G AME P REVIEW
Saturday, November 15
12:30 p.m. (PDT)
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
Radio: Oregon Sports Network
(Jerry Allen, Mike Jorgensen)
Live TV: None
by Jim Nakadate
Series Record: UCLA leads, 37-20
Head Coach: Karl Dorrell (1st year), 6-4
2002 Record: 8-5, 4-4
(tied for fourth in Pac-10)
2003 Record: 6-4, 4-2
THE DUCKS are coming off a hard-
fought 21-17victory over California. “It was
a dark and rainy night,” but the Webfoots
put together an inspired, gutty effort to
pull out a win. Head coach Mike Bellotti
pushed enough of the right buttons,
quarterbacks Kellen Clemens and
Jason Fife were hot at different times and
the patchwork Oregon defense showed
enough remarkable determination to secure
victory. Terrence Whitehead and Dante
Rosario ran the ball just enough to keep
the Cal defense honest, while Samie
Parker, Demetrius Williams and TE
Tim Day made clutch catches. Igor (no
last name needed), LB Kevin Mitchell
and the Keystone Kops secondary stopped
the Golden Bears when it counted.
It was a team win made all the sweeter
because of all the off-the-field problems and
on-the-field injuries endured by the Ducks
this year. At this point of the season almost
everyone is playing hurt, with adverse
weather conditions making it even tougher
to give it “the old college try,” but last
Saturday the Ducks persevered and were
rewarded. And in so doing, temporarily
silenced some of the critics calling for
coaches to get fired.
Because the Ducks wear those cool,
metallic helmets and play at greater
distances from the fans (than, say basketball
players), it’s easy for the casual fan to
assume that “a Duck is a Duck” and they
are pretty much “interchangeable parts.”
When a player comes out of the game with
an injury, the coach can just stick another
guy out there and everything will be fine,
right? Not so. Not all players are created
equal, or know all the plays, or have
experience. Anyone who has coached any
team sport at any level knows this.
UO basketball fans know that when
Luke Jackson or Catherine Kraayeveld is
sitting on the bench, the dynamics on the
floor are going to be considerably different.
But that’s because we can see the faces of
all the players and can instantly identify
the five who are out there and what they
can do, whether they are wearing numbers
or not.
On the other hand, in football, with
substitutions on almost every play and
eleven positions to keep track of, casual
fans really don’t know who’s on the
field unless they look at the uniform
numbers. (Why do you think certain
players who make a big plays want to
take off their helmets as soon as possible?
So that fans can match a face with the
deed. Personal recognition.)
The Oregon football team has suffered
an inordinate number of injuries this year,
several of which have been season- or
career-ending. Of course, the coaches would
like the offense to be more productive and
the defense to be stingier, but will never use
injuries as an excuse. That would be a vote
of no-confidence in the reserves who will
be playing. (Remember that the defenders
of the Alamo had a lot of determination
and esprit de corps, but that was not
enough. Would you blame the defeat on
bad “coaching” by William Travis, Jim
Bowie and Davy Crockett?) In sports you
gotta have the horses and they’ve gotta be
healthy. Fans who discount injuries and
simply blame losses on the coaches really
have no clue.
The Ducks will suit up on Saturday and
give it their all. There may be fewer Oregon
fans than usual to support them, but you
can bet that the Ducks will be supporting
each other.
THE BRUINS found the weather in
the Palouse to be quite dissimilar to the
balmy climes of La La Land, as Washington
State bashed the Bruins, 31-13. It was their
second straight loss following a stunning
21-14 defeat by Stanford, the week after the
Ducks whitewashed the Cardinal, 35-0.
New head coach Karl Dorrell, was
a wide receiver for UCLA , coached for 12
years collegiately and was receivers coach
for the Denver Broncos. The fact that he
had no prior experience as a head coach
raised some eyebrows when he was hired,
but with a surprising six wins already in
Photo courtesy: UCLA Media Services
OREGON vs.
UCLA
DE D v B .
the bag it looks like he he has gotten
a few things right already.
