Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, November 20,2002
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
NCAA Basketball:
Xavier at Stanford
7:30 p.m., ESPN2
OSU looks to defense, UO looks to bowl
BEAVERS: The Pac-10’s top-ranked
defense will try to keep Oregon’s
sputtering offense in check
106th Civil War
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
In a conference hardly known for its
tenacious “D,” Oregon State is Jack
Black and orange.
The Beavers have the toughest de
fense in the conference and one of the
toughest in the nation. Oregon State is
10th in the nation in total defense.
Eighteenth in scoring defense. Eighth
in pass-efficiency defense.
Not the kind of statistics that exact
ly warm the hearts of a struggling Ore
gon offense.
“For us, it’s a tremendous challenge of
fensively because we have been inconsis
tent of late,” Oregon head coach Mike Bel
lotti said. “I told our kids, what a great
opportunity to go out there and beat the
best defense in the conference.”
Despite the Beavers’ 3-4 conference
record, Oregon State has kept most of
its games close this season. Other than
43-point and 41-point aberrations to
UCLA and Washington, respectively,
the Beavers have allowed only 13.4
points per game. In its recent semi
winning streak — Oregon State has
won four of the past five — the Beavers
have given up 12.5 points per game in
their four wins.
"For us, it's a tremendous
challenge offensively,
because we have been
inconsistent of late."
Mike Bellotti
Oregon head football coach
The Beavers’ defensive intensity has
been spearheaded by a fearsome four
some worthy of their Halloween-col
ored uniforms. Senior linebacker Nick
Barnett leads the defense and the con
ference in tackles, averaging five solo
tackles and almost 10 total tackles per
game. Senior cornerback Dennis
Weathersby is fifth in the conference
in pass deflections, and sophomore de
fensive lineman Bill Swancutt ranks
just ahead of Barnett — and fourth in
the Pac-10 — in tackles for loss.
uiumii<(m
Adam Amato Emerald
Samie Parker and the Ducks could be headed to a postseason game in Las Vegas or Seattle.
Rounding out the foursome is junior
linebacker Richard Seigler, who aver
ages 8.1 tackles per game and one for
loss each contest.
Oregon State head coach Dennis Erick
son said Barnett and Seigler are his an
chors when the other team has the ball.
“They have great speed, and that’s
kind of what our defense is built on,”
Erickson said. “They light a fire under
themselves and everybody else. Their
personality is kind of how we play de
fense, basically.”
Oregon State sophomore free-safety
star Mitch Meeuwesen returned to
Turn to Civil War, page 10
BOWLING: The Ducks could end up anywhere from
Seattle to El Paso for their postseason bowl game
Oregon notes
Adam Jude
Senior Sports Reporter
The subject: Oregon’s postseason destination.
The scenarios: endless.
But let’s look at the possibilities anyway.
If the Ducks (7-4 overall, 3-4 Pacific-10 Conference) defeat Ore
gon State in the Civil War—slated for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Reser
Stadium—they’re guaranteed no worse than fifth place in Pac-10,
which would send them to the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 25.
The best-case scenario would send Oregon to El Paso, Texas, for
the Sun Bowl, which the Ducks participated in at the end of the
1999 season. The worst case would have Oregon playing in the
Seattle Bowl.
Oregon currently stands in a four-way tie for fifth place
with the Beavers (7-4, 3-4), California (6-5, 3-4) and Wash
ington (6-5,3-4), though Cal has been banned from the post
season for NCAA violations.
Ultimately, the Ducks’ bowl fate could come down to how the
conference’s top teams finish.
No. 3 "Washington State (9-1,6-0), one win away from securing
a trip to the Rose Bowl, could end up playing for the national
championship at the Fiesta Bowl if it defeats Washington and
UCLA and either No. 1 Miami or No. 2 Ohio State lose. That would
push everyone else up in the Pac-10 bowl standings, with USC
(No. 8 in the Bowl Championship Series) headed for Pasadena.
Adding more confusion, the Ducks must wait on the UCLA
WSUgame on Dec. 7 to finalize postseason plans. UCLA (7-3,4-2)
still has to play USC this week, and could end up 4-4 in the confer
ence, with Oregon (which defeated the Bruins in Pasadena) hold
ing the tie-breaker.
If the Ducks lose to the Beavers, the possibilities are equal
ly complex.
If the Ducks lose, and Washington loses to Washington State in
the Apple Cup, Oregon would likely be headed to the Silicon Val
ley Classic in San Jose, Calif., on Dec. 31. An Oregon loss and a
Husky win, however, would likely send the Ducks to the Seattle
Bowl at Seahawks Stadium on Dec. 30. The Pac-10 is working on a
contract with the Seattle Bowl, which originally slated for the At
lantic Coast Conference and the Mountain West.
Despite all the December scenarios, head coach Mike Bellotti
said the Ducks are focusing on Oregon State this week.
“We’re just going to go out and do what we can,” Bellotti said.
“We’re in a bowl. I know that, I’ve been told that—it’s just where.”
Onterrio recovering from surgery
After having surgery Monday afternoon to repair tom carti
lage in his left knee, Oregon tailback Onterrio Smith “is doing
fine,” said running backs coach Gary Campbell, who spoke
with Smith after the 45-minute procedure.
“He said he doesn’t feel like he’s had surgery; he said he feels
pretty good, so I told him to get his ass to practice,” Campbell
said jokingly. “The surgery went well. He did have a tear in the
cartilage, and they repaired it. It was a pretty simple procedure.”
Campbell said Smith was scheduled to start rehab already
on Tuesday and expects him to return to practice in two to
Turn to Bowling, page 10
• .Adam Amato Emerald
Dariam Acevedo and Oregon are'on the verge/according to Stanford coach John Dunning.
UO volleyball team praised
by top conference coach
The Ducks are ‘on the verge of being able
to beat everyone,’ according to one coach
Volleyball notes
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
In the ultra-competitive world of Pacific-10 Con
ference volleyball, deciphering a team’s success
usually comes via wins and losses.
For Oregon volleyball, a 1-15 conference record
is nothing to smile about. Still, the Ducks — who
have gone 11-19 overall this season — have im
proved by leaps and bounds from a team that fin
ished without a Pac-10 victory last season.
At least that’s what one prominent Pac-10 head
coach sees in the Ducks.
“All of a sudden, they’re on the verge of being
able to beat everyone in the conference,” Stan
ford head coach John Dunning said. “They’re
very motivated.”
The Pac-10 certainly hasn’t helped Oregon’s case
for advancement. With six teams regularly ranked
in the top 25 in the nation, the Ducks are seeming
ly playing a ranked opponent every match.
The former head coach at Pacific, Dunning
came to Stanford prior to last season and led the
Cardinal to a national championship. This sea
son, Stanford is below its level from last season,
but is still a contender.
If anyone would have the ability to compare the
Pac-10 to the rest of the nation, Dunning would be it.
“The difference in the Pac-10 is that every team,
especially on the road, can beat any other team,”
he said. “They are much better teams than a lot of
teams in the country.
Turn to Volleyball, page 10