Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said that when his seventh-ranked Ducks take on the 16th-ranked UCLA Bruins at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in a regionally televised game on ABC, the keys will be special teams, penalties and turnovers.
If the Ducks’ success so far this season in the latter category is any indication of what will happen Saturday, Bellotti will emerge victorious from the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1995.
At plus-12 turnovers on the season, the Ducks are second in the conference in turnover margin (averaging 1.33 take-aways per game). After forcing five UCLA turnovers last week, Washington State is the best in the Pac-10 — and third in the nation — at a plus-13 turnover margin.
“We have been very good at not turning over the football this year,” Bellotti said.

Red hot in the zone
The Joey Harrington-led offense had had little trouble scoring lately.
Behind a balanced rushing and passing attack, the Ducks are the top-rated offense in the Pac-10, averaging 463 total yards per game.
At 37.3 points per game, the Ducks are third in the conference in scoring.
Most notably, though, may be the fact that Oregon has converted 33-of-35 trips to the red zone into scores, 30 of which were touchdowns.
“That has a lot to do with Joey Harrington’s leadership and ability to operate down there,” Bellotti said.
Despite the offensive explosion, junior wide receiver Keenan Howry said the unit can still improve.
“You can always get better,” said Howry, who had four touchdown receptions in Oregon’s 42-24 victory over Arizona State Saturday. “You can never say you’ve played a perfect game.”
Said Bellotti: “From where this thing was nine weeks ago, I’m very pleased at where we’re at. We have great focus right now.”

Sold out
The implications are huge when the Ducks and Bruins meet Saturday, and the crowd at the Rose Bowl will show up accordingly.
A sold-out crowd is expected to greet the Ducks Saturday as they enter the Rose Bowl, which seats more than 91,000.
“My roommates were trying to call for some tickets, but both the Oregon section and the UCLA section were sold out,” Harrington said. “So we’re anticipating a lot of people. We’re going to go out there and it’s going to be two great teams.”
Bellotti said as many as 20,000 Oregon fans may make the trip to Los Angeles.
“How many times does that happen?” he said.

Eat your apples
Bellotti said junior rover Rasuli Webster “should be OK” for the UCLA game after suffering a strained hamstring against Arizona State.
Both tailbacks, senior Maurice Morris and sophomore Onterrio Smith, will also play Saturday. Morris sat out the ASU game with a sore hamstring, but could have played if necessary. Smith’s right eye was inflamed when his helmet rubbed against it during the game against the Sun Devils; he sat out Monday’s practice but was back on the field Tuesday.
In all, Bellotti said, “I don’t think anybody will be ruled out” for the Bruins game.