The stat lines aren’t spectacular, but worth noting:
Tailback Onterrio Smith had 38 yards on five carries, including a 31-yard scamper. Backup Allan Amundson rushed for one touchdown and 87 yards on 13 carries. Ryan Shaw had 49 yards on nine carries and a touchdown.
The two main quarterbacks, Jason Fife and Kellen Clemens, combined to complete 12-of-30 attempts for 118 yards, with Clemens tossing two touchdowns.
Again, nothing outrageous, but a far cry from the first scrimmage, where the Oregon defense, in green uniforms, made the offense, in white, their play toy, allowing just one touchdown and one field goal.
In their second and last scrimmage before the Spring Game, the Ducks were finally able to establish something offensively as they concluded the third week of drills Friday.
“I think our offense woke up a bit today, and it was nice to see our running game on track,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “The offense showed up as a group for the first time this spring.
“Overall, though, I’m not pleased. Our defense played great early this spring, and maybe as a result they rested on their laurels a little (Friday).”
Safety Keith Lewis said he was noted happy with the defense’s performance Friday, when the Green team allowed four touchdowns and four field goals.
“As a defense, we pride ourselves on winning every drill,” Lewis said. “There’s nothing worse than coming off the field knowing that the offense just shoved the ball up your butt. It’s not supposed to happen that way. We wear green for a reason because we’re physical, they wear white because they’re soft.”
In the battle for the starting quarterback job, Clemens, a redshirt sophomore, stood out because of his two touchdown passes. His first touchdown was a 12-yard strike to Keith Allen in the first series and the last was a two-yard toss to George Wrighster late in the scrimmage.
“We’re more confident now,” said Clemens, comparing the offense’s performance to the first scrimmage. “It always takes the offensive a little more time to get going than the defense, so from that first scrimmage to the second, more repetition helped a lot.”
Clemens finished 5-for-15 for 54 yards. Fife was 7-for-15 with 64 yards.
“Nobody’s done less that I’ve expected and nobody’s exceeded my expectations,” Bellotti said of the quarterbacks. “I have a feeling that whoever starts for us will be pretty good. I don’t expect as great of a drop off as probably the general populations. At the same time, I have high expectations for them. They’ve had steady improvement.”