Less than a month ago, the Oregon-UCLA matchup appeared to be one for the history books; a game that could have potentially decided who would contend for the national championship.
While the implications are still great, a battle of unbeatens will not take place Saturday in the Rose Bowl.
Instead, the Pacific-10 Conference championship will be on the line when No. 7 Oregon (8-1 overall, 5-1 Pac-10) and No. 16 UCLA (6-1, 3-2) hit the field at 12:30 p.m. Saturday for a regionally-televised ABC broadcast.
“We’ve been getting ready for this kind of game all year,” Oregon senior quarterback Joey Harrington said. “And now we’re going to be on national television, in the Rose Bowl, against UCLA, and it’s time to show people what we’ve got.”
Much of the excitement was also deflated with the news Wednesday that UCLA star running back DeShaun Foster will sit out the game after being suspended for receiving “extra benefits.”
But the game must go on.
The Ducks enter the game with the No. 1 offense in the Pac-10, while the Bruins feature the No. 1 defense.
Harrington and Co. have scored in 33-of-35 trips to the red zone this season, best in the conference. Senior linebacker Robert Thomas and the Bruins have held opponents scoreless in 50 percent of trips to the red zone, also tops in the conference.
“I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been looking forward to this game all year,” Oregon receiver Keenan Howry said. “The hype is there, the intensity is there, and there’s a lot at stake for both teams.”
The Bruins, however, are coming off consecutive losses to Stanford and Washington State, and need a win to stay within reach of a major bowl bid.
“They’re a very good team,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said of UCLA. “I know they’ve stubbed their toe here, but Pullman is a very difficult place to go, and we said that at the time we played Stanford they were by far the best team we have played all year. But, UCLA is still dominating as a football team. They don’t give up a lot of yardage — their defense is as impressive as any that we’ll have seen.”
The Ducks are tied with Washington and Washington State in the conference standings, but hold tiebreaker advantage on both teams. Thus, if the Ducks defeat UCLA and Oregon State in their remaining games, they will receive an automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl.
Bellotti said his team is not looking past the Bruins, though.
“Getting back in charge of our destiny doesn’t change the way we’re going to approach this thing,” said Bellotti, who is 16-3 in November. “Our kids have done a great job of focusing this year.”
The last time Oregon and UCLA met in the Rose Bowl, the Bruins escaped with a 34-29 win, despite a mammoth fourth-quarter comeback from the Ducks.
As a freshman, UCLA quarterback Cory Paus, the projected starter for Saturday’s game, threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns in that 1999 win.
The Ducks, however, are 11-2 on the road since their last visit to Pasadena, including a 4-0 mark this year.
“If you look at Oregon, they are an excellent football team,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. “But right now I’m more concerned about us at this point. Somehow I need to get this team refocused on what we need to do to finish up and have a good season.”
Adam Jude is the sports editor for the
Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached
at [email protected].