Clemens gets his signature victory.

Byline: Ron Bellamy / The Register-Guard

PULLMAN, Wash. - Well, they showed us. The quarterback who hadn't been quite good enough. The offensive coordinator who'd become the target for unhappy fans. The receivers who weren't catching well enough, the running back who wasn't elusive enough, the linemen who weren't blocking well enough.

Heavens, did they all show us.

And maybe they showed themselves, too.

In a thrilling victory that saved whatever season Oregon will have, in a classic comeback that became a signature game for an embattled quarterback and a frustrated offense, the Ducks rallied from a 14-point deficit with 27 fourth-quarter points to defeat Washington State, 41-38, before 35,117 in Martin Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

It was Oregon football the way you remembered it.

And it says something about the huge footsteps in which quarterback Kellen Clemens must follow, about the expectations and history that come with his position, that afterward, with no disrespect, you thought of this as his "Joey game," because he brought the Ducks from behind in a way that reminded you of the Harrington comebacks and the Harrington teams, but in a way, too, that was distinctly Kellen.

Clemens ran for three touchdowns, including the game-winner. He threw three touchdown passes. In a game that Oregon desperately needed to win, he accounted for more yards, in total offense and passing, than Joey Harrington ever did in a single game, and he symbolized the Ducks on Saturday:

He was imperfect (he lost two fumbles) and sometimes beat up, but he was incredibly resilient and determined, and never beaten.

"Kellen's strength is that he's a competitor, and he will fight to the last inch for a win, and I think that was the difference in the football game," offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said. "It wasn't always pretty, the things that he did, and the way that he got it done, but in the end his numbers speak for themselves. ...

"He's a mentally tough young man of high character, and I'm extremely proud of the way he responded to the adversity he's been under."

Clemens' 473 yards of total offense were second all-time at Oregon; his 437 yards passing rank No. 7, just ahead of Harrington's career best. His performance came in a game in which tight end Tim Day had 152 yards receiving on eight catches - he entered the game with just 86 yards on eight catches for the season - and two touchdowns, and Demetrius Williams caught 12 balls for 126 yards, and Terrence Whitehead rushed for 166.

Ludwig's offense ran a school-record 102 plays, and amassed 646 yards; if that was a particularly sweet victory for him, given the tenor of the week, he wouldn't admit it.

"The game is about the players," Ludwig said simply. "They did a great job of making plays. I'm very happy for them."

For all the gloom surrounding the Oregon program after the loss to Arizona State last weekend, Clemens said he saw the win coming, ever since Monday, when he saw the plays that Ludwig had picked for the Washington State game - from the basic inventory the Ducks have to consider each week, Ludwig said - and thought they were perfect.

"I read the plays on the board and said, `This is the week that we do it,' ' Clemens said.

Still, the Ducks needed a near-perfect fourth quarter from Clemens to pull it off; he completed 16-of-19 passes in that period for 200 yards, and when the Ducks got the ball back for a do-or-die drive with 3:13 remaining, trailing 38-34, Clemens was the calming presence in the revved-up Oregon huddle.

"He kept his composure better than anybody," lineman Adam Snyder said. "He brought us back down and got us to stay composed."

Said Clemens: "Those are pressure situations, and I know those guys can get stressed out, so it's something I try to do. I know I can't play when I'm stressed out."

When he spoke to the Ducks on Friday night, coach Mike Bellotti had urged them to play with confidence.

"We needed to play with confidence, we needed to bring confidence to the table, and we needed to believe in ourselves," he said. "I think we felt like we were going to get it done."

Vindication for the offense?

"I don't know," Bellotti said. "I leave that up to you guys. You're the only people who have lambasted them. I said all along they're doing the right things, they're doing the good things." But then he acknowledged: "Yes, it is."

Clemens, who said he was determined not to get too low after Oregon's losses this season, said he would refuse to allow his spirits to get too high after the win, a win that leaves the Ducks 2-3 overall, 1-1 in the Pac-10. Sure, the pressure of his position is still there.

But he said he would certainly sleep better than he had on some other Saturday nights this season. To sleep, perchance to dream about the win that the Ducks hope will ignite their season, the win that shows us, and them, what's possible.

CAPTION(S):

Oregon's Kellen Clemens runs through the Washington State defense for one of his three rushing touchdowns on Saturday.