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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2015)
SPORTS Tuesday, October 13, 2015 East Oregonian Page 3B Beavers take step Latest loss puts Ducks in danger back in Tucson Oregon hasn’t Pac-12 Standings College Football missed postseason since 2004 North Conf. Stanford 3-0 California 2-1 Washington 1-1 Washington St. 1-1 Oregon 1-2 Oregon St. 0-2 South Conf. Utah 2-0 Arizona St. 2-1 UCLA 1-1 Arizona 1-2 USC 1-2 Colorado 0-2 Associated Press EUGENE — In the previous six seasons, Oregon played in two national cham- pionship games, three Rose Bowls (including the College )RRWEDOO 3OD\RII VHPL¿QDO the Fiesta Bowl and the Alamo Bowl. The 2015 Ducks, now 3-3 halfway through the regular season after Saturday’s 45-38 loss to Washington State in double overtime, are in danger of missing out on the SRVWVHDVRQ IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH VLQFHD¿QLVKLQ Despite losing a list of great players from last year’s Pac-12 championship team — including Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, all-Americans Hroniss Grasu and Ifo Ekpre- 2ORPX DQG ¿UVWURXQG 1)/ draft pick Arik Armstead — coach Mark Helfrich wasn’t expecting the program to make a nosedive down the standings. “I’m never, ever going to think anything but just what we control and what’s next,” Helfrich said Sunday. “Whether that’s the next player in at a position or whatever, we expect him to be great, to play great, to prepare great. At no point ever do we sit here and go, ‘We don’t have A, B or C, so it’s OK.’ “That just doesn’t happen.” Oregon’s next two games are on the road at Wash- ington and Arizona State. The November schedule begins with North Division contenders California and Stanford and concludes with home games against disap- pointing preseason Pac-12 Ovr. 4-1 5-1 3-2 3-2 3-3 2-3 Ovr. 5-0 4-2 4-1 4-2 3-2 3-3 AP Photo/Ryan Kang Oregon running back Royce Freeman (21) warms up before an NCAA college football game against Wash- ington State Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, in Eugene, Ore. favorite USC and Civil War rival Oregon State. The improving Huskies are coming off a 17-12 victory over the Trojans in /RV $QJHOHV DQG UDQN WK nationally in scoring defense SSJ HQWHULQJ 6DWXU- day’s game against Oregon LQ6HDWWOHSP(631 “Big game on the road,” -HII /RFNLH VDLG DIWHU throwing the game-ending interception in the second overtime. “We’ve got to come back and get back to the drawing board and get better. That’s the only attitude that’s going to make it at this point.” Helfrich would not provide any insight into when Vernon Adams Jr. might be back in the lineup. The senior graduate transfer, who has missed three games because of a broken index ¿QJHUDSSHDUHGWRKDYHPRUH velocity on his passes during warmups on Saturday. “I don’t know the answer to that,” Helfrich said when asked if Adams had made DQ\VLJQL¿FDQWSURJUHVV For those fans looking at the glass as half full, two of Oregon’s losses were to top-10 teams — No. 4 Utah and No. 7 Michigan State. The Ducks were also in posi- tion to beat Washington State without Adams or starting defensive backs Chris Seisay and Reggie Daniels. On the other hand, the Ducks have only beaten an FCS team (Eastern Wash- LQJWRQDEDG6XQ%HOWWHDP *HRUJLD 6WDWH DQG D Colorado team that has lost 13 consecutive Pac-12 games and is 1-19 in conference play under Mike MacIntyre. “The only thing that we can concentrate on are the solutions,” Helfrich said. “It’s very easy to sit here and point at what’s wrong and point directly at me 100 percent, but we have to be in the solution