Oregon receiver Cameron Colvin enjoyed a coming out party last Saturday against Washington.
Colvin caught a career high six balls for 45 yards and two touchdowns while filling in for fellow wideout Demetrius Williams, who is still nursing a turf toe injury.
The freshman got involved early, catching four passes during the Duck’s first possession of the game. His fourth catch of the drive was a 16-yard touchdown while Husky cornerback Sam Cunningham clawed at his legs and jersey in an attempt to keep him out of the end zone.
“Basically, Cameron wasn’t even supposed to be in there on the first touchdown,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “But he made the most of it. I’m glad that he responded with key catches, and made the best of the opportunity. Because when you produce you will see more opportunities. If Demetrius is not ready to go, Cameron will need to step into the spotlight and pick up the slack.”
Colvin again found the end zone with 15 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter on a 7-yard strike from Kellen Clemens.
Colvin’s six receptions tied him with tight end Tim Day for most catches by an Oregon receiver against Washington last week.
“It just worked that way,” Bellotti said. “There is not a conscious decision unless we know we have a matchup we like, and we’re going to go at that person and try to get the ball in their hands.”
The De La Salle High School graduate now has 12 catches on the year for 134 yards and two touchdowns and with Williams questionable for the Cal game, Colvin will have another chance to step up and prove that he belongs in the deep and talented Oregon receiving corps.
Oregon on the poll radar
For the first time since Week 3 of the college football season, the Ducks are receiving poll consideration.
Oregon junior quarterback Kellen Clemens is ranked 17th in the nation in total offense and will look to improve on those numbers Saturday against California. In his last four and a half games he has completed 65
The Ducks started the year ranked in both major polls — the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 and The Associated Press Top 25 — finding themselves as high as No. 23 in the AP, before losing their season opener to Indiana.
And now, after winning four straight, the Ducks are once again catching the attention of voters. The most recent AP poll shows the Ducks receiving 11 votes, while in the ESPN/Coaches poll, the Ducks merited 21 votes.
“I think we are starting to get
noticed,” Bellotti said. “We dug ourselves a hole, but as I’ve said many times, if you’re going to lose, you’re going to lose early. It’s the last poll that we want to get votes (for) and we want to make sure we stay within striking distance of the conference championship.”
While votes are a good thing, the Ducks are still far behind breaking into the top 25. Eighty-one votes separate the Ducks and No. 25 Boston College in the ESPN/Coaches poll, while 58 votes stand between No. 25 Texas El-Paso and Oregon in the AP poll.
History deems November
a good month for Ducks
Under Bellotti, the Ducks have gone 21-7 in the month of November. Three of those losses have come at the hands of Oregon State (1998, 2000, 2002), two by Washington (2002, 2003) and one each at Arizona State (1997) and Washington State (2002). The Ducks are 13-1 at Autzen Stadium and 8-6 away from home in the month of November with Bellotti at the helm. Only once in Bellotti’s tenure have the Ducks lost more than one game in November during a single season, when they went 1-3 in 2002, losing to Washington State, Washington and Oregon State in consecutive weeks.
Clemens carving own
niche as starter at Oregon
Kellen Clemens continues to cement his place among the other great Oregon quarterbacks in school history. After becoming the undisputed starter against California in 2003, Clemens has gone 7-4 including three comeback victories.
Over the last four and a half games, Clemens has completed 65 percent of his passes (109 for 167), including 70 percent of his attempts (21 for 30) against Arizona. During that stretch, he has thrown for 1,266 of his 2,012 yards this year. With his 161 rushing yards, Clemens is 17th in the nation in total offense (271.6 avg.).
His 473 yards of total offense against Washington State ranks second all-time, 25 yards behind Bill Musgrave’s performance against BYU in 1989.
