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.
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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