It’s the biggest non-conference game at Autzen Stadium since Notre Dame tied the Ducks, 13-13, in 1982.
No. 3 Michigan’s appearance in Eugene on Saturday will be the biggest game — bar none — for those who are going to strap on the pads. And if the Ducks are going to give the Wolverines a game, it’s going to have to be because Kellen Clemens plays up to his potential and a whole host of youngsters step up.
What Duck fans are going to see Saturday will be No. 22 Oregon’s future, brightly lit by the yellow or green uniforms the team plans to wear.
Leading that charge, though, will be Clemens, the quarterback who has started the first three games of the season. He has led the offense to three victories, and sits fifth in the nation in passing efficiency.
Clemens has averaged more than 189 yards passing per game, and considering he has yet to take every snap in a contest, that’s a pretty significant number.
Senior Jason Fife, who, entering the game against Arizona was anointed the backup via the team’s two-deep depth chart, has been nearly perfect, completing 22 of his 27 passing attempts.
Again, that’s a pretty significant number. But eventually, the Ducks will have to go to the traditional one-quarterback system and break away from the alternating QBs.
Against Michigan, it would be an opportune time to do so. It would allow the offense a chance to show what it can do against one of the nation’s best defenses. The offense has averaged more than 40 points a game, so realistically at least 30 shouldn’t be out of the picture against the Wolverines.
For Clemens, allowing him to play the entire game would build confidence, and would be a valuable tool to prepare him for the next two seasons because he’s just a redshirt sophomore.
Unlike last season, he seems much more comfortable running the team’s offense. More than once he has stayed in the pocket as long as he needs to. Each time, he has stepped up and fired a rocket down the field, getting the Ducks valuable field position.
His receivers seem comfortable getting the ball from him, and aside from a poor first half against Arizona, he has shown the ability to do that consistently.
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti has indicated that he and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig plan to continue using the quarterback rotation.
“I think the competition at that position has made us better,” Bellotti said. “We’re leading the nation in passing efficiency right now. This is with two guys and I think they bring two different things to the table. They complement each other. They allow us to change the ways we attack a defense and hopefully that creates problems for our opponents.”
The rotation, Clemens said, really has come as no surprise, and he is happy with the situation as long as the team continues winning.
But “as a quarterback, you want to take every single snap,” he said when asked if he preferred to be on the field the entire game. “The nice thing is that we have two quarterbacks right now that, by themselves, could win. But we’ve got two of them and we’re playing both of them. It’s a lot better than having two quarterbacks that couldn’t win.”
Both Clemens and Fife have embraced the issue of each playing in every game with open arms — to this point — but it should be getting to the point where they could be separating themselves.
The Ducks have always been able to employ two capable quarterbacks. Jason Maas and Akili Smith did it. Further proving the point, A.J. Feeley was drafted after his senior season, a year in which he barely saw the field.
Joey Harrington led the team that season, and one year later he was one of the top picks in the NFL draft.
Now, come to think of it, Clemens could easily mirror Harrington’s ascension into the Oregon record books. He hasn’t yet shown the flair for the dramatic that Harrington showed, but he still is young. If he stays on the right track, there’s no reason to think he won’t be able to come into Harrington’s realm.
Getting Clemens full-game experience would benefit him, seeing how he has yet to do so in the year and a half he has played in Eugene.
Starting against Michigan, and barring an offensive slowdown on the part of the Ducks, would undoubtedly give Clemens that boost for the regular season.
Oregon senior safety Keith Lewis said the Michigan game could produce a slingshot effect for the rest of the season should the Ducks play well — even possibly upsetting the Wolverines — and the biggest benefactor of that surge would be Clemens.
If Clemens comes out of the gate strong against one of the nation’s best, why not leave him in. At this point, the Ducks will sink or swim depending on how the team’s quarterback plays, and whether or not that QB has two heads, it would be valuable game experience for Clemens.
But why not let him stray far from land?
Regardless, the experience he gets against the Wolverines will help teach him how to swim.