When Oregon’s 2005 football schedule was released, a Nov. 12 game in Pullman against the Washington State Cougars elicited a very generic response for many: brrr.
The forecast is calling for a chance of snow and the Ducks are preparing accordingly.
“It’s going to be cold,” senior strong safety Anthony Trucks said. “We have to mentally prepare for the worst.”
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti has seen the worst conditions Pullman has to offer.
In 2000, a snow plow had to clear the field before the Ducks and Cougars battled in a 27-24 Oregon win. A year later, although it didn’t snow, there was a hail storm in a 24-17 Duck victory.
Bellotti expects the Ducks, regardless of weather conditions, to continue what has worked all season for a team that has won five straight games and eight of nine this season.
“You will see a similar game plan to what we did this past week (against California) because we felt like the weather was going to be a real issue,” Bellotti said. “So I think you’ll see the same things and snow is better than rain, to be honest with you – 31, 32 (degrees) and snowing is probably better than 40 and raining.”
Temperatures are expected to dip as low as 32 degrees for the 7:15 p.m. kickoff.
Cooler conditions could make Oregon’s running game a critical factor as it was last week in rainy conditions against California when senior running back Terrence Whitehead rushed for 119 yards.
In a sleet-covered Martin Stadium during the 2001 season, then-sophomore running back Onterrio Smith set an Oregon record with 285 yards rushing against the Cougars – a record that still stands as the highest single-game yardage total in school history.
Washington State is seventh in the Pac-10 this season against the run, giving up 160.2 yards per game. Oregon has surrendered an average of 137.8 rushing yards per game and ranks fourth in the Pac-10.
“Certainly as we go north, Washington State is going to have a little bit of an advantage because it’s significantly colder there than it is here,” Bellotti said.
Oregon has won four of its last five trips to Martin Stadium, including last season’s 41-38 comeback victory.
“We need to make sure that we are very hungry and understand that we have to go up there and play against the weather and against the home team,” Bellotti said. “I need to make sure that this team understands that Washington State would like nothing better than to beat Oregon.”
Ngata honored
Junior defensive tackle Haloti Ngata may have turned in the most complete game of his Oregon career Saturday in a pivotal game against conference foe Cal. Ngata had a game-high 11 tackles, one of which was a crucial 7-yard tackle for a loss of Marshawn Lynch, which took the Bears out of field goal range in the waning moments of the game. Ngata also had two pass break-ups at the line of scrimmage and keyed a defense which limited Cal to only 14 first downs and 301 total yards of offense.
For his efforts, Ngata was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week, making him the sixth Oregon player to be honored this season.
“Our defense is doing really well right now,” Ngata said. “We know the offense will make their plays so we try to get them the ball back.”
Ngata has 49 total tackles and three sacks this season.
Belotti said Ngata is playing at a level that is unmatched in the Pac-10.
Quarterback controversy?
While Dennis Dixon was the undisputed second-stringer during the Kellen Clemens’ tenure and the starter following Clemens’ injury, backup sophomore Brady Leaf has emerged as another viable option at quarterback.
Leaf came off the bench to throw the game-winning touchdown in overtime of last weekend’s game after relieving Dixon, who struggled at times but still finished an impressive 15 of 26 for 139 yards and one touchdown in his first career start. Leaf finished nine of 13 for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Both figure to fit into the gameplan this week, though Dixon has been named the starter.
“Right now we’re just trying to get as much experience for the two as possible,” Bellotti said. “Dennis is our starter at this point, but at this point, they will both play. We have a starter, we have a backup, it’s just our backup may play a little more than other people’s backups.”
Crunch time is Duck time
Under Bellotti, the Ducks are 6-3 in overtime games, including Saturday’s 27-20 overtime victory.
Coincidentally, Oregon’s last overtime contest previous to Saturday was against Washington State in Pullman – a game Oregon won on a 47-yard Josh Frankel field goal and a blocked field goal attempt by Jed Boice on the following possession to keep Oregon’s undefeated season alive in 2000.
“I think that our teams have been known over the years for being pretty much poised,” Bellotti said. “I don’t think we panic at all in overtime.”

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