Now playing, “Mighty Ducks III: Run for the Roses.”
This may sound like something conjured up by Hollywood, but the University of Oregon is in the hunt for its first Rose Bowl trip since 1958, when it lost 10-7 to Ohio State. The Ducks’ reward most likely would be a meeting with unbeaten Penn State, which would be ranked either first or second in the country.
“The team relishes the position we’re in,” coach Rich Brooks said. “That’s why we play the game. That’s why we coach it. We want to be in the hunt for a Pac-10 championship. I think at this point our players are excited about where we are rather than worrying about the pressure.”
Oregon’s credentials will hardly intimidate the Nittany Lions. The Ducks began the season by going 1-2, losing to Utah and Hawaii.
But, at 6-3, they are on track for just their fifth winning season since 1980. Their recent bowl trips have been to the Independence and Freedom. They are logjammed with Southern Cal, Washington State and Arizona at 4-1 in the Pac-10, whose winner goes to Pasadena.
Only USC of this group has been to a Rose Bowl since 1959. Washington State hasn’t been since 1931, and Arizona never.
“When I got here,” said Oregon cornerback Alex Molden, “I knew the Ducks would go to bowls, but they were little bowls. Now we’re in a race.”
On Saturday, Southern Cal plays Washington State, Arizona plays Cal and the Ducks are host to Arizona State.
Brooks, for one, would like to see a new face in the Rose Bowl.
“I like anybody who hasn’t been there for a while,” he said. “That’s nothing against Southern Cal (which last went after the 1989 season). I just think it would be good for the league to have somebody who hasn’t been there for a while. It’s good for the Rose Bowl and good for college football.”
Oregon, on paper, has a favorable schedule. Its last three opponents-Arizona State, Stanford and Oregon State-have a combined record of 7-16-1.
The Ducks rely on their “Gang Green” defense and quarterback Danny O’Neil. In the last two weeks, he engineered second-half comeback victories over Washington and Arizona. Overall, the offense is hardly outstanding. Its highest national ranking is 50th in scoring (24.8 points).
Defensively, they are much more impressive: 12th in rushing and 26th overall.
The Ducks also might also have gotten a lift when Brooks abruptly stepped down as athletic director just before the season began. he says he can’t tell how much, if any, that move affected the team.
“All I know is I felt compelled to spend the time with the young men on our team, and for their sake, let them know they were the most important thing on my mind and not necessarily balancing the budget or anything else the comes with the athletic director’s role.”
Unbeaten Utes: Comparing scores is probably the worst way to make a point about a team, but, so what? In this case, we can use them to validate Utah.
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The ninth-ranked Utes (8-0) won at Colorado State, which beat Arizona. They won at Oregon by 18 points, which also beat Arizona. Oregon beat Southern Cal by 15 points and Washington by 11.
Utah routed Wyoming 41-7. Nebraska rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to beat Wyoming 42-32.
Husker speed: One reason for Nebraska’s success has been an infusion of speed into the defense. Assistant coach Kevin Steele has been there for the transformation of a defense now designed to keep up with the Florida States and Miamis. The Cornhuskers began recruiting more speed after shifting to a 4-3 defense 4 1/2 years ago, Steele said.
“We are considerably faster now,” he said. “We aren’t worried about size. We’ve got two 280-pound tackles, but they can run.”
Their defensive ends are basically outside linebackers. Their outside linebackers are converted safeties. Last year, they started a converted cornerback at linebacker.
Quick kicks: Oregon State is guaranteed its 24th consecutive losing season. . . . Nebraska’s win over Colorado snapped a 12-game losing streak to top-5 teams, dating back to 1987. . . . Auburn goes for its 20th straight against East Carolina. . . . Fresno State’s 49-32 loss to New Mexico was only its fifth home loss in 10 years and its biggest home loss since 1984. . . . Simeon Rice of Illinois, with three sacks in a 28-7 victory over Northwestern, has 33 sacks in 31 college games. . . . Prairie View has gone exactly five years without winning, losing its 43rd consecutive game last weekend to move within a game of Columbia’s NCAA Division I-AA record. The Panthers (0-8) were hosts to Division II Tarleton State (1-6-1) Saturday. . . . San Diego State and Hawaii started the season by beating Cal and Oregon. Since then, they’ve won only three games between them, including the Aztecs’ 38-23 victory over the Rainbows. . . . A banner in Norman, Okla., when Gary Gibbs’ Sooners lost to Kansas State: “Hey Gibbs, Delta is ready when you are.”