The University of Oregon Ducks will have their work cut out for them when they step onto a fan-packed Scott Field at eight o’clock on a hot Southern Saturday night.
They will play an opponent with a brand new coaching staff, brand new offensive and defensive schemes and a new winning outlook on football.
Oregon returns 15 starters from a 7-6 2002 campaign in which they finished eighth in the PAC-10 and lost their last four games, including the Seattle Bowl to Wake Forest.
With not much of an offensive ground game and a shaky quarterback situation, the Ducks are picked to have similar results in 2003.
Oregon, under the leadership of ninth-year head coach Mike Bellotti, plays a West Coast offense consisting of a pass first, run later scheme.
Last year Oregon ran the ball much more with Onterrio Smith, who made the jump to the NFL earlier this year. This season they will have to rely on Smith’s backups: sophomore Terrence Whitehead and junior Ryan Shaw to carry the running load. But the weight of the offense will fall on the arm of the quarterback, which is still an unanswered question.
Returning starting quarterback Jason Fife completed only 51 percent of his passes last year and threw for 2,752 yards with 10 interceptions and 24 touchdowns.
Don’t count out sophomore quarterback Kellen Clemens, who showed some spice during the spring game and could rival Fife for the starting position.
“Both quarterbacks need to see the field better,” head coach Mike Bellotti said. “In addition, Jason needs to improve his consistency and Kellen needs to work on his decision making.”
Whoever the quarterback may be he will have one “go-to guy” in senior receiver Sammie Parker who is the only returning starting receiver for the Ducks.
Parker will be a deep threat for opponents, but from there the receiving talent drops off.
The Ducks will be missing a projected starter in junior receiver Keith Allen who suffered a torn ACL early in fall practice. At 6-4 and 268-pounds, Tim Day will offer a big target at tight end, but he hasn’t proven he can catch the ball yet.
Soph. receiver Demetrius Williams only made five catches last year and next in line is Kellen Taylor who was red shirted last year. A young and inexperienced receiving core could lead the Ducks to turn toward the running game like they did last year.
The Ducks should be stacked at the offensive line, having only lost one starter from a year ago.
“I feel good about our offensive line,” Bellotti said. “We will look for the best group of five players–which may not translate into the best five individuals—to run the offense.”
The question is “Who will carry the ball through the holes?” All of the back up running backs saw limited time last year because of all-star back Onterrio Smith. Don’t be surprised if you see up to three different running backs lined up in the backfield.
On the defensive side of the ball the Ducks could not stop the pass last year. They allowed a league worst 291 yards passing per game, and a school-record 35 passing touchdowns. Oregon’s 2002 defense was dead last in the PAC-10 Conference, a conference in which already consists of poor defenses.
Bellotti said, “Our defense is working very hard to meet the challenges of improving.”
Oregon lost five starters on defense, but they will be returning safety Keith Lewis, who had five interceptions in 2002 and line backer Kevin Mitchell.
Mitchell led the team with 114 tackles last year and also made six sacks.
Haloti Ngata and Igor Olshansky are the only two returning starters on a defensive line that did a legitimate job of stopping opponents on the ground last season.
Besides the experienced offensive line, Oregon can also count on kicker Jared Siegel. Siegel has the strongest leg in the PAC-10 and is ranked second in the nation by The Sporting News. He is known for his record setting 59-yard field goal last season and made 83 percent of his attempts.
On paper the Bulldogs and Ducks match up well with one another. Expect a game to remember in the second meeting between these two cross-country foes.