If you’re the coach of a 3-0 football team, you’ve just blown out a team 58-21 — scoring the second-most points in Division I football for that day — and you’re about to crack the top-10 for the first time all season, what do you tell the media?
“We’re not where we need to be yet,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said after his Ducks blew away Idaho on Sept. 14. “This team has the potential to be special, but it’s a work in progress.”
Say what?
Bellotti’s “work in progress” has averaged 40.7 points, 158 rushing yards and 235 passing yards per game. It’s a team that has blown out the teams it was supposed to blow out, and survived a thrilling contest with a team known for slaying giants. It is a team, then, that seems right on track to continue the success of the past few years as it heads toward conference play.
And yet, Bellotti and the Ducks can’t seem to shake the feeling that all is not quite right in Eugene.
“I still think it’s essential that the players realize the need to improve with each game,” Bellotti said.
For the Ducks, there are still questions about a passing game that’s reliant on a new starter, a running game that is reliant on one tailback, a secondary that is reliant on untested cornerbacks on one side and a punter that has been inconsistent at times.
But each one of those questions has been closer to being answered with each contest.
Jason Fife, the Ducks’ new starting quarterback, made an immediate statement on how his style would differ from Joey Harrington’s by rushing for 25 yards and a touchdown in Oregon’s opener against Mississippi State. But his passing game lacked confidence, and the junior threw for only 166 yards.
Fife threw with confidence against Fresno State, passing 19 times for 303 yards. He also engineered his first fourth-quarter comeback, an experience that could come in handy down the road. But Fife struggled to make quick decisions against the speedy Fresno State defense, and was sacked five times in the game after avoiding defenders in the Ducks’ first contest. In Oregon’s game against Idaho, Fife put together a more balanced game, throwing for 232 yards and avoided Idaho’s pass rush.
“He’s been confident since he got here,” running back Onterrio Smith said of Fife’s ability to settle into the Ducks’ offense.
Smith himself has proven to be the workhorse that everyone thought he would be when Maurice Morris left for the NFL. Smith has carried the ball 81 times this season for 352 yards and five touchdowns, an average of 117.3 yards per game. Keep that up, and he’ll notch 1,408 yards on the season.
“Onterrio is very determined; he’s hungry for the ball,” offensive lineman Corey Chambers said.
So while the team has enjoyed success in the win column this year, questions still remain as the Ducks head toward the regular season. As Oregon tries to three-peat as Pacific-10 Conference champions, there will be little satisfaction on the Duck sidelines.
Because the Ducks are still a 3-0 work in progress.