While most of the nation focused its attention on the heated Presidential race Tuesday, the Oregon football team continued its preparation for its next “huge” step in the race for the roses.
The race between Al Gore and George W. Bush for President was decided largely on the electoral votes of the Northwest states, and the battle for the Pacific-10 Conference title will also be decided by those in the Northwest.
As it stands now, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington are the candidates for the prestigious Rose Bowl, and there are plenty of scenarios that could take place.
First off, the sixth-ranked Ducks clinch the Pac-10 if they beat California, and Arizona knocks off Oregon State Saturday. The interesting part about those two games is that Oregon’s game begins at 12:30 p.m. at Autzen Stadium, while the Beavers don’t take the field until 7:15 p.m.
So, should Oregon knock off Cal, it would have to wait about seven hours after its game to find out if its headed to Pasadena. It’s not the most conventional way to win a title, but the Ducks don’t seem to mind.
“It’d be a little weird to win it on T.V.,” cornerback Rashad Bauman said. “But we’ll take it anyway we can get it. It’s not often that a Pac-10 Championship comes around so when we can get it, we’ll take it without a problem.”
But Bauman acknowledges that the Beavers “are going to play hard,” and that Oregon shouldn’t bank on wrapping up the title this weekend.
“Oh no doubt, [Oregon State’s] going to be ready, and hopefully Arizona can go down there and take care of their part, and we can handle our business up here,” Bauman said. “Even if they don’t, we can win it if we win out.”
The other way the Ducks (8-1 overall, 6-0 Pac-10) can win the tight race, is if it beats Oregon State Nov. 18 in the Civil War, regardless of what they do against Cal. However, a win over the Golden Bears at least guarantees Oregon of having a share of the league title.
For Oregon State, the road to Pasadena got a little tougher with Washington’s comeback victory over the Wildcats last weekend. The Beavers must win their last two games and hope for a Husky loss, but Washington’s remaining two games are against UCLA at home and Washington State on the road.
Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson is trying to just get his team focused on the task at hand, and not worry about how the Ducks and Huskies do.
“It really makes no difference what happens in either of those games, if they win, lose or draw, because we’ve got to win,” Erickson said.
Washington will go to the Rose Bowl if it wins its final two games and the Beavers take care of the Ducks.

Frankel fever
One week, he’s on the most wanted list of a few Ducks fans, and the next he’s getting his name chanted by them.
Oregon’s kicker Josh Frankel has certainly experienced the highs and lows of being a kicker this season, after missing crucial kicks in some games and knocking through the game-winning 47-yard field goal against Washington State.
The overtime kick against the Cougars marked his career-long, edging the 46-yard boot he connected on earlier in Saturday’s game.
For his efforts, Frankel was awarded the Pac-10 special teams’ player of the week.
“You know, there’s probably a few games this year where I should have gotten the Pac-10 goat of the week,” Frankel said. “I’m extremely grateful that not only the coaches stuck with me, but also my teammates. We don’t give up on each other.”