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Photo from AP Reuben Droughns (22) and his tailback teammates are battling through injuries as the Ducks' bye week arrives. Almost everyone has a shot Commentary by RANDY HAMMERICKSEN Oregon seems to fit the mold of what's happening in the beleaguered world of mediocre Pac-10 Conference football. Almost every team in this league is down in terms of size, depth and quality. The only exception may be Oregon State (3-2), a vastly improved team under first-year head coach Dennis Erickson despite being defeated by Washington last Saturday. Washington (3-2, 2-0 Pac-10) may be the best team in the league after a rocky 0-2 start under Rick Neuheisel. But OSU is still tracking that elusive first winning season since 1971, and the Beavers are in position to get it. OSU is good enough to beat Oregon, California, Washington State, Stanford and UCLA on a good day. Meanwhile, the Ducks continue to play to their reputation. They are very talented offensively and have one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-10 in A.J. Feeley. The Ducks also have a bevy of talented and fast receivers -- Tony Hartley, Ray Brust, Keenan Howry, Marshaun Tucker -- and sure-handed tight ends in LeCorey Collins and Enyl Nwamuo. Oregon's talent at receiver is so good, former Ashland High all-state receiver Cy Aleman has been demoted to the scout team and has not traveled to a road game or been on the field in a home game. Aleman is listed as No. 7 on Oregon's depth chart among flankers and wide receivers. Oregon's problem on offense, as the Ducks showed again Saturday night in a 34-29 loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, is a weak and inconsistent offensive line that has virtually no depth. That line doesn't protect Feeley well enough, and creates little room for his running backs, making them vulnerable to the big hitters of the Pac-10. The result: Oregon's top three tailbacks (Reuben Droughns, Herman Ho-Ching and Allan Amundson) are all injured. Defensively, the Ducks are spunky, but not very big and not very good. They give up yards and points in bunches. One of the exceptions to that premise is linebacker Matt Smith, who has emerged as one of the best defensive players on the team. He intercepted a pass from UCLA quarterback Cory Paus and returned it 81 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Bruins were only 21 yards from the Oregon end zone and seemingly poised to score again and run up a 41-10 lead. But Smith's interception revived the Ducks, who rallied for three straight touchdowns and almost pulled the game from the garbage can. "I had a good look at the play and I jumped the receiver (Freddie Mitchell)," said Smith. "The quarterback (Paus) didn't see me and I stepped in." The pass probably would have been caught by Mitchell, moving the ball inside the Oregon 10 and giving UCLA a chance to run its consecutive points string in the game to 34. "I know I made a great play, but I'd feel a lot better about it if we had gotten the victory," said Smith. Smith displayed the running speed for a big guy (6-foot-4, 245 pounds, that he showed as a quarterback-linebacker for Grants Pass High in 1992-93. "I was getting a little tired during the run," said Smith. "I kept looking back over my shoulder to see if anybody was coming.'' Smith's pick turned the entire game and momentum Oregon's way. The Bruins, like their fans, seemed half asleep with that 34-10 lead. They relaxed too soon but got away with it. "We got fired up," said Smith. "Coach (Mike) Bellotti told us to go out and make the best comeback ever. You can't doubt the heart of the Oregon Ducks." In the second quarter, UCLA outscored Oregon 20-3 to start its string of 27 unanswered points. The Bruins were clearly the superior team then. "I don't know what happened to us," said Smith. "Things weren't going well for us and UCLA started playing really well on both sides of the ball." The Ducks get a week off with a bye next Saturday before meeting Arizona in Tucson on Oct. 23. Then, they play three of their final four games at home against Arizona State (Oct. 30), Washington State (Nov. 6) and Oregon State (Nov. 20) as they pursue their eighth bowl bid in 11 years. They have a good chance of achieving that end. "We have some guys banged up and bruised," said Smith. "This week off will help them get healthy. "We're still in this thing. And we're in good shape to go to a bowl game if we can get some things turned around." Oregon is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-10. With Arizona, USC, UCLA and Arizona State dropping like flies in games they were favored to win, it leaves Stanford (3-2, 3-0 Pac-10) as the front-runner. But the Cardinal can't even beat San Jose State. The title is there for the taking. (Randy Hammericksen is the Mail Tribune's sports columnist. He can be reached at 776-4499 or [email protected] ) Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.