Oh, what a week for a bye.
The Oregon football team rests this weekend after winning its first two conference games against UCLA and Washington — probably the toughest games on its conference schedule.
And the break comes not a moment too soon, as a few players were banged up while battling the Huskies. Among them was defensive tackle Walker Templeton, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
“It’s too bad for Walker to have to miss this season; he’s one of our better players this year,” said defensive end Saul Patu. “He’s worked very hard over the off-season to make himself injury-free.
“I have total confidence in the guys that were playing alongside Walker and playing behind him. We have to have confidence in them and have faith that those guys are going to step it up.”
Tailback Maurice Morris could use the extra week of rest as much as anyone. Morris, who has carried 122 times for 625 yards in his first five games as a Duck, sustained a toe injury against the Huskies and won’t practice until next week.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said his star tailback didn’t have turf toe and will be ready for Southern California, although team officials will be keeping a close eye on the injury.
Cornerback Rashad Bauman and offensive lineman Corey Chambers were among other lame Ducks after Saturday’s game. However, Bellotti said he expects everyone, save Templeton, to be ready to play against Southern California on Oct. 14.
“It’s a good time to have a bye,” Bellotti said. “We’ve got a lot of nagging injuries that don’t go away in three or four days and 10 days to two weeks will give us a better chance to get those healed.”

Offensive errors
Against Wisconsin, it was dropped passes. Against Nevada and UCLA, it was sub-par passing. Most recently against the Huskies, it was a little bit of everything.

Oregon has climbed to a No. 9 ranking without much consistency in its offense. Against Washington last Saturday, quarterback Joey Harrington completed just nine of 22 passes, the receivers dropped some easy catches and place-kicker Josh Frankel missed three field goals and an extra point.
Harrington has connected on 47.3 percent of his passing attempts this season, down from last season’s mark of 53.2 percent.
After the Washington game, Bellotti stood up for his starting quarterback.
“He made a couple of throws that he’d like to have back, there’s no question about it,” he said. “But on several throws, their defense did a very nice job of dropping into coverage. Rather than force the ball, he threw it away. Those are the stats, and they look bad, but from a coaching standpoint they were positive plays.”
Bellotti also plans to use the bye week to evaluate Frankel’s job as the Ducks’ place-kicker. He said he expects Frankel to keep his job, but won’t make up his mind until he sees him kick in practice in the next week and a half.
“He and I sat down and looked at the game film,” Bellotti said. “There were a couple things technique-wise with his plant foot he was doing that are easily correctable and will make a difference.
“I fully expect him to come back and be very solid. If not, we have other people in the program who can do it, but I do feel like it’s just a question of working out some minor details.”

Kick this
Oregon went weeks without having a Pac-10 Player of the Week last season. But on Oct. 2, just one week after Morris and safety Keith Lewis garnered the honor, the Ducks’ Kurtis Doerr has received the weekly award.
Doerr played a key role in Oregon’s 23-16 win against the then-No. 6 Huskies last Saturday, repeatedly pinning Washington deep in their own territory with an average of 41.7 yards on six punts. Four of his kicks were downed inside the 20-yard line and two were downed inside the 10.
Washington’s average starting field position for the game was at its own 17-yard line.
Oregon linebacker Matt Smith and Morris were nominated for the award. Against Washington, Morris rushed for 152 yards on 31 carries, and Smith had several key defensive stops, including a blocked desperation pass by Husky quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo on the Huskies’ final drive.

Mo’ love
The river of national football respect flowing into Eugene as of late doesn’t seem to have any end.
CBSSportsline.com’s recent Rose Bowl prediction: Oregon vs. Michigan.