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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 2004)
DUCK CAPTAINS Four Ducks, two on offense and two on defense, were chosen as this game’s team captains. Each will be looked upon to lead Oregon to its third consecutive conference win of the season. J.D. Nelson 28 Free Safety/ Sophomore Hometown: Mountain View, Calif. Nelson got the nod for his first career start against Indiana and recorded 10 tackles in his debut performance to lead the team. He tallied nine solo tackles in all of 2003 and is tied for third on the team this year with 15 and also has one sack. The sophomore learned the tricks of the trade from former Duck free safety Keith Lewis. Nelson recorded 15 total tackles last season, six on special teams. He was a running back in high school and rushed for 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns his senior year. Nelson was recognized as his team's offensive MVP during his senior year at Mountain View High School in California and was named to the Midwest Peninsula all-star team. Nick Steitz 74 Left Guard/ Senior Hometown: Los Banos, Calif. Steitz is a regular on Oregon’s offensive line with 31-career starts at three different positions over the last three seasons, which is more than any oth er Duck on the roster. The versatile senior has put in time at tackle and his athleticism may give him an opportunity to play center at some point. As a junior, Stietz stayed healthy and plowed holes for the league’s fourth-best rush offense. Steitz started 12 of 13 games in 2003. He contributed in 10 games and played in a season-best 29 snaps against Arizona State in 2001. Stietz squats the most weight of any offensive lineman (600 lbs.) and is second with 425-lbs in the bench press. I Anthony Trucks I 84 Outside Linebacker/ Junior ■ Hometown: Antioch, Calif. I Anthony Trucks has made a name for himself at the outside linebacker pa I sition this year. The former East Bay Cream of the Crop pick has recovered I from off-season shoulder surgery to become the Ducks' seventh leading H tackier in 2004. More impressive are the three and a half sacks he has recorded, which ranks second on the team. The Antioch High School grad uate has developed from a prominent special teams player into one of the _ fastest and most dangerous Imebackers on the Oregon squad. Demetrius Williams 6 Wide Receiver/ Junior 6-2,185 lbs. Hometown: Pittsburg, Calif. Williams is another prestigious player that originated from De La Salle High School. The poised junior wide receiver has fought through a minor foot in jury to post three 100-yard outings this season. His seven 100-yard per formances rank second all-time in school history. The most recent totaled 153 yards on nine catches and came in last week’s win at Autzen Stadium against Arizona. Although he did not start the season opener versus Indi ana, Williams still tallied 129 yards and has started in the last five games. Williams leads the Ducks with 36 receptions for 491 yards. Pac-10: WSU, OSU aspire to reach .500 Continued from page 9B ton earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors last week as he rushed for 205 yards against UCLA. Arrington cur rently leads the conference in rushing yards and should have no problem running the ball against Arizona. Cal head coach Jeff Tedford still feels that Arizona’s defense presents a threat to any offense it faces. “They play hard and fast,” Tedford said. “They have a very strong sec ondary, good tacklers and really fly around the ball.” Cal junior quarterback Aaron Rodgers should have a good day, and continue to challenge Matt Leinart of USC for first-team all-conference quarterback. Arizona head coach Mike Stoops continues to search for his first confer ence victory since taking his position. This week his squad continued to practice red-zone offense, which proved costly for the Wildcats last Sat urday as they failed to score inside the 20-yard line on numerous occasions. In last week’s loss against Ore gon, the Wildcats produced a glim mer of hope for the future as they scored 14 points in the closing min utes of the fourth quarter. In order for Arizona to have any chance of beating Cal and turning its season around, it will need to play at that same level for 60 minutes. Washington (1-5, 0-3) at No. 1 USC (6-0, 3-0) Southern California concludes its three-game homestand this weekend when beleaguered Washington trav els to the Coliseum in Los Angeles. The Huskies have yet to win their first conference game of the season and may have better luck next week end against Oregon. Undefeated USC features two potential first team All Americans who are also Heisman Tro phy favorites. Junior quarterback Leinart and sophomore tailback Reg gie Bush may be planning a late-sea son trip to the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City, but this week they will have to contend with the Washington defensive line, which has quietly topped the conference in red zone defense. USC head coach Pete Carroll understands the significance of Saturday’s game in terms of starting the second half of the season strong. “This is an opportunity for us to get things going,” Carroll said. “It’s real important to our team how we finish. This is kind of the beginning of the fin ish for us.” The Husky offense, led by sophomore tailback Kenny James, has rushed for 412 yards in the past two games combined and needs to estab lish a running game early. Washing ton’s defense must contain Bush and keep the Tfojans out of the endzone. Unfortunately for Leinart, the Huskies rank second in the conference in pass defense. Washington will need anoth er solid game out of sophomore mid dle linebacker Scott White to have any Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer Arizona running back Mike Bell has been the bright spot in a struggling Wildcat offense, The junior is fifth in the Pac-10 in rushing with 459 yards. chance of stopping USC. White has posted six tackles for a loss in the past two games. The 'frojan defense features senior defensive tackle Shaun Cody, who has been named a Lombardi Award semi finalist and should have little trouble shutting down the Husky offense. Washington State (3-3,1-2) at - Oregon State (2-4, 1-2) State faces a daunting task this week in beating Oregon State in Corvallis after losing its past two games and sophomore starting quarterback Josh Swogger for the rest of the season. With the passing game in ques tion, the Cougars will need big plays elsewhere from their offense and defense. A solid rushing game will be significant for Washington State, which features tailback Jerome Harrison. Oregon State’s defense should test the Cougar offense on the ground with senior defensive end Bill Swan cutt and through the air with senior free safety Mitch Meeuwsen. Meeuwsen now tops the Oregon State all-time list for interceptions. The Cougar defense will also need to step up this week after pro ducing yet another mediocre per formance last week in the loss to Stanford. The Cougars rank ninth in the Pac-10 in red zone defense de spite having sophomore linebacker Scott Davis, who leads the confer ence in forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. The Washington State pass de fense, which ranks eighth in the conference, will be tested all day by a pass-heavy Oregon State offense. The Beavers lead the conference in passing offense with 1,723 passing yards. Beaver head coach Mike Riley feels that special teams will weigh heavily on the game’s outcome. “We’ve got another great challenge in our coverage teams,” Riley said. “A game like this, special teams will play a major factor.” Scott J. Adams is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Emerald Need Cash? earn extra money for back to school expenses Donate Plasma! Earn up to $180 per month New donors bring this ad in for an extra $5 on first visit IBR Plasma Center ✓ Q Q >4-J/N I block east of Garfield on 8th 00*3“ ✓ iJ/U I 901 West 8th Ave., Eugene 'DANCEWEAR ♦ T H EATRICAL / 27 pears of ^allotoeen experience. Ulonsitrous! 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