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40 °F 5 Day Forecast Tuesday, December 9, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend November 26, 2003 Clemens cements spot as Ducks’ QB Duck Notes By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune Today and for a couple years’ worth of tomorrows, Kellen Clemens is the Ducks’ unquestioned quarterback. Took awhile — 10 games of split duty with senior Jason Fife, to be precise — but Clemens has shown the leadership, poise and efficiency everybody’s been waiting for ever since Joey Harrington graduated during the University of Oregon football team’s stretch run. Best part of it is — besides his hand in beating the Beavers, 34-20, in the 107th Civil War last Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene — that Clemens is a redshirt sophomore. That means the 6-foot-2, 210-pound self-proclaimed cowboy from Burns has two more years left to guide Ducks teams that figure to be older, wiser and better than this fall’s edition. During that span, there figures to be plenty more improvement from Clemens, himself. Advertisement Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti noted that, just after Clemens had accounted for four touchdowns against an Oregon State defense that was statistically the Pacific-10 Conference’s finest. "He made big plays for us," said Bellotti, 75-33 in charge of the Ducks and set for an eighth bowl appearance in his nine years at the helm. "The great thing about this is he still has room for improvement. But he really threw a couple passes that were great individual efforts — the third-down conversion to Samie Parker (early in the fourth quarter, when the score was 28-20 and Oregon faced third-and-seven from its own 16-yard line). Several of his scrambles, he used his athleticism and showed greater speed than I think anybody thought he had. "He became the captain of the ship, in a sense. ... He can make better throws, but overall his decisions for the most part were very, very good." Clemens completed just 11 of his 26 passes for 125 yards against the Beavers, but he picked up TD tosses of 15 yards to sophomore tailback Terrence Whitehead, 19 yards to sophomore wide receiver Demetrius Williams and 15 yards to freshman fullback Dante Rosario. Clemens was intercepted once, by OSU senior middle linebacker Richard Seigler early in the fourth quarter. Beyond his passing, it was Clemens’ feet more than his right arm that befuddled the Beavers. He ran for 64 yards on 12 carries, including a 4-yard keeper into the end zone early in the third quarter. Before Saturday, Clemens owned a cumulative 30 rushing yards all fall. "It just kind of came about," Clemens said of his increased scrambling. "There were more designed QB runs in the plan this week than there had previously been. ... Give credit to (offensive coordinator Andy) Ludwig — he had a great game plan, and we executed it." After talking about a couple key passing plays, Clemens quipped, "Everybody else is doing all the work, I’m just getting way too much credit for it." That unassuming nature sits fine with his teammates, but be assured that he has assumed a leadership role. Clemens keyed the fourth-quarter comeback from a 17-7 deficit to beat California, 21-17, on Nov. 8 and was supremely efficient during a brilliant first half that pretty much put away UCLA in a 31-13 win Nov. 15. Those two Ws turned around the Ducks’ season, and in the Civil War, Clemens helped turn this fall into a successful one. In fact, his ability to find whatever Oregon needed Saturday — be it a 10-yard scramble on third-and-eight to keep a first-quarter drive alive that ultimately tied the game at 7-7, or the third-down scoring passes to Williams and Rosario — reminded some of his peers of the man all Duck QBs are now measured against. "The one thing I love about Kellen is his will to win," said Oregon junior linebacker Jerry Matson. "He wants to win so bad and prepares so hard to win that I think earlier in the year, he felt like it was on his shoulders. And sometimes, he forced it a little. "Now, I think he’s matured enough that he takes his opportunities that are there. He threw the ball away a couple times, and that was the best thing I thought he did a few times. ... That’s like Joey Harrington — know when to throw ‘em, know when to fold ‘em." Clemens’ final passing stats for the regular season: 150-of-262 (57.3 percent) for 2,037 yards and 15 TDs against eight interceptions. And he played a pivotal role in pushing the Ducks from the brink of disaster at 5-4 to likely the Sun Bowl at 8-4 and third in the Pac-10. Beating the Beavers was the proverbial total team effort for Oregon. The offense was efficient, and the defense stuffed the run, battered OSU junior quarterback Derek Anderson and kept the Beavers’ passing from being too explosive. The third element, special teams, was also instrumental, as it has been throughout the Ducks’ recent turnaround. Matson laid two wicked hits on OSU return men, and Oregon’s return game was outstanding. A week after covering 159 yards on three tries, including a 97-yard TD return, junior Kenny Washington again led the way. The 6-foot, 197-pounder, who is one of the fastest Ducks, gobbled up 67 yards on two returns. One was a 48-yarder that set up Oregon at the Beaver 35 and led to a Ducks’ TD to make it 28- 13. "Kenny Washington is so confident right now and so aggressive that it’s a fun thing to watch him return kickoffs," Bellotti said. All three units are clicking for Oregon, and that keeps everybody hyped, according to senior free safety Keith Lewis. "We feed off each other," said Lewis, who himself is a special-teams stalwart with three blocked kicks this fall. "We’re feeding off the offense, we’re feeding off the special teams, the offense is feeding off us, the special teams is feeding off us." The Ducks hope to feed on the Big Ten Conference’s No. 5 team come Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas, which will be either Minnesota, Michigan State or Iowa. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times