Compared to the rain in California and the cold in Pullman, Wash., Oregon’s football team should have tropical weatherthis weekend.
Weather forecasts call for 58 degrees with sun Saturday.
Oregon performed well in the cold against Washington State last weekend in a 34-31 win on kicker Paul Martinez’s game-winning field goal with one second remaining. Martinez earned his third honor as Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week with his performance.
Quarterbacks Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf combined for 296 yards passing and two touchdowns as the offense totaled 444 yards.
Top-notch kicking
Martinez has a capable competitor in Oregon State’s Alexis Serna.
Serna has made 23 of 28 field goals this season with three misses coming last weekend against Stanford. Serna had a 52-yard field goal into the wind that came up short in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Martinez, in comparison, is 19 for 24 with three fewer games played due to injury. Once this season, Martinez has made a 51-yard field goal, while Serna missed his 50-yarder and has a season long of 47 yards.
Both have had six-field-goal games with Martinez making six against Montana. Serna had six in Oregon State’s no-touchdown win against Washington 18-10.
Serna has handled all of Oregon State’s kicking duties, whereas Oregon has split the duties among Martinez, Matt Evensen and Matt Dragich.
Civil War
Oregon and Oregon State have traded wins since 1997. Oregon won in 1997 en route to the Las Vegas Bowl, in 1999 (Sun Bowl), in 2001 (Fiesta Bowl) and in 2003 (Sun Bowl).
Against their in-state rivals, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti is 6-4 in his coaching career and Oregon State coach Mike Riley is 2-2.
In the 2004 Civil War Oregon State knocked Oregon out of bowl contention with a 50-21 rout to earn a spot in the Insight Bowl.
Oregon State’s 50 point marked the first time that many points had been scored by either side in a Civil War game.
Oregon firsts
Three-sport athlete Jordan Kent caught his first touchdown of the season against Washington State when he caught a 68-yard pass from Dixon. The pass was Oregon’s longest passing play of the season.
Wide receiver Cameron Colvin notched his first rushing touchdown with a 23-yard score in the third quarter to give Oregon a 24-21 lead. Defensive end Darius Sanders snagged his first career interception to set up Colvin’s touchdown run.
Record breaker
Cornerback Justin Phinisee broke Jake Leicht’s single-season interception return record set in 1945. With a 23-yard interception return, Phinisee increased his season total to 206 yards.
Fiesta Bowl part two?
The last time Oregon won six consecutive games and went 9-1 came in 2001-02 when Oregon thrashed Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.
Injury report
Oregon incurred various ailments against Washington State. Receiver Demetrius Williams missed the second half after suffering a concussion.
Other injured Oregon players include Phinisee and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata with ankle injuries and running back Terrence Whitehead with a bruised knee. All of them are expected to be ready for Saturday.
The only question mark is linebacker Jon Pope, who is questionable with a bruise on his knee.