This is where the Ducks’ team chemistry and leadership will come in handy.
Members of the Oregon football team have spoken all season about the team’s improved leadership from last year. With the Ducks struggling — having lost their last two games — that leadership and chemistry will have a chance to shine.
“I think that this week, especially, the senior leaders and the older guys on the team, we’re going to have to look to each other to make sure we’re picking people up, we’re having fun out there and making sure things get done,” senior quarterback Jason Fife said.
Oregon is coming off a 17-13 loss to Utah on Friday, a game the Ducks controlled point-wise until the fourth quarter.
Fife said the Ducks have lost the “intensity and fun” that helped lead them to a 4-0 record to start the season. Since then, the Ducks suffered a 55-16 blowout loss at the hands of Washington State and the loss to the Utes.
“I don’t think it’s going to be very hard to get it back,” Fife said. “Now that we know what’s missing, it’s just a matter of turning the dial back up. I don’t know how we lost it. We just lost that little spark, but we’ll be able to bring it back this week.”
Oregon had a players-only meeting before Monday’s practice after the team watched game tapes. Fife said the short meeting’s purpose was to re-emphasize head coach Mike Bellotti’s points that had been made earlier.
The Ducks sit in the middle of the Pacific-10 Conference with a 1-1 league record and are among a handful of teams behind Washington State and Oregon State, both at 2-0.
Arizona State is Oregon’s opponent Saturday, with a bye-week coming after that. The game against the Sun Devils is a rematch of last season’s shootout. Arizona State hung 35 points on the board in the second half at Autzen Stadium in that game en route to the 45-42 win.
“We really are pretty close as a team this year,” Jerry Matson said. “The things that happened last year should not happen this year because we are really tight. Hopefully, that benefits us.”

He talks, but not in vain
If it looked as though Parris Warren had a chip on his shoulder when the Ducks visited Utah on Friday, then that was the case.
The junior caught 10 passes for 54 yards against Oregon. The wide receiver was playing in his first game against the Ducks since transferring from Oregon after the 2001 season.
He predicted before the game that the Utah offense would be able to overcome Oregon’s defense enough to give the Utes the win.
The Ducks stopped Utah, for the most part, but the Utes’ offense — which consisted of many unconventional formations and plays — was too much in the end.
“We knew what to expect,” Matson said. “They ran a lot of the stuff we saw on tape. Definitely the speed of it, how quickly it happens, was different than in practice. The coaches told us in practice we couldn’t simulate it. I think the speed of it caught us off-guard. We adapted; it took us about a quarter or so. The third and fourth quarter, we did a very good job against the run.”

A little rusty,

but back in action
Defensive end Quinn Dorsey saw his first action of the season against the Utes after missing the first five games due to a suspension.
It was his first game for the senior since the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. He redshirted last season for personal reasons.
“It felt good,” Dorsey said, admitting he felt a little rusty. “A couple of my reads were a little slow and I made a couple of mistakes, but I feel I did pretty good.”
His return frees the Ducks to move Igor Olshansky from defensive end to defensive tackle on certain plays. Olshansky played defensive tackle last season.
“I think Quinn’s a good football player,” Bellotti said. “His athleticism showed in the second half, and I’m anxious and excited to get him going even more.”

Vincent back in the lineup

Freshman Chris Vincent should return to the lineup Saturday against the Sun Devils. The running back has been hampered by a sprained ankle and wasn’t able to play against Utah.
“I feel better,” he said. “I’m going to give it a try (Monday) to see how the ankle feels.”
Terrence Whitehead led the Ducks with 40 yards on 18 carries against the Utes. The Ducks, as a team, gained 80 yards rushing.
“I felt that that was my team out there and I felt down that I couldn’t help them,” Vincent said.

The first start
Junior Rodney Woods started his first game as a Duck last Friday.
The transfer from Fresno City College had seen increasing action in the previous five games before the start.
“It felt pretty good,” Woods said of the start. “It gave me a chance to get in the groove of things instead of just coming out there like on dime back third-downs. Just coming out there on one play I really couldn’t get into the groove of things. Once I started, I got into the groove of things.”