After weeks of contemplating various scenarios regarding possible bowls and opponents, the Oregon Ducks have finally learned of its postseason plans.
The sixth-ranked Ducks (10-1 overall, 7-1 Pacific-10 Conference), who had been vying for a trip to the Fiesta Bowl with one of two at-large bids in the Bowl Championship Series, will face Oklahoma (7-4) in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 29 in San Diego.
“It beats watching everybody else play,” Oregon center Enoka Lucas said. “It’s a disappointment that we’re not going to the Fiesta Bowl, but you can’t make mistakes like people did last year. We’re in the Holiday Bowl and we just have to make the best of it.”
Lucas’ reference to mistakes made last year was to a California team that, like Oregon, won 10 games with the only loss coming against No. 1 USC. Also, like the Ducks, the Bears were left out of the BCS. Cal’s gripe, however, was weakened when the Bears lost 45-31 in the Holiday Bowl to Texas Tech.
“Coach Bellotti stresses that a lot,” said quarterback Dennis Dixon regarding Cal. “It’s pretty much the same situation with us. It’s disappointing, but you’ve got to play through it.”
The Holiday Bowl will mark the second of three consecutive years the Ducks will face the Sooners. Last year, Oregon traveled to Norman, Okla., and fell 31-7 to Oklahoma and then-freshman Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 183 yards in the game. Next season the Sooners will pay a return trip to Eugene on Sept. 16.
“We look forward to playing Oklahoma,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “Our team is very focused in the fact that we have evolved as a program that is no longer happy to go to bowl games; we want to win bowl games. We feel that is part of our job.”
This will be Oregon’s second trip to the Holiday Bowl since 2000. That year, quarterback Joey Harrington and the Ducks defeated Chris Simms and Texas 35-30. Despite the obvious disappointment of not being one of eight teams selected for a BCS bowl game, Bellotti recognized the opportunity in front of his team.
“If you’re not in a BCS game, I think the Holiday Bowl is the very best game to go to,” Bellotti said. “Our players loved it the last time we were there.”
The Ducks can become only the second team in school history to win 11 games in a single season. To do so, Oregon must overcome a strong Sooner defense, which ranks second in the Big 12 Conference. Led by linebacker Rufus Alexander (93 tackles, 17 for a loss), the Sooners have allowed only 304.8 yards per game.
Oklahoma, which started 12 true freshmen this season, has also overcome a slow start offensively that resulted in a 17-10 season-opening loss to TCU at home and a 41-24 blowout loss at UCLA. Part of the early offensive struggles can be attributed to the maturation process of true freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar and the dissapointing play of junior quarterback Paul Thompson.
In the loss against TCU, Thompson finished 11 of 26 passing for 109 yards and one interception. One week later, Bomar replaced Thompson as the starter, and did not attempt a pass in the second half of a 31-15 win against Tulsa. Bomar went on to start nine of 11 games this season, completing 150 of 278 passes for 1,789 yards and nine touchdowns. He has been intercepted nine times.
The consistent part of the Sooner offense has come from Peterson, the runner-up in the Heisman balloting one year ago. Battling an ankle injury that has kept him out of all or part of four games, the sophomore has rushed for 1,024 yards on 197 carries and 14 touchdowns. He has averaged 156.5 yards per game in Oklahoma’s last four contests.
Peterson should find it difficult to run against the Ducks. Led by Haloti Ngata, the Oregon defense ranks third in the conference in total defense, surrendering 357.4 yards per game.
Offensively, Oregon has relied on its senior-laden offense and the arms of two inexperienced quarterbacks -Dixon and Brady Leaf – after senior Kellen Clemens went down in the eighth game of the season. The two have helped the Ducks complete the program’s greatest turnaround in 77 years after a 5-6 campaign last season. Oregon completed this year ranking seventh in the country in passing offense, ninth in scoring and 16th in total offense.
“Our program has great respect for Mike Bellotti and the Oregon program,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “They have put together another exceptional season and we know that they present a tremendous challenge.”
