Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
-Oregon Daily Emerald
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Monday, November 10, 2003
UO’s comeback
bounces Bears
The Ducks score with less than a minute left to cap
a 21-17 win over the Golden Bears on Saturday
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
There was something epic about quarterback Keilen Clemens'
effort on Saturday against California.
It was something Oregon hadn't seen in almost two years, a
popular by former miracle worker |oey
It was an ability to reach into the depths
of the Ducks' off ense, gather up some con
fidence and lead Oregon to a 21-17 come
from-behind victory over tlje Golden Bears
in front of 57,511 at Autzen Stadium.
"To this team, this means a lot, to over
come that adversity," Clemens said.
The sophomore led two fourth-quarter scoring drives that
vaulted Oregon (6-4 overall, 3-3 Pacific-10 Conference) to the
team's first fourth-quarter comeback this season and also the first
since a 31-30 win over UCLA last season. He did it after sitting out
two quarters due to starting off the game 1 for 6 passing in the
first quarter.
"My confidence didn't drop as much as people think it did
when I went 1 for 6 in the first quarter," Clemens said.
The Ducks went into two-minute mode after a punt by Califor
nia's Tyler Fredrickson that found the Ducks at the Golden Bears'
43-yard line. Clemens immediately threw to Sarnie Parker for an
8-yard gain but then threw two straight incompletions.
On 4th-and-2 from California's 35, Demetrius Williams snared
in a Clemens pass along the right sideline and streaked for a 19
yard gain before being pushed out of bounds.
After five more plays and one California illegal substitution
penalty, Terrence Whitehead went around left on a pitch and put
the Ducks ahead, 21-17, with a 1-yard run.
"I was sitting there next to (linebackers coach Don Pellum) and
he looks at me and goes, 'Hey Kev, this kind of feels like a couple
years ago, huh?,"' Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell said. "I sat
and there and said, 'It really does.' It came out that way. We got
the offense back the ball and they put it in the end zone. What
more can you ask for?"
It took a defensive stand and interception by Keith Lewis with
four seconds left to seal the deal. It was a win for the Ducks that
means the world.
phenomenon made
Harrington.
FOOTBALL
Turn to GAME, page 12
Mark McCambridge Photographer
Terrence Whitehead (24) scored the winning touchdown Saturday in Oregon’s 21-17 victory.
Mindi Rice
The gir! and the game
Oregon
grooves
way to win
The Comeback Kids may have just seen
their rebirth at Autzen Stadium.
With apologies to the cliche king and
every Oregon beat writer who was going
to use this for Sunday's story — and every
California beat writer who eventually did
— the Ducks had the plug pulled on their
season on Saturday.
Well, until quarterback Kellen Clemens
returned to the game with 6:35 remaining
in the fourth quarter.
After die 23-minute power problem, tech
nically called a "control failure," the Ducks
found a groove just in time to get the win
and make a few thousand Duck fans smile.
There's hope yet, Oregon faithful.
Now that the Ducks are 6-4, they are
officially eligible for a bowl game — be
it the Silicon Valley Bowl or the Las Ve
gas Bowl. At least there are no return
trips to Seattle possible.
From the sound of things in the Califor
nia interview room after Saturday's daz
zlingly ducky 21-17 victory against the
Golden Bears, the fans laid the ground
work for a possible Oregon comeback.
Even with California's coaching staff
having eight former Oregon coaches or
players — all with direct experience with
Turn to RICE, page 8
Bowl opportunities shrinking for California after loss
The Golden Bears’ defense
held a low-scoring game in
Cal’s favor until halfway
through the fourth quarter
By Mindi Rice
Senior Sports Reporter
California's magic number is 31.
In the Golden Bears' five wins this
season, they have scored 31 points
or more.
Twenty-eight didn't cut it against
Kansas State, and 17 eventually didn't
hold as the Ducks took Saturday's
game, 21-17, at Autzen Stadium.
The lowest point total that Califor
nia has scored this season held until
the final two minutes of the game.
"It was tough watching them drive
to the other end of the field and get
two good gains on the same play
and finally just put it in," tight end
Garrett Cross said. "The penalties
hurt us, but that's just the way the
game goes I guess."
After a 10-7 halftime lead for Cali
fornia that held into the fourth quar
ter, the game that could have been a
high-point shootout looked dull
and lifeless.
With 10:07 left in the fourth quar
ter, Cross grabbed an 18-yard pass
from quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a
touchdown, increasing the Golden
Bears' lead to 17-7.
"I thought, 'Wow, we have this,'"
Cross said. "All we have to do is play
solid defense like we've been playing
and just run the clock out."
And just like that, a season that
opened 1-3 — then caught up with a
.500 record — started to close its doors.
On the final play against Oregon,
Adimchinobe Echemandu — who
came into the game as the Pacific-10
Conference's second-leading rusher
— was injured.
"He got a bad ankle sprain (on the
play)," Golden Bears head coach Jeff
Tedford said. "It could be more seri
ous than that but it's too early to tell."
Cornerback Mike McGrath was
also injured during Saturday's game.
Fed ford said McGrath's injury
looked like a broken leg after a first
evaluation.
Turn to CAL, page 8
Mark McCambridge Photographer
Andre Josepth led the Ducks with 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting.
Brooks impresses in first game with Ducks
Oregon easily defeats its
Ukranian counterpart by 20
in the Ducks’ first exhibition
game of the 2003-04 season
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
It took only four minutes for the
McArthur Court faithful to get the hang of
the "Aaron" chant.
MEN'S
BASKETBALL
Aaron Brooks and
Luke Jackson offi
cially started the
Aaron-2-Luke era on
Sunday in front of
8,666 at Mac in im
pressive fashion.
OK, so maybe Aaron-2-Luke doesn't
sound as good as Luke-2-Luke, but it could
very well be just as effective this season as
the past three years. Brooks posted 14
points and four assists in 24 minutes as
the Ducks defeated MBC Nikolaev, 96-76.
"He's going to be good," Oregon's lan
Crosswhite said of the freshman point
guard. "He'll push the ball as fast as any
guard in the Pac-10. Like any freshman,
he's going to get better as time goes on."
If Brooks wasn't shooting three-pointers
— he made 2 of 3 — or making no look
passes, he was going coast-to-coast on
layups.
Or maybe he was making Nikolaev — a
team from the Ukraine — defenders lunge
at the ball, only to slip away untouched. It
was Brooks' first game in an Oregon uni
form, and even though it didn't count, he
showed that Luke Ridnour's departure to
the NBA may not be as much of a worry as
previously had been thought.
"I've told people this all along; he is a
gifted player," Oregon head coach Ernie
Kent said. "People are going to have a
chance to really see him grow and become
a great player. He has all the tools to be a
great one: speed, shooting ability, an abili
ty to finish in the hole and the thing he
probably does the best is run the team."
Overall, Brooks finished the night on 5
of 10 shooting, committing one turnover
and three fouls.
Brooks' speed was evident against the
mismatched Ukrainian squad. Nikolaev
had just eight players available for the
game, and three of them — Evgen Podor
vannyy, Olexiy Onufriyev and Ivan Gile
vich — fouled out.
Brooks said he was out to have fun in
his first game at McArthur Court.
"When I first got in, I was nervous, but I
Turn to BASKETBALL, page 12