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I-i—- I _ U-mmiMr * _’ _____|
Thomas Patterson Emerald
if he hopes to end his collegiate career in a major bowl game, senior quarterback Joey Harrington must carry the Ducks to victory in their final four games.
Five Pac-10 teams in first BCS rankings
■The BCS is officially released with
the Ducks out of the top-10, while
Oregon’s Keenan Howry earns
recognition from the Pac-10
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
After weeks of waiting, and wonder
ing, and waiting some more, the big day
finally arrived.
But because of Saturday’s defeat to
Stanford, the first results of the Bowl
Championship Series hardly made a
splash in the land of the Oregon Ducks.
The BCS, a computer-generated rank
ing that decides the two opponents in the
national championship game, released its
first list of teams Monday with the Pacific
10 Conference having a strong showing.
UCLA (6-0), which is ranked fifth in the
coaches poll and fourth in the Associated
Press poll, entered the BCS poll at the No.
3 spot.
“This BCS stuff, it doesn’t really matter
rightnow,” UCLAhead
coach Bob Toledo said
Monday. “There is a lot
of * football to be
played.”
The next-best Pac
IHp 10 team is Washing
hs M ton State (7-0), which
cracks the top-10 in
the BCS at No. 10.
The remaining members of the league to
be ranked were Washington (5-1) at No.
12, Oregon (6-1) at No. 13 and Stanford
(4-1) at No. 14.
Oklahoma was awarded the top spot,
meaning the Sooners control their own
destiny in their quest for a spot in the Rose
Bowl. Oklahoma faces its biggest test Sat
urday when it visits Nebraska, which was
ranked second by the BCS.
Miami, which is currently occupying
the top spot in both the coaches and the
AP polls, was listed at No. 4 largely be
cause its schedule strength is ranked 92nd
in the country — the lowest of the 15
teams in the BCS.
But the Hurricanes don’t appear too
concerned about it as they pointed to the
Oregon loss, among others, as an example
that other top-ranked teams could tumble
in the coming weeks.
TurntoPac-10, page 6
Oregon battles Gonzaga to start second-half
■With the first-half out of the way,
the Ducks take on Gonzaga tonight
in hopes of reviving their season
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
With an 8-11 overall record and 0-9
record in Pacific-10 Conference play, Ore
gon volleyball flat-out needs a win. The
Ducks have gone 10 games in a row with
out notching a victory and have yet to take
a conference foe further than four games.
Enter Gonzaga, a team in seemingly
the same shoes as the Ducks, but with
one major difference — the Bulldogs
have won in conference play, albeit in
the weaker West Coast Conference. The
Zags (6-11, 3-4) defeated Portland last
week to end their first-half on a high
note.
That reason alone makes the Ducks’
mission a little bit tougher, but it’s a task
they’re going to fight for.
“We’ve got to do anything we can to
be successful,” Oregon head coach Carl
Ferreira said. “That’s the bottom line.
We want to succeed.”
By Ferreira’s definition, the Oregon
women have not succeeded since Sept.
8, when they defeated Boise State for
their last win. However, in a season of
losses, there has been some success.
The Ducks have by
no means been the
talk of the Pac-10, but
they have some very
serious talent. Juniors
| Lindsay Closs and
Stephanie Martin go
to Spokane, Wash., to
take on the Zags after
terrorizing their conference opponents.
Senior Monique Tobbagi hopes to return
to her early season form against Gonza
ga, which is the first match of the sec
ond-half for the young squad.
“It’s going to be a good second-half,”
Tobbagi said. “We’ve been working real
ly hard and we’re just on a roll right
now. ”
Gonzaga, having played only Wash
ington State from the Pac-10, is a virtual
unknown to the Ducks. The Ducks will
exchange game tapes with the Zags, al
though they are not required to do so in a
non-conference match. But preparation
for the match will still be tough.
“When you play a non-conference
opponent at mid-season, you don’t
know as much about them,” Ferreira
said. “We do tape exchange with them,
but you’re in such a rhythm, separa
tion-wise, to understand scouting re
ports, and then to apply (what you’ve
learned).”
