Body waxing,
facials, hair
design, coloring,
weaving,
retexturing,
manicures and
20% off any service
Good thru Nov. 1, 2004
♦Excludes services with Shari Murphy
pedicures
a
t
e
s
Dailv Starting at:
$45
Motel 6
3690 Glen wood Dr.
Eugene, OR 97403
(541)687-2395
800-4-MOTEL 6
m
e
it
t
m
x
Pool
Free Local Calls
Kids Free
Free HBO/ESPN
Free Coffee
Pets Welcome
early bird
$1
WASH!
Top Load Washers
7 am-4 pm WEEKDAYS
thru Oct. 15th
14 TOP LOAD & 9 FRONT LOAD WASHERS
accommodate all your laundering needs
NEW EXTRACTOR-saves time and
extends the life of your clothes
-• EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE for
more than 29 years
MR. CLEANJEAN'S
COIN-OP
LAUNDRY
240 E. 17th
(between
High & Pearl)
GOT A STORY IDEA?
■ Game of the week
Elite quarterbacks square
off when ASU travels to Cal
In Saturday s game,
the play callers will he the
main focus on the field
BY ALEX TAM
FREELANCE SPORTS REPORTER
A battle of two of the top quarter
backs in the Pacific-10 Conference
will take place this weekend.
California’s Aaron Rodgers and
Arizona State’s Andrew Walter
square off in one of the most intrigu
ing matchups of the conference sea
son when No. 7 California (5-1 over
all, 3-1 Pac-10) hosts No. 20 Arizona
State (6-1, 3-1) in Berkeley, Calif., 7
p.m. Saturday.
Walter said it is always a pleasure to
play against another quality quarter
back who is also considered a prospect
to play on Sundays in the NFL.
“Absolutely, it’s always a fun
thing,” Walter said. “Any time you
play against a guy who gets a lot of
attention from the media — it’s very
fun to play against those guys.”
Walter, a senior, was named the
Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week
after throwing 415 yards and passing
for a career-high six touchdowns to
lead Arizona State to a 48-42 come
from-behind victory against UCLA
last week. Walter is now one touch
down pass away from tying the leg
endary John El way for the Pac-10 all
time mark of 77.
i cun someone wno can maxe me
big throw when the game is on the
line,” Walter said. “Anything that
needs to be done, I’ll do it.”
Walter said that his counterpart
this weekend is just as good and is
a very fundamentally sound quar
terback who has played great within
the California offensive system in
his career.
“(Rodgers) uses timing within the
system, and he plays awesome,” Wal
ter said. “He does everything they
ask of him, I’m sure. He’s had a great
couple of seasons.”
Dating back to last season, Rodgers
has passed for a total of 4,279 yards
and has thrown 28 touchdowns and
just nine interceptions. In last week’s
38-0 victory over Arizona, Rodgers
passed for 235 yards and three touch
downs to lead a California offense
that averages 40.8 points and more
than 509 yards per game.
The difference between the two
quarterbacks, however, has been a
consistent rushing game (or lack
thereof) that can help take the pres
sure off during the game.
Arizona State’s rushing game has
been anything but spectacular, as the
running backs have been mustering
just 2.9 yards per carry. That mark
ranks next to last in the Pac-10, just
ahead of Oregon State, which aver
ages a mediocre 2.7 yards per carry.
The Sun Devils’ running game has
been decimated by injuries to tail
backs Cornell Candidate and Randy
Hill and the suspension of Loren
Wade from the team. Last week, Ari
zona State had to rely on redshirt
freshman Preston Jones, who com
piled just 76 yards in 16 carries.
“It’s a very interesting situation.
We’ve been just like the Bad News
Bears, putting whoever we have left
back there,” Walter said. “We don’t
know who is going to be in the back
field from week to week. ”
Meanwhile, California’s rushing
game is the best in the Pac-10 and
ranks ninth in the country. Behind
starting tailback J.J. Arrington, the
Golden Bears have run for 1,473
yards this season as a team and hold
an impressive 5.9 yards per carry.
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Arizona State tailback Hakim Hill is expected to return to the lineup after serving a one-game
suspension. The leading rusher was suspended for a weight-room incident on Oct. 17.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Arring
ton has garnered 918 yards and
scored 10 touchdowns in only six
games so far this year. He is also on
pace to smash the single-season
rushing record at California held by
Chuck Muncie, who had 1,460 yards
in 1975. Arrington is on pace for
1,683 yards this season.
Arizona State head coach Dirk
Koetter said California’s running
game is so good that backup running
back Marshawn Lynch, who is a true
freshman, is averaging a gaudy 7.6
yards per carry and averages 42 yards
per game.
“They have an awesome 1-2
punch,” Koetter said. “Arrington has
the speed to go all the way and the
power to break tackles and hit the
holes quick. Lynch is one of those
guys that breaks a lot of tackles and
runs hard.”
Koetter said that California is not
just a one dimensional team with a
great offense, but possesses one of
the best defenses as well. The Gold
en Bears’ defense ranks first in the
Pac-10 and 9th in the country, giving
up only 268 yards of offense and 14.3
points per game this season.
“They are very sound, they don’t
beat themselves,” Koetter said. “They
are an excellent tackling team on de
fense, they get off blocks very well,
they will blitz you, play a soft zone,
they mix it up, and they play ex
tremely hard.”
However, Koetter said he feels his
team is prepared and ready to continue
its season-long success on an offense
that averages 32 points per game.
“They are going to present some
challenges, but what a great position
for us, what a great opportunity for
us,” Koetter said. “I think our guys
are pretty confident in what we are
going to do.”
California head coach Jeff Tedford
said he recognizes that his opponent
this weekend also possesses a strong
defense that gave up just 12.8 points
per game through the first five games
of this season. Leading the Sun Dev
ils’ defensive unit is its linebacking
crew, consisting of juniors Dale
Robinson and Jamar Williams and
senior Justin Burks. The trio has ac
counted for more than one-third of
the team’s tackles, accumulating 159
total tackles combined.
However, in the last two games,
Arizona State’s defense has struggled
after surrendering a combined 87
points to UCLA and USC.
“Defensively, they fly around,
they’re very athletic, and they’re
physical up front,” said Tedford, a
former offensive coordinator at Ore
gon. “They have a very good line
backing core, (who are) very good
tacklers. It’s a good matchup.”
When Tedford was asked about
whether this weekend’s game will
be the biggest challenge of the sea
son, he said there is “no question
about it.”
“Every game is critical — as they
all are — but as you go through, the
games in October and November
are the ones that usually stick in
your mind,” Tedford said. “These
are the ones that we really have to
be ready for down the stretch here,
no question.”
Alex Tam is a freelance reporter
for the Daily Emerald