The Oregon Ducks have been a very successful team over the years and
have always been one of the top teams in the Pac-10. What made Head Coach Mike Bellotti change from a pro-style offense to the spread given the success
that the program already had?
Bellotti has said that he made the switch to the spread because there
was so much familiarity within the Pac-10 that he needed to stay ahead
of the opposition. Another possible reason – although Bellotti & Co.
would never say this – is that they saw the spread as an offense that
not only could be successful but also one that could attract a more
exciting brand of athlete and be “cutting edge,’’ to fit in with the
program’s mission.
Oregon has had a lot of bad luck at the quarterback position, starting
with the injury to Dennis Dixon last season and the rash of injuries at
the position this season. If the Ducks continue to use the spread, does
Coach Bellotti feel like he needs to have two capable players at the
position to prevent the team's chances of winning from decreasing if the
number one quarterback goes down?
Yes, the Ducks always prepare three quarterbacks. But no matter how much
you prepare the backups, there is a falloff. It was precipitous from
Dixon last year. And it took the Ducks a while this season to recover
from Nate Costa’s injury in August. If Masoli should go down now, Roper
could get the job done but, at a not-so-elusive 6-foot-6, Roper would be
likely to get hurt again.
This is Jaison Williams last year, what players does Oregon have at the
receiver position that have speed and the ability to be game changers
over the next few seasons?
They are using Chris Harper, a true freshman brought in as a
quarterback, at slot receiver, and he’s doing very well – he’s 230
pounds and very fast. Jamere Holland (redshirt sophomore), the transfer
from USC, is by far the team’s fastest player but doesn’t inspire a lot
of confidence in the coaching staff. Along with Harper, the Ducks have
impressive big freshman receivers in Dion Jordan and Garrett Embry. But
no, there is nobody with the size and speed of Williams (but plenty with
better hands).
There has not been a team in the conference that can be penciled in as
being at worst the second best team in the Pac-10 year-in-and-year-out.
What are Coach Bellotti's goals for this program? Does he want a national
championship or at worst a BCS game?
Oh yeah, Bellotti wants the NC. He has been too close (2001,
particularly) not to have that as a goal. He is, and has been for quite
some time, tired of being not as good as USC. Unfortunately, as long as
Pete Carroll is there and as long as Southern California is producing
superior athletes, the Ducks can only realistically hope to be
second best. But hey, that could still land them in the championship
game sometime, theoretically.
The Ducks have a lot of seniors on defense. Has there been a lot of
emphasis on that side of the ball during the recruiting process over the
last few seasons that will prevent the Ducks from experiencing a drop
off on the defensive side of the ball next season?
As long as Bellotti is coach, the recruiting emphasis will be on
offense. The defense badly wanted Jeremiah Johnson to play defensive
back, but he stayed on offense (even though he was in the same class as
Jonathan Stewart). The Ducks do, though, have an impressive group of
young linebackers that are physically better than their average backers
of recent years, but it’s a tough defense to learn. There is a lot of
young talent in the secondary, too, with Talmadge Jackson, Anthony Gildon and Javes Lewis.
The series between Cal and Oregon has been very competitive over the
years. This week’s game will keep one of these teams tied for first place
and at least in position to finish in second place in the Pac-10. What
are the programs feelings about this rivalry?
It’s an odd rivalry. For Oregon, the rivals are Oregon State and
Washington. But the Cal rivalry was mainly brought on by all the Ducks moving to Berkeley, led by Jeff Tedford – even down to Jim Bartko,
the right-hand man of Phil Knight who went to Berkeley only to return to
Eugene when Knight had issues with the athletic department.
Cal has switched back and forth between quarterbacks Kevin Riley and Nate Longshore. Which quarterback concerns Oregon's defense the most?
Riley, because he has more mobility. The Ducks feast on stationary
passers like Purdue’s Curtis Painter and Arizona State’s Rudy Carpenter.
The defensive ends, Nick Reed and Will Tukuafu, are too good on the
rush, and the defensive backs, although they have struggled at times
this season, are too solid.
©Copyright 2008, CalSportsDigest.com and Scout.com. All rights reserved.