business. … What’s next? Because the negativity will take care of itself.” Don Pellum’s defense made a lot of plays against Washington State — sacking /XNH )DON VHYHQ WLPHV ¿QLVKLQJZLWKWDFNOHVIRU loss and forcing two turn- overs. But for the season, Oregon ranks 53rd nationally in rushing defense (151.2 \SJ WK LQ WRWDO GHIHQVH \SJWKLQVFRULQJ GHIHQVHSSJDQGWK in passing defense (323.5 \SJRXWRI)%6WHDPV “It just hurts. A lot of guys come to Oregon to win,” safety Tyree Robinson said after Falk passed for 505 \DUGV DQG ¿YH WRXFKGRZQV to snap the Cougars’ eight- game losing streak in the series. “Young guys just got to know you don’t just put on this jersey and win a game. You’ve got to work harder. We’re going to work hard. Believe that. We’re not just going to give up.” The Ducks rank sixth nationally in rushing offense \SJQLQWKLQVFRULQJ RIIHQVH SSJ DQG WK LQ WRWDO RIIHQVH \SJ Royce Freeman is averaging 143.2 yards per game, which is sixth nationally. The weak link is obviously the muddled quarterback situation; Oregon ranks 83rd in passing offense (210.0 \SJ $GDPV /RFNLH DQG Taylor Alie have combined for 10 touchdown passes and six interceptions through six games. “As far as execution and all that, there’s a million things we’re absolutely not pleased with,” Helfrich said. “Our character of our team and how they’ve worked and all those things, I’m abso- OXWHO\ SHUFHQW FRQ¿GHQW they’ll come out and prepare great.” stormed through the Beavers’ front, rushing for 368 yards TUCSON, Ariz. — Gary DQG¿YHWRXFKGRZQV “It was just mental break- Andersen was quick to take the blame for Oregon downs,” James said. “We just State’s 44-7 Pac-12 football didn’t play well and we have loss at Arizona on Saturday. to move on to next week.” The Beavers had no Andersen, the Beavers’ ¿UVW\HDU FRDFK ZDV answer on offense. They unwilling to let anyone did rush for 151 yards and HOVH JHW D ¿QJHU SRLQWHG DW a touchdown, but the pass them for what was a major game added little. Seth Collins was 8 of setback in the program’s 24 for 56 yards and one development. “I hope we’re all tired disastrous pick. Marcus of me saying this. I’m tired McMaryion was 4 for 10 of saying it, but I got to for 42 yards. Collins threw for 275 be a better head coach,” Andersen said in his opening yards and a TD against Stanford. statement after the loss. It was a big step back for “And that’s where it all starts with me and getting the Beavers. They are a team at a them in a position to go.” Defensive end/linebacker crossroads, for this season, Jaswha James did not like anyway. If their play stays hearing that Andersen took at this level, only losses will follow. the loss on himself. Andersen said he needs James knew it was on to take a deep breath and the team — and it was. “It is disappointing for understand where the team a head coach to come here is at this moment. “We have got to do a and say the loss is on him because ultimately we came tremendous job of contin- here and didn’t execute,” ually moving our personnel James said. “The game plan pieces where they are and was good. We just went out try to get the best kids on there and didn’t play well.” WKH ¿HOG 7KDW¶V WKH FKDO- 7KH %HDYHUV lenge anytime you’re in this had a lot going for them position coaching-wise,” he said. before the game. “It’s quite simple to sit They had shown promise in a loss to Stanford, partic- back for some staffs some- times or people to say, oh, ularly in the pass game. They had two weeks to you’re this, you’re that. Wait prepare the Wildcats, who until next year. That’s not were struggling — mostly on our style, so that forces me to defense — in the meantime. not be very patient in these What happened was a situations. It’s hard times. It’s complete dismantling by a WRXJK6DWXUGD\ZDVDUHDO team that was coming off tough day for me.” Andersen’s job just got back-to-back blowout losses. The Wildcats dominated quite a bit tougher as well. There’s a lot to be done every phase of the game. Arizona rolled up 644 before the Beavers hit the yards of total offense. Yes, road to Pullman and take quarterback Anu Solomon on a Washington State was back, but he had a team fresh off an upset of marginal game. The Wildcats Oregon. Associated Press NFL Yet another 4th-quarter collapse hanging over Seahawks K.J. Wright last Monday night, the Seahawks could be sitting at 1-4. As it stands, there are RENTON, Wash. — Pete Carroll could have been plenty of concerns at 2-3. Seattle led 24-7 starting the talking about the season RSHQHUDW6W/RXLVRU:HHN fourth quarter and Cincinnati’s 2 in Green Bay, or even comeback matched the largest the Super Bowl loss last fourth-quarter rally against the Seahawks in franchise February to New England. “No matter how many KLVWRU\6W/RXLVFDPHIURP times I look at this I can’t get 17 down in the fourth quarter the end to change,” Carroll in 2004 to beat the Seahawks in overtime in Seattle. The said Monday. He was referring to one Ravens did the same in 2003 of the worst fourth-quarter in Baltimore, tying the game collapses in franchise history RQWKH¿QDOSOD\RIUHJXODWLRQ on Sunday when Seattle let a DQGZLQQLQJRQD¿HOGJRDOLQ 17-point lead slip away and overtime. The culprit this time was lost 27-24 in overtime to the Bengals. That’s three times a combination of not being this season Seattle has led DEOH WR JHW RII WKH ¿HOG RQ in the fourth quarter only to defense and terrible third- down execution on offense come out on the losing end. If not for Kam Chancellor by the Seahawks. The Seahawks were 1 of 6 punching the ball free from Detroit’s Calvin Johnson on third downs in the fourth and a fortunate non-call on quarter and overtime. They By TIM BOOTH Associated Press FRXOG QRW VWD\ RQ WKH ¿HOG to sustain a drive and give their defense a break. And, as Carroll pointed out, even one of those conversions could have changed how the ¿QDOPLQXWHVSOD\HGRXWZLWK Cincinnati having to run its ¿HOGJRDOXQLWRQDWWKHHQG of regulation to kick the tying score. Even more frustrating for the Seahawks, the missed third downs in the fourth quarter were manageable. Seattle twice missed on third-and-4 and failed on third-and-2 in the fourth quarter, attempting passes on all three. The Seahawks also missed on third-and-15 and third-and-8 in overtime. “It’s not just one thing. We just didn’t convert them. It was unfortunate,” Carroll said. While the offense was unable to remain on the ¿HOG WKH 6HDKDZNV GHIHQVH watched Andy Dalton pick them apart late. Dalton threw for 135 yards in the fourth quarter and overtime and completed 13 of 15 passes. The Seahawks held Cincinnati scoreless after its opening drive then gave up 203 yards of offense in the fourth quarter and overtime. Carroll said Seattle didn’t do anything different defen- sively that contributed to Cincinnati’s success. “We were not sitting back. We were not waiting on them in any way. We were still trying to push to create the pressure we had created earlier,” Carroll said. “We had some good success with blitzes and the four-man rush was obviously helping us. We rushed them probably better than anyone had rushed them this year so we kept pushing it. It was plays.” Cincinna- ti Ben- gals tight end Tyler Eifert (85) scores a touch- down against Seattle Sea- hawks