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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2004)
Oregon: Ducks, Cougars have split 76 meetings Continued from page 3B around the conference, that’s be cause it is. Oregon third-string quarterback Brady Leaf, the younger brother of former Wash ington State quarterback Ryan Leaf, will travel into his brother’s old haunts on Saturday. Also, Ore gon defensive end Devan Long is the brother of 2002 Outland 'frophy winner Rien Long. And the rivalry continues Oregon continues one of its longest rivalries in school history Saturday against Washington State. “(The Cougars) are an interesting team,” Bellotti said. “They have a great receiver and a big, physical back. The quarterback question re volves around his health. Defensive ly, Will Derting continues to amaze me. He makes plays. He makes them all over the field, and they are difference-making plays.” The Cougars have won the last two meetings between the two schools to forge a 37-37-7 tie in the all-time series that dates back to 1901. Oregon last won in Pullman in 2001 and is 20-18-2 in the Palouse, with the game marking the fourth meeting played on the Washington State campus in the last five years. briansmith@dailyemerald.com 019888 Eugene 2065 W 7th 343-3341 / • Homemade Soups • Fresh Salads • Fresh Pizza • Hamburgers • Fish & Chips • Pastas • Ribs • Microbrewed Beer and full bar I Ml MM Courtesy | USC Athletic Department USC sophomore receiver Steve Smith stiff arms Stanford's Brandon Harrison earlier this season. The Trojans defeated the Cardinal 31-28, and they are the favorite to win the Pacific-10 Conference championship. GOTW: USC looks to avenge last year's 3 OT loss Continued from page 8B yards and has thrown for six touch downs and just two interceptions. “We need to protect the passer — in any game you need to protect the passer,” Tedford said. “They do have a very wide variety of blitzes to bring people out of the secondary to come after you. Preparation is going to be key so that we don’t let any free hit ters come loose.” California faces a tight and stingy TLojan defense that has surrendered just 12.7 points per game, which ranks No. 10 in the nation. USC op ponents have also gained only an av erage of 277 yards per game, which ranks 20th nationally. Tedford said the only way to combat the USC defense is by having a consis tent rushing attack and not solely de pending on the passing game. In last season’s victory over the Tlojans, Cali fornia running back Adimchinobe Echemandu was able to run for a ca reer-high 147 yards in 34 carries. “We need to be able to run the foot ball in some way, shape or form,” Ted ford said. “1 think that helped us last year a little bit when Joe (Echemandu) broke a couple runs. It gave us some field position and we didn’t have to rely on throwing the ball every down. ” This season, California’s rushing game is on the shoulders of senior tailback J.J. Arrington, who is the fifth leading rusher in the nation. The 5-foot-ll, 210-pound Arrington has run for a total of 466 yards and seven touchdowns through three games this season. His 155.3 rushing yards per game and 8.6 yards per carry ranks him second in the Pac-10 be hind UCLA’s Maurice Drew. In California’s 49-7 rout over Ore gon State last weekend, Arrington ran for 108 yards in 22 carries. In addition, Golden Bears receiver Chase Lyman caught five passes for a career-high 176 yards and three touchdowns. Ly man, a senior, was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week. USC head coach Pete Carroll said he sees a lot of similarities between his team’s offense and California’s. USC is ranked 15th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 36.5 points per game. Meanwhile, California is ranked first in the nation averaging 48.7 points per game. “(Cal is) a team that does all of the things right. They play smart and don’t get themselves in bad situations,” said California quarterback Aaron Rodgers has thrived under head coach Jeff Tedford and is considered one of the best players in the nation. Courtesy California Athletic Department Carroll, who is in his fourth season at USC. “They have a lot of balance on the offensive side, and it helps them on both sides of the ball. 1 think we are similar in that fashion.” In USC’s 31-28 comeback victory over Stanford two weeks ago, the TYojans scored 14 unanswered points in the second half. TYojans quarter back Matt Leinart led the way after completing 24 of 30 passes for 308 yards and one touchdown. An improving USC receiving corps broke out against Stanford when soph omore receiver Steve Smith hauled in eight catches for 153 yards and scored one touchdown. Smith, along with Dwayne Jarrett and star tailback Reg gie Bush, provide the TYojans with plenty of offensive weapons. “I’m feeling good about (our receivers). Steve Smith has really emerged and is rock solid in his spot,” Carroll said. “That gives us the assurance that we can count on him to make the plays.” Carroll said this weekend’s game will be a true test for his squad in front of the first sell-out crowd at the Coliseum in Los Angeles since 1930. More than 92,000 fans are expected to attend the game. “It’s a terrific time to be here. It’s a perfect time for the Pac-10 Conference to showcase a couple of teams that are playing well,” Carroll said. “We are looking forward to the match-up and hope that we can play well and get what we want to get done. ” A lex Tam is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald
