Penalties aside, Oregon’s offensive execution Saturday against Washington State was something to behold.
Kellen Clemens lit the Cougars up for 437 passing yards and accounted for six touchdowns.
Demetrius Williams and Tim Day combined to catch 20 passes and Terrence Whitehead amassed 237 total yards.
All of those flashy numbers won’t mean jack, however, when Oregon faces Arizona at Autzen Stadium on Saturday. If the Ducks want to be considered a quality team — like many of their players and coaches believe is true — they need another strong offensive performance against an inferior Wildcat team.
I know, I know. Any team in the Pacific-10 Conference can beat any other team on any given blah, blah, blah.
Right?
Not in this situation. Not if Oregon wants to be taken seriously.
This is a game of opportunity for the Ducks.
The Oregon offense, which sputtered early in the season, needs to put together strong outings in
consecutive games. Oregon isn’t expected to score 41 points and tally 646 yards every week, but having drives stall in the red zone or not being able to throw the ball downfield against Arizona wouldn’t bode well for the rest of its season.
While the Wildcats’ defense is ranked No. 22 in the nation for yards allowed, it surrendered five touchdowns to UCLA on Saturday during Arizona’s first road game of the season.
Though Oregon is ranked No. 16 in the country with 445.6 yards of offense per game, the Ducks have struggled to get the ball into the end zone prior to beating the Cougars. Saturday’s meeting with Arizona is an opportunity for Oregon to show its scoring barrage in Pullman, Wash., was no fluke. It’s an opportunity for Williams and Day to show they can get open consistently. It’s an opportunity for Whitehead to reaffirm his up-and-coming status as one of the Pac-10’s most dangerous tailbacks. Most of all, it’s an opportunity for Oregon to get back to .500 and remain in the conference race.
Oh yeah, the Duck defense has some things to prove as well.
Oregon was victimized once again by the big play on Saturday. Washington State was held to 374 yards of total offense, but quarterback Josh Swogger torched Oregon cornerback Marques Binns for a pair of touchdowns and wide receiver Michael Bumpus broke several tackles to return a punt 52 yards for a touchdown.
Oregon faces an Arizona team that ranks dead last in the Pac-10 in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense. There’s no way the Ducks should allow 20 points to the Wildcats, who have reached that mark only once this season — against hapless Northern Arizona.
Saturday presents an opportunity for the Oregon defense to eliminate the big play. It’s an opportunity for Jackie Bates to prove a true freshman can successfully start at cornerback. Most of all, it’s an opportunity for the defense to regain some pride before tough games against California, UCLA and Oregon State.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti is a smart man. As happy as he was after defeating Washington State, he was paying equal attention to the team’s shortcomings.
He knows the importance of this game and he’ll do his best to keep the Ducks focused on the task at hand.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Bellotti said. “I’m overjoyed with the victory (against Washington State). Still, I’m concerned with the process. We made too many mistakes on offense, defense and special teams.”
“To a degree, we were lucky. We haven’t been lucky all year.”
It is said that good teams create their own luck by taking advantage of favorable situations.
Oregon is bound to have plenty of opportunities against an Arizona team the Ducks have no business losing to.
Will the Ducks prove they’ve turned their season around by winning a much-needed game at Autzen Stadium?
Maybe they’ll get lucky.

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