Oregon 31

Arizona 14
There’s nothing like a little scare to start the day. Or, in Oregon’s case, a jolting wake-up call to start Pacific-10 Conference play.
Arizona scored on its first possession Saturday and jumped out to a 14-7 first-quarter lead over the No. 7 Ducks at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Then the Oregon defense, like a sleeping giant, awoke from its preseason haze to shut out the Wildcats (3-2 overall, 0-1 Pac-10) in the final three quarters of a 31-14 Oregon win.
The Ducks (5-0, 1-0), the defending Pac-10 champions, have won 10 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Miami.
“Any time you can get a road win in the Pac-10 is great,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti told KUGN-radio after the game. “I think we started off slow and we were our own worst enemy, but I thought the defense improved dramatically as the game went on.”
The Oregon defense held Arizona to 30 yards on the ground and recorded five sacks, including the first career quarterback takedown for freshman tackle Haloti Ngata.
Offensively, tailback Onterrio Smith kept the Ducks in the game in the first half.

Smith continued his assault of opposing defenses and the record books, as he finished with 145 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. He has five straight 100-yard rushing games, tying a school record set by Bobby Moore (now Ahmad Rashad) in 1971.
“(Smith) was a wild man tonight,” quarterback Jason Fife told The Associated Press.
In his inaugural Pac-10 start, Fife rebounded from a mediocre first half to throw for two touchdowns in the second half. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Fife hit freshman Terrence Whitehead in the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown, the final score of the game.
“Jason matured in this game,” Bellotti said. “His decision-making improved — he was a little hesitant early on but he threw the ball very accurately and very well.”
Senior wide receiver Keenan Howry grabbed his first touchdown of the season on a 33-yard strike from Fife with six minutes to play in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Arizona’s Bobby Wade, the Pac-10 leading receiver, torched Oregon freshmen cornerbacks Aaron Gipson and Charles Favroth for 151 yards on 12 catches.
Wade’s 16-yard touchdown reception from Arizona quarterback Jason Johnson with 1:53 left in first quarter gave the Wildcats a 14-7 lead.
“We played hard,” Wade told the Associated Press. “Oregon is a great team. They know how to win. When the other team knows how to win like that, a little adversity means nothing to them.”
Smith scampered into the end zone for a 10-yard score midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 14.
The Ducks took their first lead on a career-best 53-yard field goal by sophomore Jared Siegel with 39 seconds left in the first half.
For Arizona, Johnson completed 23-of-41 passes for 302 yards, but was intercepted by safety Keith Lewis in the third quarter. Arizona redshirt freshman Mike Bell, making his first start in place of injured tailback Clarence Farmer, rushed for just 54 yards on 21 carries.
“We went toe-to-toe with the No. 8 team in the nation for a long time,” Johnson said. “It’s just one play here or there. We feel like we’re close.”
In the rankings, the Ducks jumped to No. 7 in The Associated Press poll Sunday. Oregon’s next opponent, UCLA (4-1, 1-0), which defeated Oregon State 43-35 Saturday in Corvallis, is ranked No. 25 in the coaches’ poll.