corner- back Cary Williams (26) in the sec- ond half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, in Cincinnati. AP Photo/Gary Landers SCOREBOARD Local Slate PREP FOOTBALL Friday Ione at Mitchell, 1 p.m. Riverside at Vale, 6 p.m. Umatilla at Nyssa, 7 p.m. (MT) Hermiston at The Dalles, 7 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River, 7 p.m. Ontario at Mac-Hi, 7 p.m. Culver at Pilot Rock, 7 p.m. Irrigon at Weston-McEwen, 7 p.m. Heppner at Stanfield, 7 p.m. Echo at Elgin, 7 p.m. Arlington/Condon at Sherman, 7 p.m. PREP BOYS SOCCER Today Culver at Umatilla, 4 p.m. City Christian at Irrigon, 4 p.m. La Grande at Mac-Hi, 4 p.m. Wednesday Umatilla at Riverside, 4:15 p.m. Thursday Baker at Mac-Hi, 4 p.m. Hermiston at The Dalles, 4 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River, 4 p.m. Friday Prescott (WA) at Irrigon, 1 p.m. Saturday Riverside at Culver, 1 p.m. City Christian at Umatilla, 1 p.m. PREP GIRLS SOCCER Today La Grande at Mac-Hi, 2 p.m. Pendleton at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Wednesday Riverside at Umatilla, 4:15 p.m. Thursday Hood River at Pendleton, 4 p.m. Horizon Christian at Riverside, 4:15 p.m. Portland Christian at Umatilla, 4:15 p.m. Baker at Mac-Hi, 6 p.m. Friday The Dalles at Hermiston, 3:30 p.m. PREP VOLLEYBALL Today Riverside at Irrigon, 5 p.m. Mitchell at Arlington, 5 p.m. Wallowa at Echo, 5 p.m. Ione at Helix, 5 p.m. Pilot Rock at Umatilla, 6 p.m. La Grande at Mac-Hi, 6:15 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River, 6:30 p.m. The Dalles at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Thursday Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 5 p.m. Heppner at Stanfield, 5 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Ione, 5 p.m. Mac-Hi at Baker, 6 p.m. Riverside at Umatilla, 6 p.m. The Dalles at Pendleton, 6:15 p.m. Irrigon at Culver, 6:15 p.m. Hermiston at Hood River, 6:30 p.m. Friday Nixyaawii at Echo, 1 p.m. Helix at Echo, 5 p.m. Saturday Pendleton at Southridge Tournament, 8 a.m. Sherman at Ione, 10 a.m. Arlington vs. Sherman (at Ione), Noon Stanfield at Irrion, Noon Condon/Wheeler at Dufur, Noon Nixyaawii at Powder Valley, 1 p.m. Echo at Pine Eagle, 1 p.m. Stanfield vs. Culver (at Irrigon), 1:30 p.m. Arlington vs. South Wasco (at Ione), 2 p.m. Condon/Wheeler vs. Horizon Christian (at Dufur), 2 p.m. Weston-MceEwen vs. Culver (at Irrigon), 3 p.m. Helix at Powder Valley, 3 p.m. South Wasco at Ione, 4 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Irrigon, 4:30 p.m. PREP CROSS COUNTRY Thursday Hermiston, Pendleton, Mac-Hi, Umatilla, Weston-McEwen, Heppner, Helix, Nixy- aawii, Stanfield, Condon/Wheeler at Kyle Burnside Wildhorse Invite (Mission), 4 p.m. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Saturday Montana-Western at Eastern Oregon, 1 p.m. COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER Friday Eastern Oregon at Rocky Mountain, 1 p.m. (MT) Sunday Eastern Oregon at College of Idaho, Noon (MT) COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER Friday Eastern Oregon at Rocky Mountain, 3:30 p.m. (MT) Sunday Eastern Oregon at College of Idaho, 2:30 p.m. (MT) COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Wednesday Blue Mountain at Spokane, 6 p.m. Friday Blue Mountain vs. Centralia (at Chemeke- ta Crossover), 9 a.m. Blue Mountain vs. Clark (at Chemeketa Crossover), 4:30 p.m. Eastern Oregon at Evergreen State, 7 p.m. Saturday Blue Mountain vs. TBD (at Chemeketa Crossover), TBD Eastern Oregon at Northwest, 5 p.m. COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY Saturday Eastern Oregon at LCSC Inland Empire Challenge, TBD