Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Friday, October 25,2002
Oregon Daily Emerald-—
Game Day
Best bet
Notre Dame at Florida State
9 a.m. Saturday, ABC
The big box
of football
Tasty morsel No. 1
The Ducks have not lost two
straight games since i 999.
Oregon lost at Washington
on Oct 2, 1999 and at UCLA
the following week. Since
then, the Ducks have lost a
total of four games.
Morsel No. 2
The Ducks have won four
straight games against USC,
including three by four
points or less.
Trivia Bowi
Who was Oregon^ starting
quarterback when the Ducks
last lost to USC?
Rank me
Oregon and USC in the 2002
Pac-10 rankings
Rushing offense
Oregon...... .1
USC.....7
Passing offense
Oregon..........9
USC....5
Scoring offense
Oregon.I
USC...........8
Total offense
Oregon..............4
USC............6
Rushing defense
Oregon.........1
USC.........B
Passing defense
Oregon............. 10
use....1
Scoring defense
Oregon...4
USC....1
Morsel No. 3
Oregon’s Keenan Howry and
USC’s Kareem Kelly, both
senior wide receivers, could
make history Saturday Each
has tied the Pac-10 record
with a reception in 42
straight games. The NCAA
record is 46 games.
Trivia answer
Jason Maas was Oregon’s
starting quarterback when the
Ducks last lost to USC, 24*22,
at Los Angeles in 1997. Akili
Smith replaced Maas in the
second half.
t * i * f i ‘ * I , ♦. * * * " ‘
USC looks to end skid at Oregon
With a redefined team and an
improved offense, the USC
Trojans are looking to find their
way to a Rac-10 Championship
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
The USC Trojans come to Oregon
this weekend, and they come with a
vengeance.
The Trojans have nothing to lose,
with the exception of their second
Pac-10 game, because the recent
history between the two teams has
USC a little upset.
USC (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) has lost its
past four matchups with Oregon.
Last year, the game was decided by
an Oregon field goal with 14 seconds
left, and in 1999, the game went to
triple overtime. That game was also
decided by a field goal.
But things change. USG has
changed. Many of the Trojan players
have stepped up in their roles this
season with several beginning to ful
fill their potential.
Senior quarterback Carson
Palmer leads the Trojans and has
found his niche as one of the nation’s
marquee signal-callers.
Palmer is a four-year veteran with
USC and holds six career records for
the Trojans. Palmer has completed
60.3 percent of his passes for 1,981
yards and 13 touchdowns in 2002.
The senior is ranked 16th nation
ally in total offense, at 271.6 yards
per game, and third in the Pac-10.
“Carson Palmer is playing like a true
veteran quarterback,” Oregon head
coach Mike Bellotti said. “He’s always
been a great athlete, but he’s playing
like a great quarterback right now.”
Last week, Palmer threw for 348
yards and four touchdowns against
Adam Amato Emerald
USC quarterback Carson Palmer (3) makes his fourth appearance at Autzen Stadium, looking for his first win in Eugene.
Washington to lead No. 19 USC to a
41-21 victory over the Huskies.
In other offense, rushing hasn’t
been the strongest point for the Tro
jans in the recent past. In 2001, USC
averaged only 87.7 rushing yards per
game, mostly because injuries
plagued the Trojan runners.
The fact that senior tailback Sultan
McCullough was sidelined after six
games in 2001 with a strained abdomi
nal muscle didn’t help, either. But he is
back now and better than ever in lead
ing all other USG rushers.
McCullough has rushed for 608
yards this season and is averaging
80.9 yards per game, placing him
third in the Pac-10. He has rushed
for 100 yards 11 times in his career.
McCullough is also one of the fastest
players to ever wear a Trojan uni
form after winning the 1999 Pac-10
100-meter championship in track
and field.
“Sultan McCullough is the fastest
running back we will face, and prob
ably one of the fastest in the nation,”
Bello tti said.
The Trojan defense isn’t looking
Turn to LISC, page 19B
Ducks flying together again after loss
Oregon lost as a team
last week and hopes to win
as one this week
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
The 45 points.
The 25 unanswered points.
The 559 total yards passing.
Numbers tend to stick out after a
loss, especially after a loss of the
magnitude that has followed Oregon
football around for almost a week.
Gone is the possibility of a perfect
season, and, most likely, the chances
of a bid to play in the Fiesta Bowl for
the national championship.
But while the offense exploded
and the defense toiled against Ari
zona State, no one player can be
blamed, the Ducks said. No one unit
can be derided.
Because football is a team game,
and for a win, everyone must act
accordingly.
“We lost as a team, offensively
and defensively,” junior running
back Onterrio Smith said. “Every
body admitted to their mistakes, to
everything that was done out there.
The blown coverages, the missed
pass protections, the fumbles.
Everybody admitted to that. We just
take that and bring it into practice
and try to reenergize.”
Junior quarterback Jason Fife
threw for 288 yards and three
touchdowns on 21-of-3’2 passing.
Smith extended his streak of 100
yard games to seven with 172 yards
on 27 attempts.
But it all didn’t matter. It all came
crashing down when, with 1:35 left
in the game, Sun Devil Brett Hudson
picked off a Fife pass.
All that, though, may not have mat
tered if the Oregon defense had suc
cessfully held the Sun Devils to less
than 35 points in the second half.
"We lost as a team/
offensively and
defensively"
Onterrio Smith
Oregon running back
“I think the defense did their job
when they had to,” Fife said. “Sure,
they had (559) yards passing put up
against them, but when it came
down to it, they held them to a field
goal with about two minutes left for
the offense to do their job. So when
it came down to it, they did their
job, but I just don’t think we fin
ished very well.”
Oregon, through its first seven
games of the season, had become a
group that, despite shortcomings in
any one area, has gelled. The lines
between defense and offense are
only drawn by the positions each
player plays.
Turn to Flying, page 15B
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Tight end George Wrighster just misses a potential touchdown catch in Oregon's 45
, , 4j2 loss to Arizona State last week at Autzen Stadium.