There’s a reason why Autzen stadium is considered one of the best places to watch college football. Playing in it for the last time is not going to be an easy thing for Oregon’s seniors.
A group of players will have to walk through the opening tunnel one final time before they depart from a stadium they’ve called home for the past few years.
“I’ve thought about it as soon as the last game was over. (The seniors) started talking about it in the locker room,” safety J.D. Nelson said. “It’s going to be rough but those feelings will be washed away once we get that win.”
For the seniors, it will be their last chance to show off their talent and make memories in front of the home crowd.
“Hopefully I can make it a special day,” Nelson said. “It’s going to be my last game out there. I might be looking to make more plays but I can’t get out of my element.”
It needs to be a special day if the Ducks hope to quickly erase any memories from their 35-10 loss to USC.
“I think there will be a great crowd and this is a game that has a lot more importance than it did a week ago,” coach Mike Bellotti said. “Our seniors deserve that type of send-off and we want to play well for them.”
For the football team, they will be facing an Arizona team that upset then-No. 8 Cal and is off to its best record, 5-5, in the last five seasons.
“Arizona’s probably the hottest team in the Pac-10 Conference right now,”
Bellotti said. “They’ve beaten two straight top-25 teams and have some momentum.”
It’s also a team that has a defense capable of stopping Oregon’s vaunted offense.
“They’re a very good defensive football team,” Bellotti said. “They now have a solid offense to go with it, with the return of quarterback (Willie) Tuitama and the emergence of (Chris) Henry at running back, but their defense had been good all year long.”
Last year Oregon was able to score 21 points in the first quarter against Arizona but the Wildcats came back to tie the game early in the third quarter.
The Ducks won 28-21 on a fumble return by linebacker Brent Haberly in fourth quarter, but not before senior quarterback Kellen Clemens had his season ended when he broke his leg while being sacked.
During the next possesion, quarterback Dennis Dixon was also sent to the sideline when cornerback Antoine Cason’s hit caused a fumble and gave Dixon a concussion. Brady Leaf then came into the game but was unable to produce any points.
For Haberly, this week’s game marks the first time he’s seen playing time since breaking his forearm against Oklahoma on Sept. 16.
His recovery was a rapid one and he has been lobbying to play for a month. Haberly will be wearing a cast and a protective pad over the cast for safety reasons, but it’s of no concern to him.
“I’ll put whatever they want on here as long as I get to go out there,” Haberly said.
Haberly should help a struggling run defense that has surrendered a 100-yard rusher in eight of its 10 games. Fellow linebacker Blair Phillips hasn’t been satisfied with his senior season because of all the yards allowed on the ground. He’ll only be happy with his senior day if he’s able to limit Arizona’s offense and come out with a victory.
“I still don’t feel like I’ve been doing enough,” Phillips said. “If I had been doing enough we wouldn’t have had those three losses.”
Phillips shouldn’t have to worry about doing too much this weekend because games in Eugene have treated the Ducks well this season as they’re 5-0 at home and 2-3 on the road. For the seniors who move on to professional football, they’ll miss that type of home-field advantage once this weekend’s game is over.
“The best college stadium,” Nelson said. “I’ve been to Oklahoma, it’s a great place, but the noise that (Autzen) creates – it’s unmatched by any place I’ve been.”
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