Autzen magic again
prevails in the clutch
You left the game early,
didn’t you?
Maybe you were
thinking the same thing
the L.A. Daily News was when it
sent out its first edition Sunday
morning with the headline,
“USC ends Ducks’ streak.’’
Maybe you were on the USC
bench, celebrating after your
team
blocked a
field goal
with 1:20 to
play.
Maybe
you’ve never
been to
Autzen Sta
dium.
That’s the
beauty of the
Autzen mag
ic: It picks
you up,
shakes you
around,
makes you scream, makes you
cry, makes you sweat, then hits
you with the unthinkable.
Now repeat 23 times.
Coinciding with the last three
meetings between the two teams,
Oregon and USC battled until
the very end Saturday, with the
Ducks prevailing thanks to a last
minute, come-from-behind drive
in the hands of Joey “Heisman”
Harrington.
Adam
Jude
Out in left field
Despite some un-Joey-like
numbers until the final minute,
Harrington came up big when
his team — and 45,765 adoring
fans — needed him the most.
“Joey, for the most part,
played very, very well, al
though his stats may not show
that,” head coach Mike Bellotti
said. “But his leadership down
the stretch is phenomenal and
it’s part of the magic that is
Autzen stadium.”
Down 22-21, Harrington took
the Ducks 61 yards on 5-of-6
passing, setting up a game-win
ning field goal by true freshman
Jared Siegel.
“You can’t get used to stuff
like this,” said defensive back
Steve Smith, who had three in
terceptions. “I was a little nerv
ous, but in the back of my
mind, I knew the Autzen magic
would show.”
Saturday’s gut-wrenching win
was much like the Ducks’ 33-30
victory Sept. 27,1999 against
USC at Autzen, when third
string placekicker Josh Frankel
put the ball through the uprights
in the third overtime.
Anything can happen at
Autzen. Don’t say I didn’t tell
you so.
Adam Jude is the sports editor for the
Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached
at adamjude@dailyemerald.com.
Rbvj Talen't.
The Oregon Daily Emerald is always looking for young
writers who want to learn and grow at a real newspaper.
For information on flow to freelance for the Emerald call .146-5511
----
Smith
continued from page 13
moment that you had to because
the plot twists could come when
least expected.
Such as Oregon’s first score of
the game, a picture perfect 35-yard
touchdown pass from Onterrio
Smith to Justin Peelle.
Or how about the Steve Smith
story? The senior cornerback who
has had a rollercoaster of a month
after a poor outing against Wiscon
sin, comes up huge with three in
terceptions off Carson Palmer, in
cluding a 33-yard return for a
touchdown.
Tack on another Oregon score,
and suddenly, the writers make
you believe that the 21-6 Ducks
lead will hold for good and that
Oregon will finally be able to put a
quality team away.
But this is where it gets good,
of course. And this is where those
raucous 45,765 spectators begin
to form sweaty palms as the sput
tering Oregon offense fails to pro
duce for the next 27 minutes and
44 seconds.
Like a thrilling movie that picks
and chooses its time for the surprise
attack, tire flowing contest is sud
denly jolted by a 75-yard touch
down run by USC’s Sultan McCul
lough. Then a 93-yard scoring pass
from Palmer to Kareem Kelly. Then
a 40-yard field goal to give USC a
22-21 fourth quarter lead.
Suddenly, we’re witnessing not
just a close game, but perhaps the
end to the fabled Autzen win
streak and the end to the Ducks’
national title hopes.
But a great character or two is
needed in times like this to pull
the story to its conclusion.
First, there’s the obvious choice:
veteran Joey Harrington, reprising
his role as the reincarnation of
Thomas Patterson Emerald
Steve Smith celebrates his interception returned 33 yards for a touchdown in the second
quarter of Oregon’s 24-22 victory over Southern California on Saturday.
John Elway and suddenly com
pleting 5-of-6 crisp passes and
driving 61 yards down the field to
attempt his eighth career fourth
quarter comeback.
Then there’s freshman Jared
Siegel, the newcomer. Recall that
38-yard field goal that Siegel
missed in the second quarter and
then add that to the fact that he
was replaced for two extra points
and a separate field goal attempt
later on.
And then watch.
Watch as Harrington catches the
snap and sets it down, and as
Siegel boots it with his right foot,
and as USC defenders leap to try to
block another kick, and as the si
lence that grips the stadium for a
moment is replaced by pure pan
demonium as the ball sails
through the posts, and has Siegel
runs around like the youngster that
he is, and as the final seconds tick
away with the Ducks storming the
field with helmets raised in tri
umph, and as Harrington twirls
around in circles in the air not car
ing how he looks like but just car
ing that he won, and then watch as
Onterrio Smith and Bauman rub
their hands over the end zone
grass together and scream, “Our
house! This is our house!”
And watch as the players leave
the field and the fans jump
around, and watch as the screen
slowly fades to black, and watch
as the credits begin to scroll every
so gently.
And finally, listen.
Listen to these words, “Stay
tuned for scenes from the next
episode of Oregon football.”
You’ll regret it if you don’t.
Jeff Smith is the assistant sports editor of the
Emerald. He can be reached at
jeffsmith@dailyemerald.com.
012461
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