Senior tailback Maurice Morris has not practiced this week, and his status for Saturday’s game against Arizona State is uncertain. Morris injured his left hamstring in the third quarter of Oregon’s 24-17 win over Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Saturday.
“Mo had a pool workout (Tuesday), and both he and the trainers are optimistic that he will be back (Saturday),” head coach Mike Bellotti said. “I will wait and see, but I’m encouraged at this point.”
If Morris, who rushed for 138 yards against the Cougars, is not able to play, sophomore Onterrio Smith will get the nod.
Smith rushed for a school-record 285 yards on 26 carries and gained a school-record 343 all-purpose yards Saturday.
“There’s no telling how many carries I’ll get this week,” Smith said. “But I’ll do whatever I have to do.”
A November to remember?
At 7-1 overall (4-1 Pacific-10 Conference), the Ducks are off to their best start in school history. But the final three games of the regular season will of course determine how this team is remembered.
The Ducks are in good hands, though. Under Bellotti, Oregon is 15-3 in November. Two of those losses were to Oregon State in 1998 and 2000, the other occurring to this week’s opponent, Arizona State (1997).
O-mazing performance
The Oregon offensive line has not allowed a quarterback sack in five consecutive games and leads the Pac-10 in fewest sacks allowed with six.
In fact, the Ducks’ O-line has led the conference in fewest sacks allowed in each of the last two years.
Smith gave his blockers the credit for his record-setting performance and the Ducks’ 446 total yards on the ground against Washington State, also a school record.
“I don’t know what those guys ate, but they came out and blocked their butts off,” Smith said after the game. “There were great lanes and great pass protection. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Can’t catch me
Junior wide receiver Keenan Howry became the 16th Duck in program history to have 100 receptions. Howry accomplished the feat in just his 28th career game against Utah State earlier this season; only Bobby Moore (Ahmad Rashad) accomplished the feat in a shorter time span (23 games).
Howry has also caught a pass in 31 consecutive games, the eighth-longest streak in the country.