Sophomores Matt Moore (6-4, 181)
and Drew Olson (6-2, 223) have been
splitting snaps all year and have their
own QB controversy going. Against WSU
Moore threw 11-for-29, 138 yards, one TD
and two picks, while Olson went 7-for-12,
82 yards and one pick.
UCLA’s main ballcarrier has been
sophomore Tyler Ebell (5-9, 180), who
racked up 105 yards on 12 carries against
the Cougars. Frosh Maurice Drew is
his backup.
Junior Craig Bragg (6-2) and senior
Ryan Smith (6-3) are the next big and tall
problems for the Duck secondary. (Bragg
had 230 receiving yards against the Ducks
last year and nearly won the game by
himself.) In the WSU game Bragg caught
five balls for 72 yards and one TD, while
Smith snagged five for 60 yards.
Two seniors, DE Dave Ball (6-6, 275)
and DT Rodney Leisle, (6-3, 288), were
second-team all-Pac-10 last year and
continue to lead the defense. Linebackers
Brandon Chillar (6-3, 230, senior) and
sophomore Spencer Havner (6-4, 229)
have been solid. Sophomore Jarrad Page
(6-1, 200) and juniors Matt Ware (6-3,
201) and Matt Clark (5-9, 171) fly around
sideline-to-sideline in the secondary.
THE MATCH UP Oregon needs one
more win to be bowl-eligible. Since the
weather will be better in Pasadena this
week than it will be in Eugene next week
(when the boisterous Beavers come to
town), the Ducks need to air it out and
take advantage. It will be interesting to
see if offensive coordinator Andy
Ludwig continues to put Rosario and
Day in the backfield together, and if he
can resist the temptation to throw long
and incomplete on first down.
Duck defensive coordinator Nick
Aliotti will again have to exhort his
line to get more pressure, his linebackers
to cover the crossing routes, and his
DBs to get taller. He is stuck with
the athletically gifted, but mentally
challenged FS Keith Lewis, so Duck
fans can only hope that Lewis’ next
bonehead move doesn’t cost his team
this game, which is very winnable.
The Bruins also needs one more win
to go bowling, and after the Ducks, they
finish with #2-ranked USC. Currently in
third place in the Pac-10, the Bruins
could be looking at the Sun Bowl or
Holiday Bowl. But losses to Oregon and
USC could put them in line for basket-
ball tickets. Here we go again: Who
wants it more?
GAMETIME QUESTIONS
1. Will confidence from the Cal game
carry over against the Bruins?
2. Will the Ducks dazzle the Bruins
with their “undefeated” lightning
yellow jerseys?
3. Will the Ducks who prepped in
the L.A. area find inspiration playing
in front of their home folks?
4. Will a long field goal prove to be
the difference again this year?
5. Will the Pac-10 officials favor
Oregon’s opponent again this week?
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Ducks think they can win, what
about you?
The Plucky-Ducks-Get-Lucky
Prediction: Oregon 20, UCLA 17
The Poultry-Is-Paltry Prediction:
Bruins 31, Ducks 16
BOTTOM LINE PREDICTIONS
Other Pac-10 games on Saturday:
LET US
SHUTTLE
Helmet to Helmet
Who Has the Edge?
YOU IN OUR
The Edge goes to
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Oregon’s O-line vs. UCLA’s D-line
Duck air attack vs. Bruin pass defense
UO ground game vs. UCLA run defense
Duck OC Andy Ludwig vs. Bruin DC Larry Kerr
UCLA’s O-line vs. Duck D-line
UCLA air attack vs. Oregon pass defense
UCLA ground game vs. Duck run defense
Bruin OC Steve Axman vs. Duck DC Nick Aliotti
Special Teams
The Overall Edge: It’s a Push
Oregon
UCLA
UCLA
UCLA
Oregon
UCLA
Oregon
Oregon
Push
- Cal 30, Washington 26
- Stanford 25, OSU 24
- WSU 37, ASU 16
- USC 52, Arizona 14
2004
XC 90
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NOVEMBER 13, 2003 5