The Ducks are 6-2 all-time against
Gonzaga, but have lost two of their last
three matches to the Zags.
Westendorf movin’ on up
In the last two matches, freshman
Lauren Westendorf has become a pres
ence for the Ducks, paving the way for
what should be an impressive Oregon
career.
“Lauren is a fast player, plays with a
Turn to Volleyball, page 6
Fiesta Bowl still
a possibility for
No. 13 Oregon
■ Despite the loss to Stanford, the Ducks, ranked 13th
in the BCS, could still claim the Pac-10 championship
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
Come Saturday in Pullman, Washington State couldn’t
care less about Oregon’s now defunct national champi
onship dreams — the lOth-ranked Cougars are in the hunt
for themselves.
And a win over the former fifth-ranked Ducks wouldn’t
hurt their chances.
Oregon (6-1 overall, 3-1 Pacific-10 Conference), on the
other hand, is looking to get back on track after a 49-42 loss
to Stanford on Saturday, ending a four-year-old, 23-game
home-winning streak.
“Sometimes when you shoot for the stars, feelings get
hurt,” Oregon wide receiver Keenan Howry said. “We’re
still shooting for No. 1, there’s no point
to play for anything less.”
Head coach Mike Bellotti’s team led the
Cardinal 42-28 in the fourth quarter, but
consecutive blocked punts helped
Stanford score 21 unanswered points to
seal the win.
In the Bowl Championship Series poll
released Monday, Stanford (4-1, 2-1) was ranked right behind
Oregon at No. 14.
“The most important thing is not what happened (against
Stanford), where we got knocked down,” Bellotti said. “It’s
whether you get back up or not.
“I have a lot of faith in this group of kids. I think they’re
resilient, I think they’re tough and courageous.”
With the Cougs, ranked 10th in the BCS, Arizona State
and No. 5 UCLA are on the horizon in the next three weeks,
the Ducks still have a shot at playing in January, albeit not
the coveted Rose Bowl, barring a miracle.
Best-case scenario: Oregon’s greatest hope, it appears,
would be the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. With the nation
al championship in Pasadena this year, the Pacific-10
Conference champion, assuming it’s not one of the top-two
teams in the BCS, will follow in Oregon State’s footsteps
and play in the desert on New Year’s Day.
That means the Ducks would, of course, have to win
their last four games, including a bout in Los Angeles
with the Bruins, who are ranked third in the BCS poll
released Monday.
If the Ducks win out, Stanford — which plays UCLA
this weekend — and Washington would have to lose one
of their remaining games.
Should they falter in one of their remaining contests, the
Ducks could probably count on another trip to either, in
order, San Diego for the Holiday Bowl, El Paso for the Sun
Bowl or to the new Seattle Bowl.
“The national title is always a goal, and when you lose it,
you reevaluate your goals,” Bellotti said. “Now, our goal
will be to go to the Fiesta Bowl, or whatever the highest
bowl is that we can go to.
“My goal is, and always will be, to win the national title.
It just looks as if it will have to be pushed back a year now.”
Worst-case scenario: The Ducks lose out, and if they’re
lucky, pack their bags for the Las Vegas Bowl, which this year
plays host to the Pac-lO’s fifth-place team on Christmas day.
But don’t bet on it.
The problems: Besides Washington State and UCLA, the
only remaining undefeated teams in the Pac-10, the Ducks
should have some concerns about their defense, which is
ranked ninth in the Pac-10.
To their credit, the Ducks’ defense was worn down
Saturday after being on the field for more than 35 min
utes against Stanford.
“We just didn’t make the plays we needed to make,”
linebacker Kevin Mitchell said after the loss. “We were
on the field for quite a long time. The defense has got to
come out and make a stop ... we just didn’t wrap up.”
The key: Joey Harrington must continue to be solid and
the defense must cut down on the big plays. But most
important, Oregon’s special teams must play fundamental
football in order for the Ducks to have a shot at a BCS bid.