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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 5, 2005 Ducks feel snubbed, but not surprised The Associated Press EUGENE — The Oregon Ducks felt snubbed, but not surprised, by their exclusion from the Fiesta Bowl and the Bowl Championship Series when the pairings were announced Sunday afternoon. Many players gathered to watch the national television broadcast while eating lunch in the school’s Casanova Center following a practice session. When Notre Dame and Ohio State were selected as the Fiesta Bowl participants, there was little reaction. "We saw this coming," said senior cornerback Justin Phinisee. "But when you see it on TV, it still hurts, especially when you see Notre Dame up there. I personally feel we’re a better team than them." Oregon ended its regular season at 10-1 with a 56-14 victory against rival Oregon State on Nov. 19. Since then, the Ducks had been openly lobbying the Fiesta Bowl selection committee to pick them as an at-large team ahead of the Irish or the Buckeyes, who both finished at 9-2. But those efforts became moot when the final BCS standings came out Sunday and Ohio State was fourth and Notre Dame sixth, earning each team automatic BCS berths — and leaving no at-large spots available for No. 5 Oregon. Advertisement "I guess that does ease the pain a little bit," said Phinisee, noting that no team was selected over Oregon. "But regardless, if you lose two games I don’t know if you should be considered top-10, you know." Most of Phinisee’s teammates echoed those sentiments. "It didn’t make sense but then the BCS hasn’t made sense since it came out, so you just take the punches and go with it," receiver James Finley said. "They both had two losses and we are a 10-1 team," center Enoka Lucas said. "I guess it’s just the way it is. We can’t anything about it." Oregon did accept a bid on Sunday to play in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Jan. 29 against 7-4 Oklahoma, an acceptable landing for a team that was 5-6 last season and had it’s string of seven straight bowl appearances ended. "We’re all looking forward to going to a bowl," quarterback Brady Leaf said. "The Fiesta Bowl would have been nice, but the Holiday Bowl is a great bowl. I think overall the team is very excited just to go to a bowl this year given last year we weren’t even in one." Even Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops sympathized with the Ducks when asked if they should have been in a BCS bowl. "I would say yes, but it’s not for me to decide. They have a strong argument to be in a BCS bowl. They’ve had a great year with their only loss to USC. I can see where that could be difficult.," Stoops said. "At the same time, they’ve got a great bowl game in the Holiday Bowl. There might be some peace in going to San Diego to a great bowl." Oregon met the same fate this year as California last year, when the Golden Bears went 10-1 in the regular season and ended fifth in the final BCS poll only to miss out on an at-large berth. Phinisee said that speaks to the way the rest of the country looks down on the Pac-10. "The Pac-10 just gets the short end of the stick," Phinisee suggested. "We’re kind of getting tired of it. But you still have to come to play or you will get no respect, like Cal last year." The Golden Bears went on to get rolled by Texas Tech, 45-31, in the Holiday Bowl last season. "We’re not going home for Christmas, we’re going someplace nice and warm," Lucas said. "It beats watching everybody else play. It’s a disappointment that we’re not going to the Fiesta Bowl, but you can’t make mistakes like (Cal) did last year. You’ve got to come out and do what we’ve doing the whole year." Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Advertisement s