SEATTLE — Wake Forest wanted it. Oregon wanted it to end.
Both teams got what they wanted.
And, amid all the late Christmas gifts, Jason Fife got demoted.
After the season was officially over, capped off by the Ducks’ 38-17 Seattle Bowl loss Dec. 30 to Wake Forest, Fife stopped in the southeast corner of Seahawks Stadium as cameras circled around him. Looking like someone had just run over his puppy, Fife tried to explain it all — his late-season struggles, the possibilities of being the backup next year, and the rise of Kellen Clemens.
But Fife’s words were drowned faster than the Ducks’ national title hopes this season. A few feet away, a boisterous gathering of Washington Husky fans hounded the Oregon quarterback, chanting, “Fife sucks, Fife sucks, Fife sucks.”
Indeed, Fife’s 1-for-10 passing performance, for just four yards, indicate the abusive Dawg fans were right on this day. They could probably have said the same about many on the Oregon sideline.
The Ducks (7-6), hoping to end a dismal season with a fresh start to 2003, played the part of an eighth-place team, which it was in the Pacific-10 Conference, in allowing 497 yards while netting just 290.
Oregon’s six losses are the most it has had since 1993.
“It’s disappointing,” Fife said. “Wake Forest came out more fired up than we did. I wasn’t fired up.
“There’s something missing, and we don’t know what it is. But we’ll have it next year. I guarantee that.”
That guarantee could be Clemens, a redshirt freshman from Burns, Ore., who clearly outplayed his predecessor, going 19-of-31 for 161 yards and one touchdown. But even his fire power wasn’t enough to propel the can’t-wait-to-get-it-over-with Ducks past the energized Demon Deacons (7-6).
“We had to make a statement,” Wake Forest linebacker Brad White said. “I don’t think we had their attention at first. They thought they were going to walk all over us.
“They learned the hard way.”
Oregon’s tattoo-sporting, tough-as-nails linebacker Kevin Mitchell wiped away tears as he walked out of the locker room after the game. When asked about his team’s mental state prior to playing Wake Forest, Mitchell said, “That I can’t tell you. If I gave you an answer, it would be the wrong answer.”
Like they had been in losing five of six to end the regular season, the Ducks were burned for big plays in front of a listed crowd of 38, 241 — though the real attendance was later said to be about 25,000 — at the new $435 million NFL stadium.
Wake Forest, ranked eighth in the nation in run offense, went with a no-huddle offense early and pounded the Ducks with tricky formations and end-arounds. Senior quarterback James MacPherson, who averaged just 133 passing yards per game during the regular season, connected with receiver Jason Anderson on two touchdown passes, one for 57 yards and then a 63-yard strike, both against Oregon freshman cornerback Aaron Gipson.
MacPherson finished 9-of-16 for 241 yards en route to being named the game’s MVP.
“I said all along that they were going to be balanced (on offense),” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “We were plagued by some of the same problems that plagued us in the second half of the season. Optimistically, we had hoped we had remedied those problems.”
Wide receiver Keenan Howry, one of 15 Oregon seniors, gave the Ducks a spark they desperately needed early in the second half. If it weren’t for a shoestring tackle by White after a 42-yard return, Howry would have had his fifth career punt-returned touchdown midway through the third quarter.
On the next play, Howry took a reverse from Onterrio Smith and ran 36 yards to the Oregon 5. Three plays later, fullback Matt Floberg fell into the end zone for a one-yard score, the first rushing touchdown of his career, bringing the Ducks within seven at 24-17. But that is as close as they would get.
Smith, by the way, rushed 18 times for 68 yards in his first game since having knee surgery Nov. 18. He said after the game he had not decided whether he would enter the NFL draft, though it has been assumed all year that he would leave.
“I think we played poorly on offense and defense,” Bellotti said. “If we played with all special teams, we might have had a chance.”