Tormey returns to location
of first loss with Wolf Pack
Nevada rolls into Autzen after a
hard-fought 24-23 victory against
Southern Utah to open its season
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
The last time Nevada head coach
Chris Tormey faced Oregon, it was his
first game at the head of the Wolf Pack.
Tormey led his young team into
Autzen Stadium and left with a
36-7 loss.
But this time around, the Wolf Pack
have 18 returning starters who are
searching for the team's first winning
season since 1998's 6-5 campaign.
Nevada's task now is to get the
job done.
In their season opener Saturday
against I-AA Southern Utah, the Wolf
Pack narrowly pulled off a 24-23 win.
"We made enough mistakes to lose
three games today," Tormey told the
Reno Gazette-Journal on Saturday.
"We kept an underdog in the game. It
was a more exciting game than it
should have been."
Regardless, it was a victory, and
Nevada comes to Autzen after its first
season-opening win since 1995.
In Saturday's victory, Logan Carter
did it all for the Wolf Pack.
The inside linebacker recovered a
fumble for a touchdown, intercepted
a pass and blocked an extra-point at
tempt that would have tied the game
with 3:06 remaining.
Carter, the 2002 W'estern Athletic
Conference Defensive Freshman of
the Year, and junior running back
Chance Kretschmer were the Wolf
Pack's standout players in the win.
Kretschmer rushed for 170 yards,
picking up where he left off in 2001
after missing most of the 2002 season
with a tom anterior cruciate ligament
in his left knee.
"Nevada's a scary team for me,"
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said.
"They had a game where they had to
scramble to win and I think that
wakes you up as a team."
According to Bellotti's logic, the
Wolf Pack should be wide awake for
their trip to Eugene.
"There's still a lot of optimism,"
Tormey told the Gazette-Journal.
"We've just got to stop making mis
takes. We will get them corrected be
fore we play Oregon."
One of Nevada's mistakes may
have been overconfidence from all the
hype of a winning season.
"I don’t know how you can be
overconfident in your first game,"
Tormey told the Gazette-Journal.
"We certainly won't be overconfident
in Eugene. Hopefully Oregon will be
overconfident. Once they see the
Courtesy
Defensive end Jorge Cordova led the team with nine tackles in Nevada’s season opener.
tape, they'll have every reason to be."
Tormey learned from one of the
best Pacific-10 Conference coaches
about giving other teams the burden
of overconfidence.
"Nevada's a scary team
forme. They had
a game where they
had to scramble
to win and I think that
wakes you up as a team."
Mike Bellotti
Oregon head football coach
Tormey's pre-Nevada experience
against Oregon is from his days as a
position coach for Washington. His
13 seasons included a stint as defen
sive coordinator for Don James in
1993 and 1994.
That Pac-10 knowledge may give
Tormey a hand in Saturday's game, as
well as down the road this season.
Saturday marks Nevada's second
game against a Pac-10 school since
Tormey's opening loss to the Ducks
three years ago (the Wolf Pack
played Washington State last sea
son). Nevada also managed to draw
Tormey's former employers, Wash
ington, at Husky Stadium later
this season.
"We're one of the better teams on
their schedule," Bellotti said. "There's
nothing they would like better than to
come in here and get a victory."
Nevada has one victory against
Oregon — the first ever game be
tween the two schools, a 13-6 result,
on Oct. 4, 1947. The teams have
played each other four times in the
past seven years.
Oregon's 2002 season showed
them the same fault of overconfi
dence Nevada may have hit, and the
Ducks are trying to take it one game
at a time.
"You can't take anybody lightly,"
Oregon center Dan Weaver said.
"They played a really close game and
they've got that experience under
their belt."
Contact the senior sports reporter
at mindirice@dailyemerald.com.
HAGER
continued from page 2
Sometimes he was beaten. And
sometimes he was outmuscled by play
ers who stood inches taller than him.
But Bauman was the rock-solid
force the Ducks also looked to. He
was the biggest benefactor to the Ore
gon defense that sometimes bent but
broke very few times.
He was never afraid to say what
was on his mind, even baiting op
ponents to say something in re
sponse. And invariably, those oppo
nents would be eating their words
come Saturday.
In Bauman's five seasons — 1999
was spent as a redshirt due to injury
— the Ducks went 45-15. Skip the
year he didn't play, and Bauman's
teams went 36-12 when he was on
the field.
That included wins in the Las Ve
gas Bowl, Sun Bowl, Holiday Bowl
and Fiesta Bowl.
Those are some credentials.
It's too much to ask Moore and
Gipson to be of Bauman's caliber.
Neither will get to his stature this sea
son, but it is imperative the Ducks de
velop a comerback this season who
can take the same attitude into games
that No. 17 once did.
They need someone, whether
that's Woods, Gilliam, or anyone else,
to step up and take the role of the ag
gressor. The Ducks need a player that
won't be afraid to take responsibility
for the overall health of the second
ary and make sure the defense plays
up to its capability.
Keith Lewis has the capability of
being a difference-maker, but he isn't
a primary pass defender.
Lewis will be there to help should
a comerback become too aggressive,
which might not be a bad thing. Af
ter last season's collapse, the thought
that safeties should help out more in
stead of leaving the comers on an is
land became an idea that was tossed
around more often.
But Lewis alone won't be enough
to help a group that has gone largely
unchanged in its key players. Ihe cor
ners cannot rely on him to be there
every time.
Bauman didn't, and instead
stepped up his play week-by-week.
Now, if the current Oregon comers
can do that, the sky could be the limit.
Contact the sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
We've got sp
at www.dailyemerald.com
1510 Coburg Road mlmr/cua'. nvarSafo\\av
HOURS: moil sal 11 (>. sun 11 i • (iSS 033s
The store for any budget
Nike • Adidas • Kappa • Puma • Diadora
• Kelme • Brine • Ref Gear • Official
Sports* Baden • Reusch • Vici • KwtkGoal
• Reedswain • Goal Sporting Goods
Your Community Soccer Source
133 £ I3td St. lugme (between Oak &? fearl)
Daily Starting at:
$41.99 +taxpernight
Accor hotels
Motel 6
3690 Glenwood Dr.
Eugene, OR 97403
(541) 687-2395
800-4-MOTEL 6
Only I Mile from U of ()
Take 1-5 South to exit 191
——
SALEM
ro burns
6/ TO
GRANTS
PASS
STUDENT GROUPS
Advertise in the Emerald.
Call 346-3712 to speak with a rep.
We have great University rates.