UO GAMEDAY: OREGON VS. ARIZONA.
Byline: The Register-GuardThe Starters
Oregon
OFFENSE
No. Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt.
10 QB Dennis Dixon Sr 6-4 205
28 RB Jonathan Stewart Jr 5-11 230
4 WR Jaison Williams Jr 6-5 240
83 TE Ed Dickson So 6-5 240
57 LT Fenuki Tupou Jr 6-6 322
61 LG Josh Tschirgi Sr 6-4 310
60 C Max Unger Jr 6-5 300
71 RG Mark Lewis Jr 6-4 308
75 RT Geoff Schwartz Sr 6-7 337
89 WR Aaron Pflugrad Fr 5-10 172
21 WR Garren Strong Sr 6-3 203
DEFENSE
No. Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt.
39 DE Will Tukuafu So 6-4 279
99 DT Jeremy Gibbs Sr 6-3 290
90 DT David Faaeteete Sr 6-2 310
49 DE Nick Reed Jr 6-2 255
30 WLB Kwame Agyeman Sr 5-11 205
55 MLB Casey Matthews Fr 6-2 223
13 SLB Jerome Boyd Jr 6-2 220
32 LCB Jairus Byrd So 6-0 208
6 RCB Walter Thurmond III So 6-0 185
20 FS Matthew Harper Sr 6-0 181
15 ROV Patrick Chung Jr 6-0 210
Arizona
OFFENSE
No. Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt.
7 QB Willie Tuitama Jr 6-3 220
23 TB Nic Grigsby Fr 5-10 178
49 HB Earl Mitchell So 6-2 265
10 WR Mike Thomas Jr 5-8 195
76 LT Peter Graniello Sr 6-5 310
64 LG Colin Baxter RFr 6-4 295
50 C Blake Kerley So 6-2 285
75 RG Joe Longacre Jr 6-3 315
77 RT Eben Britton So 6-6 310
48 TE Rob Gronkowski Fr 6-6 250
11 WR Terrell Reese RFr 6-4 205
DEFENSE
No. Pos. Player Class Ht. Wt.
1 DE Louis Holmes Sr 6-6 265
96 DT Yaniv Barnett Sr 6-1 315
54 DT Lionel Dotson Sr 6-4 286
53 DE Jason Parker Sr 6-3 265
51 WLB Spencer Larsen Sr 6-1 240
33 MLB Ronnie Palmer Jr 6-3 245
39 SLB Dane Krogstad Sr 6-2 240
3 CB Wilrey Fontenot Sr 5-9 174
5 CB Antoine Cason Sr 6-1 185
32 FS Nate Ness Jr 6-1 190
20 SS Cam Nelson So 6-1 200
Schedules
Oregon
48 Houston 27
39 at Michigan 7
52 Fresno State 21
55 at Stanford 31
24 California 31
53 Washington State 7
55 at Washington 34
24 Southern California 17
35 Arizona State 23
Today at Arizona 6 p.m.
Nov. 24 at UCLA TBA
Dec. 1 Oregon State 1:30 p.m.
Arizona
7 at Brigham Young 20
45 Northern Arizona 24
27 New Mexico 29
27 at California 45
48 Washington State 20
16 at Oregon State 31
13 at Southern California 20
20 Stanford 21
48 at Washington 41
34 UCLA 27
Today Oregon 6 p.m.
Dec. 1 at Arizona State 5 p.m.
Key Matchup
Oregon's cornerbacks have been good but not great this season, which based on preseason expectations means they have underperformed. Jairus Byrd and Walter Thurmond III are still among the best in the league, but they've been susceptible to the big play. And Arizona will be going for big plays today through the air, under the leadership of strong-armed quarterback Willie Tuitama.
WHY OREGON WINS
You can put up all the yards you want, but you can't win unless you score in the red zone and avoid turnovers. The Oregon defense has made it hard for the opposition to do either so far this season, and Arizona stinks in the red zone.
The Wildcats have two solid kickers, but in other aspects of special teams Oregon has an edge.
As Jeff Kendall showed on the Jim Rome radio show, the Ducks know what's on the line. Every game from here on out is for the national title.
WHY ARIZONA WINS
Night games at Arizona Stadium can be daunting. Just ask the 1998 UO team that was ranked No. 12 and lost 38-3 to Trung Canidate and company.
Two of Oregon's three best skill players on offense, Dennis Dixon and Ed Dickson, are nursing injuries.
If the Ducks play deep to defend the pass, Nic Grigsby and the running game could have success against a defense with a freshman at MLB.
X's and O's
WITH KEN WOODY
Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama has thrown 10 touchdown passes in Arizona's last two games, both wins. Although Arizona has had considerable success throwing the ball (leading the Pac-10 with 316 yards passing per game), most of that success has come in three games - wins over UCLA, Washington and Washington State.
Conversely, Arizona is ninth in the league in third-down conversions, last in fourth-down conversions and last in red-zone offense, in part due to a last-place rushing offense.
Oregon fans might remember that Tuitama made his college debut against the Ducks two years ago, as the Wildcats pulled him out of a redshirt year. A memory that stands out from that game is Arizona's animated head coach, Mike Stoops, berating Tuitama on the sideline after a turnover. A veteran offensive lineman stepped in front of Stoops and led Tuitama to a safe area by the bench. It was an unfortunate scene and seemingly unfair, as Tuitama performed very well in a close loss to the Ducks.
It recalls the story of when Vince Lombardi was coaching the Green Bay Packers and chewed out quarterback Bart Starr unmercifully in front of the team. Afterward, Starr went to Lombardi's office and said, "Coach, if I deserve a chewing out, give it to me here in the office, not in front of the team. The team needs me to be their leader, and chewing me out in front of them undercuts that."
Lombardi, a stickler for discipline, decided his quarterback was right. It was the last time he ever embarrassed his leader in front of the team. A great coach, Lombardi was not so inflexible that he couldn't learn something from the players he was coaching. Perhaps that's a reason he was so successful.
Talkin' football: TV broadcasts are not the best way to see the subtleties of football, but check out the Oregon kickoff coverage team, which is fast and aggressive, especially backup rover T.J. Ward, No. 2. Do not watch the ball, watch the cover men try to overpower blockers who are trying to get an angle on them, and in some cases, run over those who have stopped and formed a wedge. This is no position for someone who is not courageous. The Ducks are giving up 20 yards per return, which puts them in the middle of the Pac-10. This year's rule change to move the ball back five yards for the kickoff has resulted in more returns, and fewer touchbacks, as expected, but not necessarily longer runbacks.
- Former Fox Sports football commentator Ken Woody played defensive back, receiver and kicker for Oregon from 1966-70 and coached college football for 18 years. Read his analysis in The Register-Guard before each UO football game, and go to www.registerguard.com/blogs for his postgame breakdown.
By the numbers
0, 3
Dennis Dixon's touchdowns and interceptions, respectively, in three career appearances against Arizona.
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| Title Annotation: | Sports |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) |
| Date: | Nov 15, 2007 |
| Words: | 1173 |
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