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46 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, November 25, 2004 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 Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People 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 November 21, 2004 Defense rests in Ducks’ season finale By DON HUNT Mail Tribune CORVALLIS — The look on Mike Bellotti’s face said it all. Anger. Gloom. Disappointment. Bellotti’s Oregon Ducks had just given up the most points in the 108-year history of the Civil War in a 50-21 loss to Oregon State. Any loss to the Beavers hurts. But this one, a blowout that cost the Ducks their 11th straight winning season and a 10th consecutive bowl game, felt like a hard punch to the gut. And Bellotti, standing outside the Oregon locker room with a hoard of media huddled around him, was searching for answers. Advertisement "We didn’t meet any of our goals this season and that’s very frustrating," Bellotti said. "It just proves that you can’t assume anything in this business. "I’ll re-examine how we do things. I’ll look at film, look at stats, evaluate what we do in practice and talk to the coaches and the players. I haven’t met individually with all the players the past couple of year but I plan on doing that this year. "Obviously, something isn’t right." The Ducks appeared to be on their way to a reasonably successful season last month after winning three straight games. They stood 5-3 and, in their ninth game, led fourth-ranked California 27-14 at halftime. But the Golden Bears rallied for a 28-27 victory, and the Ducks went in the tank after that. Their defense collapsed in a 34-26 loss to UCLA last week and then on Saturday the entire team — offense, defense, special teams — could do almost nothing right. "We came in here thinking we were the better team," Oregon free safety J.D. Nelson said. "But they humbled us." Oregon’s defense was so feeble that slow-footed Beaver quarterback Derek Anderson not only passed for 351 yards and four touchdowns, he also ran for 49 yards and three first downs. "Lord knows what he (Anderson) runs the 40 in," Nelson said. "There’s no excuse for letting a guy like that get loose on us." Oregon quarterback Kellen Clemens, meanwhile, completed just 13 of 29 passes for 126 yards. He did manage three touchdown passes, but was also intercepted three times and sacked six times. The Ducks’ late-season meltdown could be attributed in part to injuries. Starting linebacker Anthony Trucks and standout freshman cornerback Jackie Bates were both out of the lineup Saturday. Their two best receivers — wideout Demetrius Williams and tight end Tim Day — played Saturday and combined for three touchdown catches, but they missed most of the Cal game and all of the UCLA game. It’s clear that Oregon badly needs more playmakers and Bellotti said that will be a point of emphasis when he hits the recruiting trail in a couple of weeks. "We need more playmakers on both sides of the ball," he said. "I think some of our younger guys will emerge but it was obvious that we didn’t get the job done at wide receiver in certain games. We’ve got to address those things." Most troubling was an Oregon defense that couldn’t stop the run against UCLA, couldn’t stop the pass against Oregon State and couldn’t stop either when Cal orchestrated its second- half comeback. The Ducks made Anderson look like an All-American Saturday. "We tried several different strategies but he beat whatever we threw at him," Bellotti said. "Our biggest problem was, we didn’t get the kind of pass rush we needed." Oregon’s one bright spot Saturday was junior tailback Terrence Whitehead, who powered his way to 110 yards rushing on 18 carries. The junior from Los Angeles finished the season with 1,144 yards and six touchdowns. 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 © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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