
nence. But after a 10-6 loss to
Kansas State two weeks ago, this
year’s squad doesn’t even look to
be a lock to stay out of the cellar.
Despite the team’s inconsis
tent play so far, the Trojans have
had some bright spots.
“We’re playing with a lot of in
tensity,” head coach Pete Carroll
said. “We’re playing real hard so
we’re getting a lot of good effort.
If we make it hard on people to
score then we’ll be in these tough
ball games and have a chance to
win like we did last week.”
The key to the Trojan offense
comes mainly from their back
field. Junior quarterback Carson
Palmer must have a strong game
to balance USC’s offensive attack,
which also includes junior run
ning back Sultan McCullough.
Palmer, who led the Pac-10 last
season in completions (228) and
was second in total passing yards
(2,914), completed 16 passes in 36
attempts against Kansas State, but
threw for only 197 yards. Howev
er, he also ran for a team leading
71 yards on 12 carries.
If Palmer continues to lead the
team on the ground, it could
spell doom for the Trojan offense.
McCullough, who ran for 152
yards against the Ducks last sea
son, including a 59-yard touch
down run, is an important part of
the Trojans’ new spread offense.
If he can establish a running
game against the Ducks, Palmer
will have the ability to get the
ball to junior wide receiver Ka
Turn to USC side, page 17
THE BOX
Key Number: 3
The Ducks’ win streak over USC, the
number of overtimes it took Oregon to
beat USC two years ago, and the
number of times the number “3”
appears in the score of that game
(The Ducks won 33-30).
2001 Pac-10 Rankings
Total Offense
Oregon.4
USC.9
Scoring Offense
Oregon.6
USC.10
Passing Offense
Oregon.2
USC.8
Rushing Offense
Oregon.8
USC.10
Total Defense
Oregon.8
USC.9
Scoring Defense
USC....2
Oregon.6
Passing Defense
USC.2
Oregon.6
Rushing Defense
Oregon.8
USC.10
Quotable
“He’s a pro player without
question. I’m preparing
as if this is an NFL
quarterback because of
the things he can do and
the kinds of ways that he
can read. We’ll have to
take care of business on
our end of it, because if
you don’t, he’ll tear you
up.”
Pete Carroll
USC coach on Oregon QB
Joey Harrington
Key Player:
Carson Palmer,
USC quarterback
Palmer has gone into a tailspin since
injuring his shoulder two years ago at
Autzen Stadium. He must step up and
have a good game for the Trojans to
knock off the favored Ducks.