Clemens shows
hot hand at end
Oregon’s quarterback
rotation plays a vital role in
the team’s sudden come
from-behind victory Saturday
By Hank Hager
Sports Editor
When sophomore Kellen
Clemens went cold after six passes in
the first quarter, senior Jason Fife
took control of the Oregon offense
and led the team on a second quar
ter scoring drive that tied the game
at seven.
When Fife went cold after a five
play drive in the fourth quarter,
L-lemens came
back in and
worked miracles
for the win.
Overall, the duo
went 17 of 34 for
224 yards passing
and two touch
downs.
"It was great,"
Fife said. "I had
his back coming
in early and he
had mine coming
hack late."
When the
Ducks won their
first four games of the season,
Clemens and Fife were considered
the next best thing. They combined
to throw for zero interceptions and
led Oregon to an upset win over
then-No. 3 Michigan.
But in the team's last four losses in
five games, they've gone cold and
have received their fair share of flack
for Oregon's slump.
Saturday's game may have revali
"Jason (Fife) and I don't
think about (the quarter
back roation). We trust
the coaches to make their
decisions. I guess they're
the ones who lose sleep
over it sometimes,
not us."
Kellen Clemens
Oregon quarterback
dated head coach Mike Bellotti's rota
tion of the two.
“Jason and I don't think about it,"
Clemens said. "We trust the coaches
to make their decisions. I guess they're
the ones that lose sleep over it some
times, not us."
The night the lights went out
With 14:40 left to play at 9:21
p.m. in the fourth quarter, the Ducks
and Golden Bears received quite a
surprise.
Lights on the south side of the sta
dium turned off, leaving Autzen Sta
dium in partial darkness. Players from
both teams went back into their lock
ti loonib auer
they were told
there would be a
lengthy delay due
to the time it
takes to fully cool
down the lights
and repower
them.
The game start
ed 23 minutes af
ter the lights ini
tially flickered off.
"It's a distrac
tion," California
wide receiver Ge
off McArthur
said. "You hope it doesn't distract
your guys. You want to go out there
and continue to play with intensity,
but it's unfortunate it happened. 1
don't think it damaged anything for
us."
According to an Oregon official,
the cause of the problem was a con
trol failure, much like a computer
shutting down the system due to a
power surge.
Mark McCambridge Photographer
Oregon quarterback Kellen Clemens returned to the game late in the fourth quarter, leading the Ducks to a comeback victory.
Before the lights went out, the
south concourse also went dark, as
did the press box.
"We just wanted to get out there
and play," McArthur said of the delay.
"Me, honestly, 1 didn't care if we
played with half the lights on and half
the lights off. I thought it was a fair
chance for both teams."
California had the ball when the
lights went out, but didn't score. Two
possessions later, though, the Golden
Bears increased their lead to 17-7.
That's when Clemens took over,
leading Oregon to the victory.
"I knew it was going to be a special
fourth quarter when the lights went
out," Bellotti said.
Random thoughts
The 57,511 in attendance at
Autzen Stadium marked the 29th
straight sellout for the Ducks. That
streak predates the expansion of
Autzen Stadium, which occurred
prior to last season. The last time
Oregon failed to sell out a game was
on Sept. 25, 1999 when 45,660
watched the Ducks defeat USC, 33
30, in three overtimes.
Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell
moved to sixth all-time in tackles for
the Ducks. He had 10 against Califor
nia, bumping his career total to 341.
He passed Mark Kearns, Steve Rennie
and Chad Cota. He needs 13 to tie
Chris Cosgrove for fifth.
Keith Lewis' fourth-quarter inter
ception was his 11th career pick, mov
ing him into a lOth-place tie on Ore
gon's all-time list with Kenny
Wheaton and Les Palm.
Contact the sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
Danielle Hickey Senior Photographer
California punt returner Vincent Strang is tackled by Oregon players Saturday.
CAL
continued from page 7
During the first quarter, the game
moved at a snail's pace with Califor
nia controlling the clock for 12 min
utes and 50 seconds of the 15-minute
time frame.
The Golden Bears put the first
points on the board with a 1-yard
touchdown run by Echemandu four
seconds into the second quarter.
Oregon tied the game eight min
utes later when Jason Fife threw a 13
yard pass to Sarnie Parker in the far
corner of the end zone.
California regained the lead with
less than three minutes remaining in
the half on a 53-yard field goal by
Tyler Fredrickson, giving the half
time score of 10-7 that held until the
fourth quarter.
Rodgers, coming off a 307-yard
passing game a week before, was held
to 188 yards in the air by the worst
passing defense in the conference.
"We just didn't execute very well,"
Rodgers said. "(The Ducks are) a great
defensive ball team."
Rodgers and the Golden Bears had
the last opportunity of the game. With
1:15 on the clock, California got the
ball on its own 25-yard line.
"It's a tough situation," Rodgers
said. "Forty-one seconds and (75)
yards to go. We hit a couple passes
right off the bat and I thought we were
going to do a little more, but I made a
bad decision on the last one and we
just couldn't do it."
After two completed passes
stopped the clock and moved the
Golden Bears to the Oregon 33,
Rodgers missed on two straight to
create a 3rd-and-10 from Oregon's
33.
But Rodgers was intercepted by Kei
th Lewis with eight seconds remain
ing to hold the game for Oregon.
As the Golden Bears recover from
such a dramatic finish, they have
things they need to focus on, or one
thing in particular.
"It's a two-game season," Rodgers
said.
With a 5-6 record following Satur
day's heartbreaking loss to the Ducks,
California has two games left to be
come bowl eligible.
Contact the senior sports reporter
at mindirice@dailyemerald.com.
RICE
continued from page 7
Autzen at game time — the team was
unprepared for the high intensity of
Oregon attitude.
Golden Bear players said they
practiced with the noise levels high
er than normal this week but it may
not have helped.
"When you get in the game situa
tion, it's way different," tight end Gar
rett Cross said. "I've never heard a sta
r
dium so loud."
Loud? Saturday was nothing. Satur
day was like listening to the Willamette
River compared to when Autzen is really
loud, much like the 2001 Civil War or
this season's game against Michigan.
The Oregon fans "are infamous for
their noise," Cross said.
With an announced attendance of
57,511, Oregon's 29th-consecutive
sellout at Autzen, the Ducks were still
missing fans. A surprising part of the
student section — half of an entire
section and chunks in the others —
was empty for the game.
Although the students really can't
be blamed, 1 suppose. Many people
were expecting a blowout of epic pro
portions, or at least not the exciting,
come-from-behind, last-chance win
that Oregon hadn't seen since early in
the 2002 season.
The fans were noisy, 1 will give them
that. In the final minutes of the game,
it was rockin' and rollin' in the stands,
even while many fans had left because
of the 23-minute dark spell, rain, cold
or the probability of the Ducks losing
another game this season.
But after Jason Fife started to run
cold, Bellotti made another change,
and Clemens returned after starting
the game one of six. The quarterback
by-committee system returned to its
early glory of one helping the other
when in need.
And the fans who remained
cheered. It wasn't as loud as it could
have been, but considering how many
fans had departed, the remaining
ones still made an impression on the
visiting Golden Bears.
"It's something you're always look
ing forward to when you're young,
playing in Division I football," Cross
said. "Autzen is different, the noise is
so big. It's really fun, it gets you really
going. There's nothing like it."
That's for sure. Nothing like it at all.
Oregon players know it and Duck
fans make it happen.
Contact the senior sports reporter
at mindirice@dailyemerald.com. Her
opinions do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
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