Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti had reiterated throughout the Ducks’ spring workouts that he would not name a starting quarterback until the fall.
But you can be sure that Kellen Clemens made a strong case for that appointment on Saturday at Oregon’s spring game.
The redshirt sophomore completed 12 passes for 189 yards and led the offense on three scoring drives in the white team’s 48-46 victory over the green in front of 9,087 at Autzen Stadium.
The offense, of course, was clad in white, while the defense wore green in a change in the annual spring game format. Unlike years past, the No. 1 offense took on the No. 1 defense. This was made possible by a points system, that was, well, a little confusing for the players.
“I don’t even understand it,” Clemens said. “I really wasn’t sure what was happening. I kind of looked up after we scored a couple times and it was still 23-23, and I was going, ‘what?’”
Had the game been played in a traditional manner, the white team would have come out on top, 27-0. But the modified scoring format allowed the defense to post points for interceptions (two overall), sacks (three) and forced punts, among other scenarios.
All of that, though, was to show those in attendance that the game meant more than depth and starting assignments. For Bellotti and the players, getting out of the game without significant injury is a plus. That and the starting quarterback spot may have gotten a little bit clearer.
Clemens finished the afternoon 12-of-16, and threw touchdown strikes to Samie Parker, Ryan Loftin and Demetrius Williams. The most impressive of the three came in the second quarter when Clemens threw a home run pass to Parker for 68 yards. Safety Keith Lewis called the play a broken assignment on behalf of the defense, but whatever you want to call it, it was an efficient strike on just the third play of the drive.
“Samie Parker gave (Clemens) some great support in catching some balls,” Bellotti said. “I thought Demetrius Williams came up with some big plays.”
Parker finished the first half, and the game, with 135 yards on seven catches. Williams finished with just two catches for 25 yards, but those were two intricate catches.
Starting at the defensive 23, Clemens rolled to his left and lofted the ball over cornerback Aaron Gipson along the sideline with Williams catching it at the 6-yard line. A play later, Clemens fired one over the middle, a pass first tipped by Parker and then caught by Williams along the back of the end zone, barely inbounds.
Fife, meanwhile, didn’t show the same quality of play he had put forth in Oregon’s earlier spring scrimmages. The fifth-year senior failed to complete a pass in four attempts and was sacked twice.

“Then again, I didn’t really have much of an opportunity to do much either,” Fife said. “I didn’t get as many series as I thought I was going to get. I got frustrated all spring about not getting the opportunities to do what I wanted to do.”
Defensively, the Ducks didn’t get burned, nor did they show marked improvement. The group allowed 202 yards through the air and 144 yards on 36 carries on the ground.
Lewis had the first interception of the day, stepping in front of a Johnny DuRocher pass early in the third quarter. DuRocher was picked off again, this time by Charles Favroth, in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
Chris Dearmon and Kevin Mitchell both got full sacks while Haloti Ngata and Darius Sanders teamed up for one as well.
“There are a lot of things we need to get better at in the secondary,” Lewis said. “A couple of blown coverages, but all in all, you can be happy. The secondary has made tremendous progress (this spring).”
The game ended Oregon’s spring workouts. It was the 15th of the spring — the most allowable by the NCAA — and Oregon will be back on the field in early August in preparation for the 2003 season.