Oregon (Yes, Oregon) Tied for 1st

EUGENE, Ore. —  That’s no typographical error at the top of the Pacific 10 standings.

After Saturday’s 10-9 upset of 11th-ranked Arizona, Oregon is tied for the conference lead and, with three games to play, is a serious threat for its first Rose Bowl appearance in 37 years.

Until last week, quarterback Danny O’Neil had never brought the Ducks from behind in the second half. Now he has done it two weeks in a row against nationally ranked opponents.

Early in the fourth quarter, Oregon scored the game’s only touchdown on O’Neil’s 15-yard pass to tight end Josh Wilcox and went ahead for good.

The Ducks, with freshmen and sophomores filling several important roles, were picked to finish at or near the bottom of the conference standings. But they are 4-1 in the Pac-10 for the first time since 1970 and are tied for first with Arizona, USC and Washington State.

“We obviously have made this race extremely interesting for everybody in the league and everybody in the state of Oregon,” said Duck Coach Rich Brooks, who only six weeks ago was feeling the heat after a 1-2 start.

Oregon (6-3 overall) has beaten USC, and with Arizona State, Stanford and Oregon State remaining on the schedule, the Ducks can finally think about the Rose Bowl without eliciting sarcastic laughter.

“We’re all young and we’re all a little nuts,” Wilcox said. “I don’t think we really know what it means, but it’s cool.”

The loss was tough on a senior-dominated Arizona team that was favored to make its first Rose Bowl appearance. But quarterback Dan White said the Wildcats aren’t out of it yet with games left against California, USC and Arizona State.

“We learned from last year. After losing to UCLA, we thought we were out of it but we still could have gone if we’d beaten Cal,” he said. “We’ve just got to put this behind us and learn from it.”

Members of Oregon’s 1957 Rose Bowl team were the honored guests at Autzen Stadium and watched as the Ducks’ “Gang Green” defense was just as dominating as Arizona’s touted “Desert Swarm.”

The Wildcats (6-2 overall) led 9-0 at halftime on three field goals by Steve McLaughlin but managed only two first downs in the second half against the Ducks, winners of four of their last five, including a 31-20 victory over Washington a week ago.

“I just hope people start talking about our defense,” linebacker Rich Ruhl said. “We have a great defense, and I think we’re sometimes overlooked by people.”

The game’s only touchdown capped a 12-play, 53-yard drive that began after Herman O’Berry’s 16-yard punt return put the ball on the Oregon 47.

O’Neil completed first-down passes on third and 11 and third and eight to keep the drive alive, but the biggest play came on fourth and five at the Arizona 27 when O’Neil threw over the middle to Pat Johnson. The pass was incomplete, but the Wildcats’ Mike Scurlock was called for pass interference, giving Oregon the ball at the 16.

Then, on third and nine at the 15, O’Neil expected a blitz from the safety position and called a pass play designed to take advantage of Wilcox against a slower defender. O’Neil lofted the ball to the corner of the end zone, where Wilcox had outrun linebacker Thomas Demps. Matt Belden kicked the conversion that made it 10-9 with 12:17 to play.

“The idea that Oregon doesn’t have talent is wrong,” Arizona Coach Dick Tomey said. “They have darned good talent. They’ve come together and they have a tremendous belief in themselves right now, and that’s a very powerful thing.”