You’ll have to pardon Oregon football fans if they did a double take after the first three games this season.
The Ducks (3-0 overall, 1-0 Pacific-10 Conference as of Sept. 19) are looking quite a bit like the Oregon of old.
But the big question is, what team of old?
Is it the Ducks of 2001, where they went 11-1 and finished No. 2 in the country? Or is it Oregon of last season, where a 6-0 start gave way to a 1-6 finish, including a loss at the Seattle Bowl?
The best bet is somewhere in between the two, where eight or nine wins help separate the Ducks from the middle of the Pac-10. After three games, that seems like a likely number.
“It feels like 2003,” sophomore quarterback Kellen Clemens said. “Only half the team was here for the 2001 season, and some of the guys weren’t here for the 2002 season. We’ve learned a lot from each of those two seasons — the veteran guys that were here — and we’re just taking this one game at a time.
“We’re treating this as the 2003 season. We try not to look back on either of those two seasons.”
Two things are for sure: It is a different Oregon team from the one that went 7-6 last season, and much has changed the team that finished the 2001 season ranked No. 2 in the nation.
For one, consistency at the quarterback and running back positions plagued the Ducks entering fall workouts. Would it be Clemens or Jason Fife behind center, and who would replace Onterrio Smith as the featured runner?
Better yet, would the secondary be able to bounce back from a horrendous year?
For some, those questions still remain. For others, they’ve been answered after the Ducks defeated Mississippi State, Nevada and Arizona in consecutive weeks.
Regardless of the belief that 2001 was a season of its own, the Ducks do have one main characteristic they enjoyed that season: chemistry.
“I think we’re a lot more together as a unit, a lot more leadership,” senior cornerback Steven Moore said. “I compare it to 11-1 because we had a lot of leaders.”

Averaging 40.3 points per game through the first three, the Ducks proved it really doesn’t matter — at least at that point — who sits behind center. Clemens started each of the first three, but Fife came on as a more than adequate substitute each game.
When Clemens became inconsistent against the Wildcats, Fife came in and took advantage of the Arizona defense. That, of course, gave Clemens the chance to regroup and he worked more magic when he came back in.
“Jason and I are just trusting the coaches to make that call,” Clemens said. “I started the first three games, but I struggled early on in Arizona, and they said, ‘We’ll throw in Jason.’ Jason came in, got some scores, got things rolling, then they put me back in and we kept things rolling.
“It’s working, and as long as it’s working, we’re happy with it.”
Yet, members of the Oregon offense know there is more work to
be done.
While the offense has sparkled — numerically, at least — the group has had its problems as well. Namely, fumbles are a cause for concern. The team fumbled nine times in the first three games, losing five loose balls.
“There’s still room for improvement,” senior wide receiver Samie Parker said.
The Oregon defense, meanwhile, allowed a little more than 22 points a game through the Arizona blowout. The group, often maligned last season, has sparkled under defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti, although it has given up a few big plays.
The secondary, under new coach John Neal, has seen its share of those big plays, but experience and a renewed confidence have allowed the group to heal from last season’s wounds.
Justin Phinisee has stepped up in place of Aaron Gipson, who was relegated to the second team prior to Oregon’s game against Nevada. In those first three games, he collected one sack, while senior Keith Lewis caught two interceptions and Moore had one.
“This year, we came back with a lot better focus,” Moore said. “Going back to the fundamentals has been the main thing. Those little things you mess up on let the big plays happen, so you try to eliminate those. So far, it’s been all right.”
The loss of Haloti Ngata for the season — who went down in the season opener against Mississippi State — will probably catch up to the Ducks, but for the first three games, they were able to fend off that fact.
Oregon opens up with the meat of its Pac-10 schedule Sept. 27 when Washington State visits Autzen Stadium. The Ducks take on Utah a week later, and from then on, will find out what they are truly made of.