IN BRIEF
Poll predicts third-place
Pac-10 finish for Oregon
Oregon is predicted to finish third
in the Pacific-10 Conference by the
league’s annual football preseason
media poll.
The poll predicted that USC will
win next year’s Pac-10 Conference
championship with a total of 240
points — claiming all 24 first place
votes. California was second with
210 points and Oregon took third
with 192.
Last season, USC captured its
10th national championship after
going 12-1 and winning their
last nine games. It is the second
year in a row that the Ttojans were
picked in the media poll to win the
conference title.
Oregon finished third last season
with an overall record of 8-5.
The Pac-10 media have correctly
selected the past four Pac-10 champi
ons, including Oregon in 2001.
They have also correctly picked
five of the past six champions. In
1999, the media members wrongly
predicted Arizona to win the confer
ence title, but the Wildcats
ended up finishing sixth. Stanford
won the Pac-10 crown that year af
ter being predicted eighth.
In the rest of the media poll, Ore
gon State was picked fourth (138),
followed by Washington State
(133), Arizona State (131), Wash
ington (100), UCLA (98), Stanford
Les'
Barber Shop
Haircuts
$1000
Alex Les
Walk-ins,
Appointments
Available
| it 11, ii,In it i#»
485-6757
130 E. 13th Ave
EXCL
TOYS* VIDEOS
MAGAZINES
DVDs-LINGERIE
1166 South A • Springfield
Open 24-7 (Almost)
726-6969
Oregon Daily Emerald.
A campus tradition-over 100 years of publication
iddlefielD
E-golf course ■
942-8730 484-1927
STUDENT SPECIAL
, GOLF 9 HOLES $12
gj Students Only. Must show ID. (Monday - Friday)
I thuk N'5a
115 Commons Dr.
485.1655
GET SOMETHING TO EAT
GET SOMETHING TO DRINK
GET SOMETHING TO WATCH
I Homemade Tacos • Burritos • Quesadillas
Fruits • Snacks • Frozen Food
Beer • Wine • Juice • Water
Soda • Espresso Drinks
_. _
$1.50
new releases
Largest
Selection and
Coldest Beer in
town
Around the Corner from Autzen!
(40) and Arizona (38).
In the ESPN/USA Today Coaches
Preseason Top 25 Poll released Satur
day, Oregon slipped in at No. 25.
— Alex Tam
LiaBraaten ready
to play both ways
Junior tight end Nate LiaBraaten
will be seeing action on both sides of
the ball Saturday against Indiana.
The Bend native is a backup for
both the tight end and defensive end
positions, according to the latest
depth chart.
LiaBraaten has caught three pass
es in his career with one touchdown,
but still hasn’t seen any time on de
fense.
“Nate’s a warrior and he will
probably see double duty,” head
coach Mike Bellotti said. “He’s smart
enough and in good enough physical
condition to handle that.”
Bellotti still doesn’t know whether
he will see more action offensively or
defensively.
“Because of our tight end situa
tion, he probably needs to play tight
end more, but I’m not sure if we can
take him away from the defense be
cause he’s a valuable asset on that
side too,” Bellotti said.
Starting season strong
Season openers for the Ducks have
treated them kindly over the past 20
years. Oregon has lost only twice,
with its last loss coming at the hands
of Michigan State in 1999.
Oregon also has won 11 straight
home debuts and 19 of its last 20
since 1983. Its only loss came in a 21
15 defeat at the hands of Pacific to
open the 1983 season.
Series history
Oregon has beaten the Hoosiers
in the team’s only two meetings,
with the last one taking place
1964 in Bloomington, Ind. The
Ducks beat Indiana 29-21
with quarterback Bob Berry
completing 14 of 25 passes for
211 yards.
Saturday’s game will be the
first between the two in Eugene
because the other game took
place in Portland’s Multnomah Sta
dium in 1963, where Oregon
won 28-22.
— Clayton Jones
DUCK CAPTAINS
Four Ducks, two on offense and two on defense, were chosen
as this season’s team captains. Each will be looked upon to lead
Oregon to its 11th straight winning season
Kellen Clemens
#11 Quarterback/ Jr.
6-2,215 lbs.
Hometown: Burns
Clemens became Oregon’s youngest starting
quarterback since Danny O'Neil in 1992. In
2003, Clemens passed for more yards
(2,400) and touchdown passes (16) than any
other sophomore in Oregon history. He threw
for a career-high 363 yards on 32 of 42 pass
ing and three touchdowns against Minnesota
in the Sun Bowl last season. He also set the
school record for pass completion proficiency
by going 15 of 17 against Stanford for an 88.2
completion percentage.
Adam Snyder
#72 Offensive Tackle/ Sr.
6-6,325 lbs.
Hometown: Whittier, Calif.
Snyder begins his senior year as a candidate for
the Outland Trophy, awarded annually to the top
interior lineman in the country. In 2003, Snyder
became the first lineman to earn Pacific-10
Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week since
1995 for his play against Michigan. He also be
came Oregon’s first first-team AII-Pac-10 offen
sive lineman in 20 years. He also helped lead
the way to a season-high 218 yards rushing
against Oregon State last season. He made a
career 24 starts for the Ducks with his first start
against USC his freshman year.
Jerry Matson
# 52 Linebacker/ Sr.
6-1,225 lbs.
Hometown: Edmonds, Wash.
The former walk-on was third on the team in
tackles in 2003 with 81, including 14.5 tackles
for a loss. Matson’s 59 solo tackles was second
on the team. He returned his first career inter
ception for a touchdown against UCLA last sea
son. He tallied at least one tackle for a loss in
11 of the Ducks' 13 games last year. He also
recorded a career-high 12 tackles against Wash
ington. Matson is the team’s only linebacker to
have played all three positions, so his flexibility
and knowledge aids all of the linebackers.
Robby Valenzuela
# 99 Defensive Tackle/ Sr.
6-2,310 lbs.
Hometown: Modesto, Calif.
Dating back to his freshman year, Valenzuela
has played in 30 straight games and returns
as the defensive line’s most experienced play
er. He recorded a career-high eight tackles
against Utah in 2003. Valenzuela also ranked
third on the team with 4.5 sacks last season,
including two sacks against Michigan. He also
had sacks against Washington and Utah and
combined for another versus Arizona. He re
covered his first career fumble against Missis
sippi State in 2003.