Oregon daily emerald., October 11, 2002, Page 2B, Image 14

Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Friday, October 11,2002
-OregonDaily Emerald
Game I )ay
Best bet
California at USC
3:30 p.m. Saturday, Fox Sports
The big box
of football
Tasty morsel No. 1
You want offense? You got it
The Ducks and Bruins have
combined to gain at least 727
yards in each of the last seven
contests played between the
two teams. '
Morsel No. 2
Oregon’s trip to UCLA will be a
homecoming of sorts for Duck
>layers. Of the 103 players
isted on the Oregon roster, 54
)iayed high school football in
lalifornia and 26 hail from the
southern part of the state.
'ivia Bowl
Jot only does Oregon own the
second best winning streak in
the nation, the Ducks have the
third best record in the 21 st
zentury behind only Miami and
)klahoma. How many wins do
the Ducks have since 2000?
Rank me
Oregon and UCLA in the 2002
Pac-10 rankings
Rushing offense
Oregon.2
UCLA .1
(Passing offense
Oregon..9
Scoring offense
Oregon.3
UCLA.*...„u.„6
Total offense
Oregon.,,,.,.*,..,..6
UCLA.....,.,..;,.3
Rushing defense
Morsel No. 3
In further proof of the Oregon
UCLA connection, former Duck
offensive coordinator and
current UCLA head coach Bob
Toledo is 4-2 all-time against
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti.
Trivia answer
Oregon has gone 26*3 since the
turn of the century. . ..
Passing defense
Oregon.5
UC L^V. ,4
Scoring defense
Oregon.. 1
UCLA...7
UCLA defies odds in Pac-10 play
The Bruins have used a highly
productive offense to lead them
to the front of the conference
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
For UCLA head coach Bob Tole
do, the 2002 season was lining up to
be a tough year.
First his leading rusher from last
season, DeShaun Foster, graduated
to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
Then his star defensive back,
Ricky Manning Jr., posted a
$60,000 bond in late August for
one count of felony assault stem
ming from a bar fight in April.
Finally, last season’s starting
quarterback for most of the sea
son, Cory Paus, was placed on pro
bation after a misdemeanor con
viction of driving under the
influence of alcohol — his second
offense in two years.
Things weren’t exactly looking
rosy for Toledo and the Bruins.
But now, at 4-1 overall (1-0 Pacif
ic-10 Conference) and ranked 25th
in the nation, UCLA is smelling bet
ter than ever.
“We’ve been disrespected and
counted out by a lot of people this
year,” UCLA offensive guard
Eyoseph Efseaff told the Daily Bru
in. “We want a ring this year, and
we’re going to fight our butts off to
get it.”
Faced with a daunting 14-0
deficit early on against Oregon State
last week, the Bruins rallied with 29
consecutive points to pull ahead for
a 43-35 victory. The win not only
represented the Bruins’ ability to
answer with a high-octane offense
Courtesy UCLA Media Services
Ricky Manning jr. leads a Bruin defense that is often overshadowed by UCLA's high-powered offense.
— as Paus showed with 378 yards
passing — but also the maturity to
defeat a quality opponent, as the
Beavers were expected to fight for
the Pac-10 Championship.
With the win, UCLA has seeming
ly cemented the possibility of play
ing a postseason bowl, whether it be
in Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
With those expectations come
the cliched target on the uniform.
Like the Ducks, the Bruins are rec
ognized as one of the Pac-lO’s best,
but unlike Oregon, UCLA will have
to continue its winning ways with a
young running game.
With sophomore and incumbent
starter Manuel White listed as
doubtful against the Ducks due to
a hamstring injury, redshirt fresh
man Tyler Ebell has been penciled
in as the starting runner. He re
sponded last week filling in for
White, accumulating 203 yards on
29 carries, including a 73-yard
dash that ended in a tackle at the
Beaver one-yard line.
“(Ebell) hasn’t got a lot of reps in
practice, yet he got his opportunity
Turn to UCLA, page 8B
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Oregon quarterback Jason Fife is frustrated by his team's penalties this season.
Penalties still hurt
5-0 Oregon team
The Ducks are ninth in the
in average penalty yards per
game, ahead of Oregon State
Mindi Rice
Freelance Sports Reporter
When a team has more penalty
yards than the opposing team has
rushing yards in one game,
that team should be something to
worry about.
Even if that team is 5-0.
The Ducks amassed 13 penalties
for a total of 110 yards against Ari
zona on Saturday. The Wildcats
rushed for 30 yards and had 46
penalty yards on six penalties.
In Oregon’s five games this sea
son, it has earned 444 penalty
yards through 54 penalties, or 88.8
penalty yards per game. The Pacif
ic-10 Conference average is 70.5
penalty yards per game.
Oregon has committed a signifi
cant number of its penalties on
kickoffs. The Ducks repeatedly are
jumping the play with offsides.
Some players also are having prob
lems keeping their emotions in
check, as celebration penalties and
personal fouls have crept into the
Ducks’ games.
“A lot of them are anxious
penalties,” Oregon head coach
Mike Bellotti said. “I can’t fault
them entirely because they’re ag
gressive penalties.”
i t v■ - * i < » >* » y 1 t - 3 4
That doesn’t mean Bellotti has
nothing to worry about. The
Ducks are second in the Pac-10 in
average penalty yards per game.
The only team with a higher
penalty-yards-per-game average is
Oregon State, with 103.2.
"I can't fault them
entirely because
they're aggressive
penalties."
Mike Bellotti
Oregon head coach
Saturday’s opponent, UCLA, is
ninth in the conference in penalty
yards, with only 247 total yards in
five games. UCLA is last in the
Pac-10 for opponent’s penalties,
with opponents averaging only
45.2 penalty yards per game.
Bellotti is frustrated by his
team’s lack of concentration.
“We talked about a combination
of stupid penalties and selfish penal
ties, and we have to be rid of them,”
Bellotti said. “It hasn’t come up and
bit us in the behind yet, but it will.
That’s very important that our play
ers understand that ”
Despite the high numbers of
penalties, Oregon is still going
strong. The Ducks are averaging
Turn to Penalties, page 5B
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