It must have been a rough Saturday night for Keenan Howry.
After Oregon’s 42-24 victory over Arizona State in front of 46,064 fans at Autzen Stadium, Howry moped into the media room at the Casanova Center with a look of disgust.
“I’ve never dropped two passes in a game before, especially two touchdowns,” the junior wide receiver said. “I’m pretty bummed out.”
Nevermind the nine passes Howry did catch. Or the 126 total receiving yards. Or the school-record four touchdown receptions, which also tied a Pacific-10 Conference record.
“I’m my biggest critic,” Howry said, admitting that he was eventually able to “laugh it off.”
Such are the expectations of the Oregon football team (8-1 overall, 5-1 Pacific-10 Conference), now in the driver’s seat in the Pac-10.
“It’s interesting because Keenan’s probably dropped more passes in this game than I’ve ever seen him drop in his career,” head coach Mike Bellotti said. “But he also had four touchdown catches that tied a Pac-10 record.”
The catches, of course, had their source.
After throwing for a season-low 119 yards against Washington State last week — because the running game tallied a school-record 446 total yards — senior quarterback Joey Harrington was able to let loose against Arizona State, completing 19-of-32 passes for 319 yards. His six touchdowns tied a school record (which he also tied against the Sun Devils last year) and his 72 career touchdowns (54 passing, 17 rushing and one receiving) are the most in school history.
“Cool, how many? That’s a lot. That’s cool,” Harrington said. “It means I got a lot of talent around me. I’m assuming most of those are touchdown passes cause I’m not that fast, and I don’t run that well. I’ve only got one catch, and that was ugly, too.”
The talent around Harrington Saturday was everywhere. On a day when the Arizona State defense constantly packed the box in an effort to stop the run, Harrington found five different targets, each catching at least two passes.
Oregon receivers often found themselves one-on-one with ASU’s defensive backs, Emmanuel Franklin and R.J. Oliver, both redshirt freshmen.
Howry, in particular, was able to take advantage.
“Traditionally, they usually have really good DBs,” Howry said. “The two guys they had out there just didn’t look comfortable.”
In their third year together, Harrington and Howry said they are finally starting to click like as they knew they could. Harrington said Howry — who is now tied for fourth on the school’s all-time reception list with 125 — is the best receiver he’s played with.
“He’s so polished in every area,” the senior quarterback said. “He makes catches in traffic. He makes catches on the fly diving. He makes catches in the open field and makes people miss. He’s really improved on his speed. He’s got it all.”
While the Oregon offensive line allowed its first sack since the Southern California game on Sept. 22, Bellotti said the group’s continued success has allowed the team to be successful.
“We’re only as good as the offensive line allows us to be,” said Bellotti, who is 10-0 in November at Autzen Stadium. “Everything, whether it’s the run or the passing game, starts at the line of scrimmage. Their ability to control the line of scrimmage is the difference in having an average offense and a great offense.”