Baseball MLB Playoffs DIVISION SERIES (Best-of-5; x-if necessary) American League Houston 2, Kansas City 2 Thursday, Oct. 8: Houston 5, Kansas City 2 Friday, Oct. 9: Kansas City 5, Houston 4 Sunday: Houston 4, Kansas City 2 Monday: Kansas City 9, Houston 6 Wednesday: Houston (McHugh 19-7) at Kansas City (Cueto 11-13), 5:07 p.m. (FS1) Texas 2, Toronto 2 Thursday, Oct. 8: Texas 5, Toronto 3 Friday, Oct. 9: Texas 6, Toronto 4, 14 innings Sunday: Toronto 5, Texas 1 Monday: Toronto 8, Texas 4 Wednesday: Texas (Hamels 7-1) at Toronto (Stroman 4-0), 1:07 p.m. (FS1) National League All games televised by TBS Chicago 2, St. Louis 1 Friday, Oct. 9: St. Louis 4, Chicago 0 Saturday, Oct. 10: Chicago 6, St. Louis 3 Monday: Chicago 8, St. Louis 6 Today: St. Louis (Lynn 12-11) at Chicago (Hammel 10-7), 1:37 p.m. x-Thursday: Chicago at St. Louis, 1:37 p.m. New York 2, Los Angeles 1 Friday, Oct. 9: New York 3, Los Angeles 1 Saturday, Oct. 10: Los Angeles 5, New York 2 Monday: New York 13, Los Angeles 7 Today: Los Angeles (Kershaw 16-7) at New York (Matz 4-0), 5:07 p.m. x-Thursday: New York at Los Angeles, 5:07 p.m. Football NCAA Top 25 poll The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 10, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: Record Pts Pv 1. Ohio St. (27) 6-0 1,411 1 2. Baylor (13) 5-0 1,390 3 3. TCU (3) 6-0 1,354 2 4. Utah (16) 5-0 1,350 5 5. Clemson (1) 5-0 1,260 6 6. LSU 5-0 1,231 7 7. Michigan St. 6-0 1,139 4 8. Florida 6-0 1,075 11 9. Texas A&M (1) 5-0 1,046 9 10. Alabama 5-1 1,034 8 11. Florida St. 5-0 937 12 12. Michigan 5-1 894 18 13. Mississippi 5-1 803 14 14. Notre Dame 5-1 766 15 15. Stanford 4-1 662 16 16. Oklahoma St. 6-0 614 21 17. Iowa 6-0 520 22 18. UCLA 4-1 487 20 19. Oklahoma 4-1 342 10 20. Northwestern 5-1 317 13 21. Boise St. 5-1 260 25 22. Toledo 5-0 237 24 23. California 5-1 204 23 24. Houston 5-0 121 NR 25. Duke 5-1 114 NR Others receiving votes: Temple 96, Mem- phis 59, Arizona St. 27, Mississippi St. 19, Georgia 16, Texas Tech 10, BYU 8, Southern Cal 5, W. Kentucky 5, Kentucky 4, Penn St. 4, Navy 3, North Carolina 1. NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct New England 4 0 0 1.000 N.Y. Jets 3 1 0 .750 Buffalo 3 2 0 .600 Miami 1 3 0 .250 South W L T Pct Indianapolis 3 2 0 .600 Tennessee 1 3 0 .250 Houston 1 4 0 .200 Jacksonville 1 4 0 .200 North W L T Pct Cincinnati 5 0 0 1.000 Pittsburgh 3 2 0 .600 Cleveland 2 3 0 .400 Baltimore 1 4 0 .200 West W L T Pct Denver 5 0 0 1.000 San Diego 2 3 0 .400 Oakland 2 3 0 .400 Kansas City 1 4 0 .200 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct N.Y. Giants 3 2 0 .600 Dallas 2 3 0 .400 Washington 2 3 0 .400 Philadelphia 2 3 0 .400 South W L T Pct Atlanta 5 0 0 1.000 Carolina 4 0 0 1.000 Tampa Bay 2 3 0 .400 New Orleans 1 4 0 .200 North W L T Pct Green Bay 5 0 0 1.000 Minnesota 2 2 0 .500 Chicago 2 3 0 .400 Detroit 0 5 0 .000 West W L T Pct Arizona 4 1 0 .800 St. Louis 2 3 0 .400 Seattle 2 3 0 .400 San Francisco 1 4 0 .200 ——— Thursday’s Game Indianapolis 27, Houston 20 Sunday’s Games PF 149 95 124 65 PF 99 102 97 93 PF 148 120 118 123 PF 113 116 107 117 PA 76 55 105 101 PA 113 91 135 145 PA 101 95 132 137 PA 79 134 124 143 PF 132 101 97 117 PF 162 108 110 103 PF 137 80 86 83 PF 190 84 111 75 PA 109 131 104 103 PA 112 71 148 143 PA 81 73 142 138 PA 90 113 98 140 Chicago 18, Kansas City 17 Green Bay 24, St. Louis 10 Buffalo 14, Tennessee 13 Cincinnati 27, Seattle 24, OT Atlanta 25, Washington 19, OT Tampa Bay 38, Jacksonville 31 Philadelphia 39, New Orleans 17 Cleveland 33, Baltimore 30, OT Arizona 42, Detroit 17 Denver 16, Oakland 10 New England 30, Dallas 6 N.Y. Giants 