It's been 26 years since the University of Oregon appeared in a bowl game, but the Ducks hope this year they can end the long dry spell. They own a modest record of 5-3, but as Coach Rich Brooks notes, "They (the bowls) couldn't ignore us if we're 8-3, they might if we're 7-4. We're taking the approach that we're in the playoffs and can't afford another loss."
Which will be no small feat. The Ducks face an unhappy BYU team on Saturday in Provo (kickoff: noon) and a week later play UCLA in L.A., then finish the season at home against Oregon State."BYU will be even tougher now that Hawaii upset them," says Brooks, referring to the Cougars' shocking 56-14 loss to Hawaii last week.
There have been indications that Oregon, which is on something of a roll, is up to the task - which is one reason Freedom Bowl representatives will attend Saturday's game to scout both BYU and Oregon.
- The Oregon defense, ranked second in the Pac 10 Conference, has allowed just one opponent (Washington State) to score more than 20 points. The Ducks held Arizona to 161 yards, Arizona State 149 and Iowa 237.
- The Oregon offense finally has established a running game, which was missing in action earlier in the season. During one midseason stretch, quarterback Bill Musgrave was forced to throw at least 40 times in three games - and was intercepted 9 times. Two weeks ago Brooks shuffled his offensive line, moving two players to new positions and bringing two more players off the bench to start. The Ducks have rushed for 569 yards in their last two games (about 40 percent of their season total), against Arizona State and Long Beach State, and Musgrave has thrown just one interception. Oh, yes, and the Ducks won both games handily.
Which is about what was expected all along from a team that returned 15 starters from last year's 6-6 squad. Nevertheless, the Ducks have been erratic this season. They opened the year with big wins over Cal and Iowa, but they blew a 17-0 lead and lost to Stanford 18-17. They upset nationally ranked Arizona the following week, then lost to Washington State 51-38 and Washington 20-14. But then came the 27-7 road win over Arizona State and the 52-10 rout of Long Beach State.
"Oregon has a good team," says BYU defensive coordinator Dick Felt. "They've got good running backs, and the quarterback is excellent. We've got our work cut out for us again."
The Cougars must cope with a number of top players on Saturday.
On defense, the Ducks' best player is Chris Oldham, an All-Pac 10 cornerback and kickoff return specialist who has intercepted 10 passes the past two seasons. Linebacker Mark Kearns and nose tackle Dave Cusano have combined for nearly 140 tackles, and defensive end Peter Brantley has 6 sacks.
On offense, the ground game features running backs Derek Loville and Latin Berry. Loville, who has 2,912 career rushing yards, has rushed for 575 yards and 7 touchdowns this season. Despite missing 3 1/2 games, Berry, an All-American long jumper, has rushed for 356 yards and 2 TDs while averaging 6 yards a carry.
The passing game starts with Musgrave, a 6-foot-3 junior who has completed 153 of 261 passes for 1,856 yards, 15 TDs and 11 interceptions. "He'll be a highly rated pro prospect," says BYU Coach LaVell Edwards.
Most of Musgrave's passes go to wideout Terry Obee, who has 31 catches for 480 yards and 2 TDs (and 107 career catches), and flanker Tony Hargain, who has 28 catches for 455 yards and 3 TDs.
Having hovered around the .500 mark for the past six seasons, Oregon, which hasn't won more than six games in a season since 1964, might be ready to produce a breakthrough season. The next couple of weeks will tell.