Sports Editor
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Monday, September 29,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
SIX )R 1 S
Best bet
NFL: Green Bay at Chicago
6 p.m. ABC
It's a blowout: Cougars embarrass Oregon
Washington State came out
“on fire” and held the Oregon
offense in check on Saturday
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
Washington State waited until halfway
through the first quarter to force Oregon's
first turnover.
Two minutes later, after the Cougars
turned the blocked punt into a field goal,
free safety Jeremy Bohannon picked off Ja
son Fife's first throw of the day.
"We just knew we had to come out on
fire," Bohannon said. "Our main goal was,
just to get some turnovers in this garnet
If it was turnovers the Cougars w*fnted,
it was turnovers the Cougars gdt. They
found ways — nine, in fart —/Go fofce the
Ducks to hand the ball ggh) back into
their paws.
Oregon's quarterback tandem of soph
omore Kellen Clemens and Fife, a senior,
had yet to throw an interception during
the Ducks' 4-0 start.
Clemens alone was picked off four
times, including three interceptions during
a five-minute span in the second quarter.
Four was a magic number for the
Cougar defense. They also sacked
Clemens four times for 21 yards.
"The whole week they kept talking
about the hype of the Ducks and the two
great quarterbacks with no turnovers,"
Washington State defensive end D.D.
Turn to COUGARS, page 14
Mark McCambridge Senior Photographer
Demetrius Williams fumbles after a 47-yard pass completion in Saturday's first quarter.
Oregon turned the ball over seven times
en route to the Cougar's record 55 points
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
Oregon found out Saturday that as quickly as hype can
be bestowed, it can be taken away even quicker.
Against Washington State, Oregon learned the hard way.
Just days after finding themselves on the cover of Sports Il
lustrated, the Ducks fell to the Cougars 55-16 in front of
57,473 fans at Autzen Stadium.
"There is no way to describe it" Oregon linebacker Kevin
Mitchell said.
FOOTBALL
The Cougars (4-1 overall, 1-0 Pacific-10 Conference)
outplayed the Ducks in every fash
ion, blocking two punts and forcing —
the Ducks to turn the ball over time
after time. Washington State forced
nine turnovers, including seven in
the first half. -
Washington State gained 125
yards on the ground, and had two quarterbacks combine
to throw for 315 yards.
The 55 points the Cougars put on the board was the
most by any opponent at Autzen. It was the also the worst
loss at home for the Ducks since a 54-0 defeat at the hands
of Washington in 1977.
If there's any question as to why the Ducks failed to stay
close to the Cougars, a quick look at the stat sheet would
answer it. The nine turnovers committed by the Ducks (4
1, 1 -1) kept them from establishing any consistency on of
fense, evidenced by 79 yards rushing.
"Early on, we committed so many turnovers we could
n't keep the same balance on offense we usually like," Ore
gon head coacli Mike Bellotti said.
What national title hopes the Ducks had entering the
game were quickly erased by the Cougars. Washington
Turn to OREGON, page 18
Oregon's loss leaves more questions to answer
Hank Hager
Behind the dish
Here's a situation that just seems so mind
boggling it would hurt your head if you re
ally tried to figure it out.
First, Washington State narrowly lost to
Notre Dame earlier this season, falling short
in overtime. Next came the Fighting Irish's
38-0 blowout loss to Michigan.
Then, a 31-27 Oregon victory over the
Wolverines was followed by the 55-16
blowout the Ducks received at the hands of
the Cougars on Saturday.
Huh?
Does this make any sense at all? If the
Cougars could lose to Notre Dame, how
could they beat the Ducks, who beat Michi
gan, who absolutely destroyed Notre Dame?
Which team is the real deal? Who is going
to come out on top this season?
If you answered Oregon, you're probably
more wrong than right, but the door to the
Rose Bowl is still open plenty wide for the
Ducks to squeak through.
It's going to take an effort, though. If Ore
gon couldn't come out of the gates like gang
busters against the Cougars — especially af
ter the Michigan win — then how can they
do the same with the likes of Stanford and
California left on the schedule?
Maybe the Wolverines were still on Ore
gon's mind. After the Washington State
game, Sarnie Parker said he thought the
Ducks weren't focused on Washington State
and didn't have the same kind of energy
when they hit the Autzen Stadium field.
If you're going to compete in — or even
dream of — the national championship,
that's a tough pill to swallow.
There's no doubt that Oregon players
were fired up before the game, though.
Asked after the game whether Michigan was
still on their minds, Kevin Mitchell said that
it shouldn't have been the case.
"If it was, that was a shame," the senior
said. '"That's only game (five), and you've got
more to go."
The future will be the key to a winning
finish or a losing drought for Oregon. This
season the Ducks have said that they have
changed since last season — a time when
team chemistry was a problem.
Turn to HAGER, page 18
J
Oregon soccer sinks to 5-4 after shutout loss to Fullerton State
Women's soccer drops its fourth
straight game on the road in LA
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
Clearly, away games are not the strong point
for the Oregon women's soccer team. Or at least
they haven't been for the past two weeks.
Oregon (5-4 overall) was shut out 5-0 for
the second time in three
days on Sunday against w ^
Cal State Fullerton (6- WClWfEfir S
3). In the Ducks' third SOCCER
weekend on the road, _
Oregon was also
shunned 5-0 by Loyola Marymount in Los
Angeles on Friday.
The Ducks began the season undefeated
with five wins, three of them coming at Pape
Field, yet in the past two weekends on the
road, Oregon has lost four straight, all by
shutout. Oregon faced then-No. 4 Texas A&M
and Southern Methodist University over the
Sept. 19 weekend and lost by a combined 6-0
score in the two games in Dallas.
Sunday marked the fourth straight game
where Oregon failed to put one in the back of
the net. Cal State Fullerton coasted to its first
win over a Pacific-10 Conference team in five
years, snapping a six-game losing streak.
The recurring shutouts are not a good sign for
the Oregon offense, which looked to be rejuve
nated earlier with the return of redshirt sopho
more Nicole Garbin, who missed last season
with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Sunday "was a frustrating day," Oregon
head coach Bill Steffen said. "We actually
played pretty well in the first half."
Ifie Ducks put up a strong front against the
Titans as they released three shots in the first
15 minutes, all within seven yards of the goal.
Yet two of the goals missed wide right and the
third was blocked by a Fullerton defender.
The Titans saved their energy for the end of
the first half by converting twice in the final
three minutes before halftime. The Titans con
tinued their rout of the Ducks by taking a 3-0
lead just four minutes into the second half.
“After the third goal, which came early in
the second half, I think it rattled our play
ers," Steffen said. "We lost our concentra
tion from then on."
Cal State Fullerton scored its final two goals
within four minutes of one another toward
the latter part of the second half.
For the Ducks, redshirt freshmen Sabrina De
Monte and Andrea Valadez each recorded two
shots. Midfielders Erin Engelhardt and Cristan
Higa each one of Oregon's two shots on goal.
In goal, redshirt sophomore Domenique
Lainez recorded one save while allowing five
goals. Senior goalkeeper Mary Etter made a five
minute appearance at the end, but allowed no
goals and recorded no saves.
Turn to SOCCER, page 17
vr f
Forward Nicole Garbin (right) has been
on offense this season with four goals.
Adam Amato Photo Editor
Oregon's leading force