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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2002)
Sports Editor Peter Hockaday peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com Tuesday, October 15,2002 -Oregon Daily Emerald Sports Best bet English soccer: Everton at Manchester United 12 p.m., Fox Sports Pac-10 QBs may pass passing records The conference has had seven quarterbacks pass for400yards this season Pac-10 Notes Adam jude Senior Sports Reporter By the end of the season, Pacific-10 Conference officials may have to rewrite all of the league’s quarterback records. With Arizona quarterback Jason Johnson’s 443-yard performance against Washington on Saturday, the Pac-10 has seven 400-yard passing games this season, which ties the conference’s all-time mark, set in 1998. To put the numbers in perspective, the Pac-10 had a total of seven 400-yard games from 1999 2001. “I can’t believe the way the quarterbacks are racking up yards,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said last week. “They’re doing a great job. They are red-hot right now. There are some great quarterbacks in this league.” Johnson, Washington’s Cody Pickett and Arizona State’s Andrew Walter each have two 400-yard passing games this season, while Jason Gesser of Washington State has one. Even more impressive is that the Pac-10 has seven quarterbacks ranked in the nation’s top-23 in passing efficiency. At the top of that list is Oregon’s Jason Fife, whose 12-to-l touchdown-to-interception ratio gives him a 161.2 quarterback rating, third-best in the NCAA. Gesser, who has thrown for 1,894 yards and 16 touchdowns, is eighth nationally with a rat ing of 155.3. Pickett, the Pac-10 leader with 375.2 passing yards per game, is No. 11 nationally in pass effi ciency. He has thrown for more than 300 yards in every game this season. Walter (No. 12 in the NCAA), Johnson (No. 14), UCLA’s Cory Paus (No. 15), and Cal’s Kyle Boiler (No. 23) round off the Pac-lO’s top quar terbacks. Not to be forgotten, USC senior quarterback Car son Palmer, while last in the conference in passing efficiency, is third on the Pac-10 career passing list. Palmer, who has 9,506 career passing yards, will likely become the third quarterback in conference history to surpass the 10,000-yard passing mark. Stanford’s Steve Stenstrom (10,911 yards) and UCLA’s Cade MeNown (10,368) are the other two. UCLA 'flabbergasted’ Bob Toledo’s in the hot seat — is he ever not? — after another one-point loss to the Ducks. Clinging to a 30-24 lead late in the third-quarter, the UCLA head coach called for a fake field goal on fourth-and-15. UCLA holder Garrett Lepisto's pass was complete to Marcedes Lewis, but Oregon fresh man Aaron Gipson made the tackle for just an eight yard gain. “Any time you run a fake, you're open to criti cism,” Toledo said after the game. The UCLA players were not quite so eloquent. “I think we beat ourselves,” UCLA cornerback Ricky Manning told reporters. “There's no way that team should beat us. You’d like to show good sports manship and tip your hat to (the Ducks), but they just didn’t do it today.” Slick Rick penalized The NCAA Committee on Infractions handed down its ruling last week in a recruiting-violations case involving Colorado and former coach Rick Neuheisel, now the head man at Washington. Colorado will have its football scholarships re duced by five for one year, while Neuheisel cannot make any off-campus recruiting trips until May 31. Neuheisel said he did not intentionally break NCAA recruiting rules. Turn to Pac-10, page 10 Washington State Media Services courtesy photo Washington State's Jason Cesser, who threw for 297yards and three touchdowns in a win over Stanford on Saturday, ranks eighth in the NCAA in passing efficiency. ‘Redemption’ comes for Cal California has taken the right path to improvement in Pac-10 volleyball and has it sight set on the NCAAs Volleyball Hank Hager Sports Reporter Jeff Tedford has made a name for California football, but that squad may not even be the hottest team on the Berkeley cam pus. Golden Bear volleyball, which has had a habit of losing in recent years, has resurfaced as a potential NCAA Tournament team from the Pacific-10 Conference. Although the Bears sport a record of just 3-4 in conference play (12-4 overall), it is a step up from last season’s 3-15 finish. Only Oregon has shown the same futility that the Golden Bears have suffered recently, and unlike the Ducks, California has done something about it. California’s victory over No. 20 Arizona on Saturday in Tuc son showed the turnaround in the program. One night after the Wildcats defeated No. 4 Stanford, the Golden Bears came on strong and took out their first ranked opponent since last season. It was their first victory over Arizona since 1995. “The disappointment in the desert turned into redemption - that was the word of the day for us,” California head coach Rich Feller said, comparing the game to California’s loss to Ari zona State the night before. “Every member of the team be lieved it. This shows how strong the Pac-10 is, considering that Arizona had defeated defending national champion Stanford the night before. This also shows how good we can be.” If history had a place in sports, Cal would be nowhere near the winning map. But like all programs rising above mediocrity and ineptitude, the Bears have had to forget history and opti mism has had to come out of the shadows. Cal has done all that. “History doesn't matter,” senior Leah Young told the Daily Californian. “It is all about the present and the future.” The talent and talk is there. Now all the Bears have to do is .. .. . titiitititttittti Turn to Volleyball, page 10 Ultimate RUSH Jeremy Forrest Emerald , 'Sqr^n^VVQOcii.C^Qhiog.djs/c), and,the Oregon women's ultimate team finished sixth in the nation last season, and hope to repeat this year. The Oregon women’s Ultimate Frisbee team finished sixth in the country last season Scott Archer Freelance Sports Reporter More than two months away from serious compe tition, the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team is already getting focused for a tough sea son ahead. The team is working at be coming even better, and is trying to build on a sixth place national finish from last year. Like all good teams, the Ducks know their next season’s success is made during the off-season. So even with more than 60 days before the season’s first game, players are al ready practicing and recruiting for the upcoming sea son. Yes, recruiting. “We have the returners do some recruiting for the season, to get girls interested in joining the team,” said coach Rachelle Depper, who eo-coaehes with Jared Weybright. “We have 10 to 14 new players that are out practicing now, along with 12 returners.” With so many players back, experience shouldn’t be a problem for the Ducks, considering only seven players can take the field at one time. A line-up of seven experienced players starting, another five ex perienced players coming of the bench and 10 new players makes this year’s squad a well-balanced blend of youth and experience. “We have a lot of veterans returning,” said Depper. “We expect to qualify for nationals. We have a great Turn to Ultimate, page 10
