Despite a brief appearance Saturday by backup Kellen Clemens in a 42-14 loss to Washington, Jason Fife said he expects to be Oregon’s starting quarterback in the Civil War this week.
“I haven’t heard differently,” Fife said Monday. “As far as I know, I’m going to be the starter.”
Head coach Mike Bellotti said Clemens may take a few snaps against Oregon State, but “that’s not the plan right now.”
Fife said the Ducks (7-4 overall, 3-4 Pacific-10 Conference) are trying to forget Saturday’s defeat — Bellotti’s worst in eight years at Autzen Stadium — and get ready for the Beavers (7-4, 3-4), who lead the Pac-10 in rush and pass defense.
“More than anything, I’m anxious to get started (preparing for Oregon State),” Fife said Monday. “We didn’t even watch a whole lot of the game (on film) because we flat out knew that we didn’t do so well. The consensus was that we have to put that in the past and get it out of our mind.”
Fife threw two first-quarter touchdown passes against the Huskies, but completed just 4-of-22 passes for 31 yards in the final three periods. Hoping to provide an offensive spark, Bellotti started Clemens in the third quarter, but the redshirt freshman threw an interception on his first attempt. Fife finished out the game, but the Ducks totaled just 43 yards in their final four possessions.
“It’s a chance to re-prove myself,” Fife said of his first Civil War start. “After a couple weeks where I was less than effective, I think that I can keep the team up and hopefully lead the offense to a bunch of scores.”
Bellotti said he will stick with Fife this week, despite Oregon ranking ninth in the conference in passing offense.
“Jason has done a good job,” Bellotti said. “Overall, he has played well at times and played very well at times. I think the great thing is he can get better.”
In a players-only meeting prior to practice Monday, the Ducks discussed finishing the season on a positive note.
“A lot of us thought that maybe we haven’t sold-out as much as we thought we could as far as giving it our all and battling throughout the game,” Fife said. “We also know that at the end of the season we can start thinking about things like that. We have to focus as much as we can this week on Oregon State.”
Also of note, Oregon placekicker Jared Siegel was named as one of three finalists Monday for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s best kicker.