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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, November 15, 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 14, 2004 Oregon’s defense looks vulnerable in loss By CLAYTON JONES for the Mail Tribune EUGENE — It was evident in Oregon’s 34-26 loss to UCLA Saturday that there is a severe chink in the Oregon defensive armor. Unlike Oregon teams of the past couple of years, it is stopping the run, not the pass, that is giving the defense trouble. Oregon was 12th in the nation against the run last season, giving up 95.9 yards per game, but this season has been a different story. After two straight games of giving up over 200 yards rushing — 219 to Cal and 227 to UCLA — the Ducks’ defense is allowing 125.6 yards per game. "We knew they would run the ball and that they have a good offensive line, which was healthy for the first time in a couple of weeks," Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. Advertisement True freshman Chris Markey ran for 131 yards on 23 attempts against the Ducks. Markey is UCLA’s third-string running back and had accumulated just 199 yards on 30 carries coming into the game. Not only did the freshman beat them on the ground, but he also beat them receiving the ball. The Luling, La., native caught five passes for 84 yards, including a clutch third-down reception in the fourth quarter that kept a five-minute plus, 12-play, 40-yard drive going to seal the victory for the Bruins. It was the second time this season the Ducks have allowed a third-string running back to run for over 100 yards at Autzen Stadium. Arizona State’s Hakim Hill rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown against the Ducks while replacing the suspended Loren Wade and the injured Randy Hill. Last week Oregon got a taste of University of California’s J.J. Arrington, who proceeded to run for 188 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. The only thing keeping Oregon’s defensive statistics from looking worse is the effort it had against Stanford, where it held the Cardinal to minus 8 yards on 29 attempts. But Markey wasn’t the only Bruin to find success on the ground and embarrass the Oregon defense Saturday. Manuel White also added some punch to the mix and used his 240-pound frame to run through the Oregon defense for 87 yards and two touchdowns. And running "through" is the term, as the Oregon defense missed a lot of opportunities to stop the runner at the point of attack. "We did not tackle very well," Bellotti said. "We didn’t do as good of a job at the line of scrimmage that we needed to do." Oregon’s inability to stop the run gave UCLA the opportunity to control the game on the ground and eat up a lot of clock, especially in the fourth quarter. The Bruins controlled the ball for almost 13 minutes in the final quarter. The Ducks said they weren’t prepared for the Bruins to run the ball quite as much as they did. "We were preparing for more passes," senior defensive tackle Robby Valenzuela said. "They came out just running it all the time and it surprised us." UCLA’s ground game shouldn’t have surprised the Ducks too much as the Bruins came into Saturday’s game second in the conference in rushing, averaging 205.4 yards per game. Oregon’s opponent last weekend, Cal, ranks first averaging 240.8 yards per game. Bellotti credits the opponent with his team’s recent problems against the run. "The offensive lines have a lot to do with (a teams rushing yards)," Bellotti said. "We have faced two of the better offensive lines in the conference in the last two weeks. If you take a look at what they’ve done this year you will find that to be true." Luckily for the Ducks, Saturday’s Civil War matchup won’t include a strong running attack from Oregon State. The Beavers are last in the conference in rushing and gained just 36 yards on 38 attempts in their 24-19 victory over Stanford. Clayton Jones is the sports editor for the University of Oregon Daily Emerald. 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