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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 24, 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 10, 2004 Ducks pull all the right strings in offensive gem By STEVE BERGUM for the Mail Tribune PULLMAN, Wash. — Kellen Clemens loved the game plan the moment he saw it. "I just kind of walked in, read the plays that were on the board and thought, ‘Yeah, this is the week we do it,’" Clemens recalled. And on Saturday, in front of a hostile Martin Stadium crowd of 35,117, Clemens went out and masterfully engineered that game plan, leading Oregon to a riveting 41-38 comeback win over Pacific-10 Conference rival Washington State. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior quarterback played the starring role in a wildly entertaining offensive thriller that produced 27 fourth-quarter points, 29 first downs and 646 yards of total offense — the most any team as amassed against WSU since 1989 when Arizona State torched the Cougars for 651 in a 44-39 win in Tempe, Ariz. Clemens finished the day completing 36 of 55 passes for a career-high 437 yards and three touchdowns — all without throwing an interception. He ran for 36 yards and three more scores. And he did it against a stingy WSU defense that had allowed an average of only 269.8 yards in its first four games. Advertisement In all, it was a dizzying outburst by the Duck offense. And Clemens wasn’t the only Oregon player that saw it coming. "I had a good feeling about today,’’ offensive guard Nick Seitz said. "We had a good week of practice. Everyone was hungry for a win to finally get us out of this rut and back on the right track. "And this is a great place to do it.‘‘ The Ducks’ offensive game plan, authored by offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, proved to be a masterpiece. With Clemens pushing all the right buttons and keeping his teammates focused and relaxed — even in the face of a 35-21, fourth-quarter deficit — Oregon carved up the Cougars with a wonderfully diverse assortment of plays that ranged from the traditional tight end crossing pattern to a nifty little shovel pass to tailback Terrence Whitehead that the Ducks ran with remarkable success all game long. "I think Oregon played a great ballgame,’’ WSU coach Bill Doba said. "They could have folded their tent when we were up 14 on them, but they kept battling back. That little shovel pass they worked on, that worked against us. They threw the ball in there and made plays when they had to. They had a heck of an offensive game plan.’’ Still, the Ducks were forced to play from behind most of the game, mainly because of the three fumbles they lost and the 13 penalties — many of the drive-killing variety — they committed. "We knew we were shooting ourselves in the foot a lot of times,’’ admitted junior tight end Tim Day, a 6-4, 268-pounder who became Clemens’ main target in the second half. "But we knew once we got rid of the penalties and stopped losing the ball, we were going to be good. And we did that in the second half.’’ Day finished with eight receptions for a game-high 152 yards and two touchdowns. All of his catches came in the second half after he was released from his primary first-half assignment of protecting Clemens. "I was open a couple of times, but most of the time I was blocking,’’ Day said of his lack of first-half production. "(The Cougars) run a lot of dogs and a lot of blitzes and we wanted to pick up that stuff in the first half, so they had me in a lot for protecting.’’ But once he was turned loose to motor downfield, Day had his way against a seemingly helpless WSU secondary, scoring two of Oregon’s four fourth-quarter touchdowns. Duck coach Mike Bellotti said Day was in some early routes, explaining, "We just didn’t find him or get protection long enough to shake him loose. So we sort of said, ‘To heck with that. Let’s call a few more designed plays to him in the second half � plays where he’s the primary receiver.’ "And he responded very well.’’ Ludwig refused to take any credit for the way his offense dominated. "We have x-amount of offense to draw from,’’ he explained, "and each week we just kind of slide it around and take bits of it in terms of attacking an opponent. It was the same offense, but I really felt like the kids said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and stepped up and made some plays at key points in the football game, and I’m very happy for them — and proud of them.’’ WHEN CLEMENS TOOK OFF on his decisive 13-yard touchdown run with just over a minute left in Saturday’s game, he admitted to be a bit stunned by the size of the hole in front of him. "It was a quarterback draw,’’ he explained, "and it was scary how open it was. I panicked. Dante (Rosario) was leading the way. He just creamed the linebacker and it was like, ‘Wow! There’s nobody here.’ "You’re worried about tripping or something.’’ BELLOTTI WAS QUESTIONED about his decision to risk a two-point conversion pass after the Ducks had sliced WSU’s lead to 38-34 on a 14-yard pass from Clemens to Day with 5 minutes left in the game. The pass failed, when a simple kick would have left Oregon within a mere field goal of tying the game. When asked what he was thinking at the time, Bellotti said: "Win the game, go for the win. If we get a chance to kick a field goal, we want it to be for the win, not the tie.’’ BELLOTTI CALLED IT his team’s "worst dark moment.’’ And there was little doubt the Ducks were facing a massive momentum shortage following a disastrous third-quarter penalty on a punt. Trailing 21-14, Oregon was forced to punt from deep in its own territory and David Dittman, who had shanked two kicks early in the game, responded with a 66-yard bomb that rolled out of bounds at WSU’s 16-yard-line. The Ducks had only six men on the line of scrimmage, however, and were forced to punt again. And when they did, the Cougars’ Michael Bumpus returned it 52 yards for a touchdown. Bellotti said he told his players immediately following the return that they were still going to win. "And I know our kids believed that,’’ he added. "It was very frustrating,’’ Day said of the punt fiasco. "We could have, at that point, gave up or kept fighting, and we kept fighting. We knew we could get ourselves back into the game by eliminating those mistakes, and we did.’’ Steve Bergum covers Washington State football for The Spokesman-Review. 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