Bye lets UO get jump on Arizona.

Byline: BOB CLARK The Register-Guard

Nothing's better than a bye for Oregon except what the Ducks seem to do with it.

As Oregon returns to practice today after its only weekend off between August and Thanksgiving, there's a sense of being more able, willing and ready to start the Pac-10 season, with the league opener Saturday night at Arizona.

The Ducks should be healthier. Of the players likely to be on the travel squad to Arizona, only defensive end Ed Wangler, with a separated left shoulder, seems questionable.

The Ducks should be refreshed, after their first break in seven weeks.

`To get the weekend off, that does a lot for the players,' senior defensive end Seth McEwen said. `We work hard (before the break) but we have the incentive of the weekend off.'

The Ducks should be more prepared than normal, because they not only had a head start on thinking about Arizona last week, but with no game to review as they usually do on a Monday, practice moves right into the game plan today.

`As long as you don't beat your people up during a bye week,' UO coach Mike Bellotti said, `you should be better with two weeks of preparation,'

Historically, the Ducks have been. Since a 33-14 loss to Washington in the 1996 season - when a month wouldn't have been enough time to get ready for Corey Dillon - Oregon hasn't lost a game following a bye week, and some of the victories have been among the most significant of the Bellotti era.

Later in that 1996 season, a schedule that gave Oregon two byes, the Ducks came off a break to thump Arizona 49-31, which started a three-game winning streak to conclude a 6-5 season.

In 1997, Oregon was 4-4 when it came off a bye and shocked sixth-ranked Washington 31-28 on a late touchdown pass from Akili Smith to Patrick Johnson; without that upset, the Ducks wouldn't have become bowl eligible in a season that culminated in the Las Vegas Bowl.

While the bye in 1998 probably wasn't as crucial as Oregon came off the break to beat Washington State 51-29, the bye has been well-timed the past three seasons.

In 1999, the Ducks went into their bye off a three-week run of games against USC, Washington and UCLA, with Oregon beating the Trojans in triple overtime before losing to the Huskies and Bruins, the latter when the Ducks' final play came up a yard short of a victory. Physically and emotionally, Oregon needed a break and came out of it to tip Arizona 44-41 on the road, starting a six-game winning streak to end that season.

A year later, Oregon went into the bye off wins over top-10 foes UCLA and Washington at home, and probably needed the break to come back to earth before going to Los Angeles and beating USC.

Last year, Oregon's bye fell on Sept. 15, which meant Oregon was one of the few teams that didn't have to reschedule a game postponed by the terrorist attack. In the next game it played, Oregon beat USC - again - on a last-second field goal. There was also extra time to prepare for Oregon State last season, if what was in effect a double-bye might have been too much, though the Ducks did win the Civil War, too.

So what fuels Oregon's success off byes?

`For a lot of teams, a bye might be considered a week off, but we don't treat it that way,' senior linebacker David Moretti said. `It is a time for some of the guys who are banged up to get a rest but if you're not injured, it's a work week like any other.'

`You can sit back and not do anything and just kind of waste it or take the bye week and get better from it,' UO quarterback Jason Fife said. `That's what we've been able to do very well. We're not out there hitting every day but we're making sure we're getting better.'

McEwen talked of the UO defense `getting back to basics. ... We can worry not so much about the schemes but the small details.'

Keenan Howry, a senior receiver, thought the offense needed to review and reflect on the opening four games.

`If you look at it, we haven't played too well, offensively at least,' Howry said, adding that the bye `gives us a chance to correct some things.'

A break can stall a team's momentum ... or can it?

`If it were a first or second game, I would probably worry,' Bellotti said. `Four games into (the season), and we've been hitting for seven weeks, you're ready for a break.

`We try to mix two things, rest and rehab (for the injured) and more work with No. 2s, and we try to let the young guys enjoy themselves (with a scrimmage) so practice is more spirited on Monday.'

OREGON UPDATE

TELEVISION TIME: Oregon coach Mike Bellotti's weekly gathering with the media will be moved to Tuesdays at 11 a.m. so that at least portions of it can be carried live on ESPNews.

Though ESPNews is not carried on any local cable systems, it is available by satellite. The ESPN affiliate carries several news conferences conducted by college football coaches, Bellotti's now included for the first time. Bellotti had fielded questions from the media on a Wednesday conference call, which is being replaced by the Tuesday session.

NEXT GAME: Saturday at Arizona at 7:15 p.m. TV: Live on Fox Sports Network; delayed on Oregon Sports Network at 11:30 p.m.