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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 17, 2004 Ducks finally starting to live up to their promise By DON HUNT Mail Tribune EUGENE — It’s taken roughly half the season, but finally, the Oregon Ducks are beginning to look like the team they were projected to be when they launched their college football season five weeks ago. Their hopes for a major bowl game went up in smoke following their 28-13 loss to Arizona State on Oct. 2 that left them with a 1-3 record. At that point, the Ducks were put on life support. Their fans began to wonder if any bowl game was reachable. Some even speculated that a losing season might be in the works for the first time in 11 years. But Oregon got off the deck with its come-from-behind 41-38 win over Washington State eight days ago, and used the momentum from that victory to defeat Arizona 28-14 before a sellout crowd of 58,237 at Autzen Stadium on Saturday. Advertisement Suddenly, the Ducks are 3-3, 2-1 in the Pac-10 Conference, and feeling good about themselves for the first time since late last season when they reeled off four straight victories. "I think the most important thing for this team was to just relax and have fun," said Oregon quarterback Kellen Clemens, who torched the Wildcats for 336 yards and one touchdown on 21-of-30 passing. "When you start out 0-2 and 1-3, it’s easy to get tense and have doubts, because everyone has such high expectations. "But you’ve got to realize that it’s a game, and the reason we’re out here is because we love football." Clemens, who played horribly in Oregon’s 30-24 season-opening loss to Indiana and only marginally better the following week when the Ducks lost 31-7 to Oklahoma, found comfort by talking to his parents, attending church more regularly and — whenever he needed a quick pick-me-up — chatting with backup quarterback Brady Leaf. "He can crack me up without even trying," said Clemens of Leaf, the younger brother of former Washington State star Ryan Leaf. In the win over WSU, it was the Oregon offense that made the difference, producing a whooping 646 yards, including a career-high 437 through the air by Clemens. Saturday, it was the defense’s time to shine. Not that the Wildcats are an offensive juggernaut — they’re last in the Pac-10 in total offense and scoring — but the Duck ‘D’ was impressive nonetheless. It pitched a shutout until the final two minutes of the game, when Arizona scored on Oregon’s reserves, recovered an onside kick, and scored again. The Wildcats managed only 182 yards of total offense through the first three quarters. "We tightened some things up today," said Devan Long, the Ducks’ standout defensive end. Turning the screws the tightest was Haloti Ngata, the Ducks’ 6-foot-5, 345-pound defensive tackle who beat constant double teams to register eight tackles, including three for losses. Ngata, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear during Oregon’s season opener last year, looked like his old self Saturday. "I think the Arizona center was whispering the plays to Haloti, because he was blowing up their running game," Long said. "They should have triple-teamed him." Added Bellotti: "What Haloti does is wear on people. He’s so big and strong that he just wears you out after a quarter or two. He was dominant in the second half." Oregon’s secondary also had a strong outing Saturday. Junior cornerback Aaron Gipson had two interceptions and true freshman Jackie Bates, one of the Ducks’ prized recruits from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., had one. Bates also had two breakups and four tackles in his first college start. The Ducks didn’t rid themselves of all their warts, however, as their season-long penalty problem persisted. They were whistled 11 times for 114 yards Saturday, including a clipping infraction that negated a long punt return for a touchdown by Justin Phinisee. Oregon went into the game as the third-most penalized team in the nation and isn’t likely to give up that dubious distinction with its latest series of dirty deeds. "I cannot tolerate penalties before the snap or after the whistle," Bellotti said. "We had too many of those — the silly, stupid ones that kill a drive, negate a score or give the other team better field position." But good teams overcome their mistakes. And the Ducks, unlike a month ago, are now a good team. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, 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 © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers