Oregon’s hopes of a winning season and a bowl game will now be
determined
at the Civil War as the Ducks couldn’t slow down UCLA’s rushing
attack and
lost to the Bruins 34-26 Saturday at Autzen Stadium.
The Bruins (6-4 overall, 4-3 Pacific-10 Conference) pounded the ball
on the
ground all day against the Ducks (5-5, 4-3), accumulating 227 rushing
yards
on 56 carries without starting tailback Maurice Drew.
UCLA’s rushing attack was led by third-string tailback Chris Markey.
The
freshman from Luling, La., ran the ball for 131 yards and led the
Bruins in
receiving with five catches for 84 yards.
“We knew they would run the ball and that they have a good offensive
line,
which is healthy for the first time in a couple weeks,” Oregon head
coach Mike
Bellotti said. “We knew Maurice Drew is a great running back, but
also knew
they had two great running back behind him.”
The Ducks had a final shot at the end of the game after UCLA’s
Justin
Medlock kicked his second field goal from at least 50 yards away to
give the
Bruins a 34-26 lead.
With less than two minutes left in the game and no timeouts, Oregon
drove
down to its own 40-yard line. The Ducks were down to a fourth-down
play
and for the second consecutive week couldn’t come through as
quarterback
Kellen Clemens just missed on a pass to Garren Strong down the middle
to
end Oregon’s hopes.

Bellotti said that it’s frustrating not being able to come through
at the end,
but his team will learn to do it.
“I think as a team you always want to be in a position to win the
game … It’s
a matter of time before we start making those plays and good teams
find a
way to make plays,” Bellotti said.
Oregon started the game strong by taking the first possession