Document text
Harrington comes back strong By Don Hunt Joey Harrington had every reason to be frustrated with his butter-fingered receivers following last week�s loss to Wisconsin. Six dropped passes had a lot to do with the Ducks dropping a 27-23 decision to the No. 4-ranked Badgers. But to dwell on such failure only makes it worse. And so on a sun-baked day at Autzen Stadium before a raucous crowd of 47,770, Harrington did what he had done seven days earlier: deliver well-aimed spirals to open receivers. This time, the Ducks caught on, and the result was a 42-13 romp over Idaho. "I�ve got a lot of confidence in my receivers and what happened last week didn�t do anything to change that," said Harrington, a junior from Central Catholic High in Portland. "The last thing I�m going to do is start yelling at them or start berating them if they drop a pass. "The goal today was to come out strong." Mission accomplished. Harrington completed seven of his first eight passes, including touchdown strikes of 13 yards to Keenan Howry and 20 yards to tight end Justin Peelle. By then it was 21-0 � Maurice Morris scored Oregon�s first touchdown on a 1-yard run � and the rout was on. And while Idaho may not be Wisconsin, the Vandals led Pac-10 favorite Washington for most of the first quarter and played the Huskies reasonably tough in a 44-20 loss two weeks ago. "We did a much better job today of translating yardage into points," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "And I don�t think we dropped a pass all day." Harrington had a fabulous first half, completing 11 of 18 passes for 127 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. And he guided the Ducks 84 yards to paydirt on their first possession of the third period, culminating the eight-play drive with a 28-yard pass up the middle to a wide-open Josh Line, the Duck fullback. "That was one of those plays where the guy is so wide open you worry about overthrowing him," Harrington said. "But I just lofted the ball a little higher and Josh ran under it." Harrington finished his day a tidy 14 of 21 for 173 yards with four TDs before giving way to senior A.J. Feeley early in the second half. The four scoring passes tied an Autzen Stadium record shared by four former Ducks, including Dan Fouts and Akili Smith. In the preseason, Bellotti had said Harrington and Feeley were neck-and-neck but it�s now obvious that Harrington is a solid No. 1. Not that he�ll ever be satisfied. "I�m not to the point where I�d like to be," he said. "I missed a few receivers and messed up on a couple reads today. Until I play a perfect game, I�m going to work at getting better." Howry was Harrington�s favorite target Saturday, latching onto five passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He said the coaches did nothing out of the ordinary in practice this week following the Wisconsin debacle. "Catching the ball is mostly mental," Howry said. "It�s all about looking the ball into your hands and having a positive attitude that you�re going to catch it. "The only thing that was different in practice was that we focused a little more. We were on a mission to get the job done today." Now it�s on to next Saturday when Oregon will host UCLA. Oregon ran it�s Autzen Stadium win streak to 16 with a victory over Idaho, while UCLA was pulling off a 23-20 upset of third-ranked Michigan. The last opponent to beat the Ducks at home? The Bruins, of course. "I�m sure they�ll be ranked in the top-10, and I hope they are," Harrington said. "We�ll be ready." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA