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SUNNY Temp: 65 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, June 28, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 23, 2002 Mags tag Ducks as Pac-10 title contender By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti has received high acclaim over the past several years for his ability to turn the Ducks into a Pacific-10 Conference champion and a national contender. Finally, the school is getting some preseason respect. June is the month when college football magazines hit the newstands and predict who will do what in the fall. Traditionally, the football writers underrate and underestimate both Oregon and Oregon State, projecting bottom-half finishes for the two schools. But with the Ducks coming off back-to-back Pac-10 titles and a Fiesta Bowl thumping of Colorado last season, they are finally earning some credibility in the national media. Oregon is picked no worse than fourth in the Pac-10 by the four major college football magazines, and one of them — Street & Smith’s — projects the Ducks as the favorite. The Beavers are projected to finish anywhere between fifth and seventh. What makes the prognosticators a little nervous about both teams is the fact that each must replace their starting quarterbacks. Jason Fife takes over for Joey Harrington at Oregon and Derek Anderson fills in for Jonathan Smith at Oregon State. The 6-foot-4, 216-pound Fife threw just nine passes while backing up Harrington last season, but the redshirt junior looked impressive during spring drills, completing 12 of 15 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns in the Ducks’ final scrimmage. "Jason has prepared himself well," Bellotti says. "He’s a very good athlete who can run and throw and do all the things you need to do. He just needs to show that he can do it in a game situation." And here’s a notable fact: In Bellotti’s tenure as offensive coordinator and head coach with the Ducks, five of his six quarterbacks have gone on to the NFL. The exception was Danny O’Neill, and all he did was lead Oregon to the Rose Bowl during the 1994 season. Fife will have no shortage of skill position players around him. All three of Oregon’s top wide receivers from a year ago — Keenan Howry, Jason Willis and Sammy Parker — return. So does talented tailback Onterrio Smith, who set a single-game rushing record with 285 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Washington State last season and ran for 1,007 yards on the season in a reserve role. Smith is telling folks he’ll double that total this season and become only the 10th player in the history of NCAA Division I football to surpass 2,000 yards. He’s certainly getting his share of early accolades as both Athlon’s and The Sporting News have named him a first-team, preseason All- American. Howry was named to Athlon’s first-team, A-A squad as a punt returner. The Ducks’ other area of concern is at cornerback, where both Rashad Bauman — the vocal leader of the defense the past two seasons — and Steve Smith are gone. But Oregon returns seven starters on defense, including two preseason All-Pac-10 performers — linebacker Kevin Mitchell and free safety Keith Lewis. Another player to keep an eye on is freshman sensation Haloti Ngata, a 6-4, 324-pound defensive tackle from Salt Lake City, who is generally regarded as the one of the top five recruits in the country. Said Tom Lemming of Prep Football Report: "Ngata is an enormously strong and quick-footed player. He’s the most devastating defensive tackle I’ve seen on film as a prep since Reggie White." The Ducks are deep along the defensive line but don’t be surprised to see Ngata get immediate playing time. Another element in Oregon’s favor is its schedule. The Ducks have the second-softest slate in the Pac-10 (Oregon State’s is the softest), playing eight of their 12 games at friendly Autzen Stadium. It’s not too much of a stretch to think the Ducks will be 9-0 heading into their final three games — Washington State at Pullman, Washington at Autzen and Oregon State at Corvallis. The Beavers, meanwhile, are the sleeper team of the Pac-10. The prognosticators believe they’ll be much improved over last season, when they stumbled to a 1-3 start and finished 5-6. How much better? That largely depends on the development of Anderson, the 6-6, 234-pound sophomore quarterback who played sparingly in relief of Smith last season. Anderson was highly recruited out of Scappose High School — he turned down Florida State and several other big-name schools — and was good enough as a freshman that coach Dennis Erickson elected to play him rather than redshirt him. He completed 17 of 41 passes for 263 yards and one touchdown in his limited duty. Anderson’s supporting cast should be better than Smith’s was last season. James Newson is back as one of the Pac-10’s premier receivers and sophomore tailback Steven Jackson could make Beaver fans forget all about the departed Ken Simonton. The 6-1, 226-pound Jackson gained 119 yards against Southern Cal last season and added 95- and 79-yard efforts against UCLA and Washington while subbing for Simonton. All Jackson needed, it seemed, was more opportunities. If Anderson, Jackson, Newson and the rest of the OSU offense can generate two or three touchdowns each Saturday, that might be ample scoring for a Beaver defense that could be the best in the Pac-10. OSU returns eight starters on defense, including preseason All-Americans Dennis Weathersby at defensive back and Eric Manning at tackle. The Beaver secondary of Weathersby, fellow cornerback Terrell Roberts, free safety Mitch Meeuwsen and strong safety Calvin Carlyle is rated the best in the country by The Sporting News. The feeling is that this Beaver defense is just as quick, talented and ornery as the 2000 unit that paved the way to an 11-1 record. And like the Ducks, the Beavers have a cushy schedule. Seven of their 12 games are at Reser Stadium, and they’ll be favored to beat Eastern Kentucky, Temple, UNLV and Fresno State in their first four games before traveling to Southern California on Sept. 28. Some of the more intriguing observations from The Sporting News: Most overrated player: USC quarterback Carson Palmer. He’s 16-16 as a starter and has thrown as many interceptions (39) as touchdowns. Palmer is also 0-2 in bowls against those two juggernaut, Utah and Texas Christian. Most underrated player: Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser. The senior from Hawaii turned some heads last fall when he led the Cougars to a 10- 2 record and a victory in the Sun Bowl after the Cougars were picked by most to finish last in the Pac-10. Best coach: Mike Bellotti. The man with cool shades has led the Ducks to more wins than any other Pac-10 school over the past seven years, including a 30-6 mark and three bowl victories the past three seasons. Bellotti has accomplished it all despite continually having to reshape a coaching staff that often gets raided. Best staff: Oregon State. Dennis Erickson’s group includes three men who are or have been offensive coordinators. His top aide is assistant head coach/offensive line coach Gregg Smith, who has been at Erickson’s side for each of his 16 years as a head coach. Coach on the hot seat: UCLA’s Bob Toledo. He’s just 17-17 over the past three seasons, making the folks in Westwood all but forget the 1998 campaign, when the Bruins were 10-0 before losing to Miami and Wisconsin in their final two games. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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