30, San Francisco 27 Open: Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, N.Y. Jets Monday’s Game Pittsburgh 24, San Diego 20 Thursday, Oct. 15 Atlanta at New Orleans, 5:25 p.m. Basketball WNBA FINALS (Best-of-5) Minnesota 2, Indiana 2 Sunday, Oct. 11: Indiana 75, Minnesota 69 Wednesday, Oct. 14: Indiana at Minne- sota, 5 p.m. NBA Preseason Monday’s Games Memphis 91, Cleveland 81 New York 94, Philadelphia 88 Toronto 112, Minnesota 105 Miami 97, San Antonio 94 New Orleans 123, Chicago 115 Portland 88, Utah 81 Today’s Games Miami at Orlando, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Detroit at Indiana, 4 p.m. Dallas vs. Oklahoma City at Tulsa, OK, 5 p.m. Houston at Phoenix, 7 p.m. Sacramento vs. L.A. Lakers at Las Vegas, NV, 7 p.m. Denver at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Hockey NHL Monday’s Games Tampa Bay 6, Boston 3 N.Y. Islanders 4, Winnipeg 2 Buffalo 4, Columbus 2 Philadelphia 1, Florida 0 Vancouver at Anaheim (n) Today’s Games Nashville at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Winnipeg at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Montreal at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. San Jose at Washington, 4 p.m. Florida at Carolina, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Edmonton at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. St. Louis at Calgary, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Golf Presidents Cup Results Sunday At Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea Incheon, South Korea Yardage: 7,380; Par: 72 UNITED STATES 15½, INTERNATIONAL 14½ Singles United States 6, International 6 Patrick Reed, United States, halved with Louis Oosthuizen, International. Adam Scott, International, def. Rickie Fowler, United States, 6 and 5. Dustin Johnson, United States, def. Danny Lee, International, 2 and 1. Hideki Matsuyama, International, def. J.B. Holmes, United States, 1 up. Bubba Watson, United States, halved with Thongchai Jaidee, International. Steven Bowditch, International, def. Jimmy Walker, United States, 2 up. Phil Mickelson, United States, def. Charl Schwartzel, International, 5 and 4. Chris Kirk, United States, def. Anirban Lahiri, International, 1 up. Marc Leishman, International, def. Jordan Spieth, United States, 1 up. Zach Johnson, United States, def. Jason Day, International, 3 and 2. Branden Grace, International, def. Matt Kuchar, United States, 2 and 1. Bill Haas, United States, def. Sang-moon Bae, International, 2 up. Saturday Foursomes United States 2, International 2 Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, International, def. Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler, United States, 3 and 2. Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes, United States, halved with Adam Scott and Marc Leishman, International. Bill Haas and Matt Kuchar, United States, halved with Sang-moon Bae and Hideki Matsuyama, International. Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, United States, def. Jason Day and Charl Schwartzel, International, 1 up. Fourballs United States 2, International 2 Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, International, def. J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, United States, 1 up. Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson, United States, def. Adam Scott and Anirban Lahiri, International, 3 and 2. Sang-moon Bae and Hideki Matsuyama, International, def. Jimmy Walker and Chris Kirk, United States, 6 and 5. Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, United States, def. Jason Day and Charl Schwartz- el, International, 3 and.