Oregon begins postDixon era against Washington
editor1 |Aug 25,2008
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Washington at No. 20 Oregon, 10:00 pm EDT
EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- Nine games into last season, Oregon
had visions of playing for the national championship, having
climbed to No. 2 in the BCS rankings.
But those hopes came crashing down when quarterback Dennis
Dixon, a Heisman Trophy candidate, suffered a season-ending knee
injury at Arizona.
Sophomore Justin Roper likely will be behind center Saturday,
when the 20th-ranked Ducks host Washington in the Pac-10
Conference opener for both teams.
Nate Costa, another sophomore, had been projected as the
starter, but he suffered an injury to his surgically repaired
left knee during a non-contact drill in practice last week and
is not expected to play against the Huskies.
Without Dixon, Oregon lost its final three regular-season games
before defeating South Florida, 56-21, in the Sun Bowl to
salvage a 9-4 season. It was the Ducks' first bowl victory
since 2001.
Making his first career start as a redshirt freshman, Roper
showed promise for the future by throwing four touchdown passes
against the Bulls.
While the three quarterbacks on Oregon's roster have a combined
one career start, the Ducks also have to replace Jonathan
Stewart, who ran for 253 yards against South Florida, setting a
career high and Sun Bowl record. Stewart led the Pac-10 in
rushing last season with 1,722 yards.
But at least Oregon coach Mike Bellotti's job is safe, which is
not the case for Washington's Tyrone Willingham, who has come
under intense criticism after managing just an 11-25 record in
his first three seasons with the Huskies, including a 6-20 mark
in conference play.
Willingham is the first coach in Washington history to have
three straight losing seasons.
Washington is high on sophomore quarterback Jake Locker, whose
performance may dictate Willingham's future at the school.
Locker, who already is attracting NFL scouts, was named Pac-10
Freshman of the Year after throwing and rushing for a combined
27 touchdowns and 3,048 yards. He also set a league record for
rushing yards for a quarterback with 986.
But Washington's Achilles heel was a porous defense that yielded
a school-record 446.4 yards and 31.6 points per game.
In last season's 55-34 loss to Oregon, the Huskies surrendered
661 yards while allowing the Ducks to rush for a school-record
465 yards.
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