Another Week, Another Tough Pac-10 Opponent
EUGENE, Ore.--The Ducks begin their prep for Saturday's showdown at USC after a 31-13 home win over Utah last Saturday.
Junior quarterback Jason Maas threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns on 20-for-36 passing; senior tailback Saladin McCulluogh rushed for 114 yards on 23 carries; senior tight end Blake Spence hauled in six catches for 214 yards and one TD. All great numbers, but the Oregon defense also impressed, blanking the Utes in the second half.
Find out what Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said in his weekly visits with the media Sunday and Monday.
(Talk about the Utah win)
"I think we sleep-walked the first half a little and should have had more points. Defensively, we did not tackle well. Luckily, we got a wake-up call at halftime. I didn't think it'd be too hard to play motivational football coming into Saturday, but we had to retrench after the second quarter. At that point, that was our season and we conveyed that to the players. They responded and came through. A win's a win. Our players needed to win and decided to. I was pleased with our performance, but I think we can up the execution."
(Evaulate quarterback Jason Maas's performance)
"I was very happy with him. He gave a great effort. Akili was hurt and could not throw till Thursday, so Jason knew we needed him and responded -- having one of the top 10 passing performances in our history. Sollie (Saladin McCullough) came through in the second half and got past +100 yards again. He did some great things for us. Blake (Spence, tight end) had a great day. Overall, we had more than 550 yards total offense, but that should have produced more points.
(What about the positive turnover ratio)
I think those two Saturday were crucial to our team. Jaiya (Figueras) had two big interceptions, one to stop a drive deep in our territory. We can play bend but not break pretty well. Still, we need to defend the run better. We did keep them out of the endzone and definitely played well in the second half. I think Utah was a little bit down Saturday with their best back hurt a little. We need to play better football. We're playing good teams down the road, and it will require better efforts from us."
(Injury updates from last week?)
"The only serious injury is Lee Gundy. He'll probably be out for several weeks minimum with a dislocated knee cap. It's very sore and swollen, but will take a couple of days before we know if it needs surgery. He could be out for up to five weeks. Several others are beat or bruised up a little: Marco Aguirre, Davis Sanchez, Peter Sirmon, Desmond Byrd, Michael Fletcher. But all should be practicing and going by Tuesday or Wednesday. Ryan Klaasen is cleared to practice this week, so we'll see how he responds in practice and evaluate him accordingly."
(Oregon's run defense last week versus Utah?)
"There were several things to improve upon: a poor performance on the defensive line; not holding the point of attack; our fills by our linebackers were off at times. The inexperience with Peter Sirmon showed some there, and Garth (White) got overanxious at times. They both got better as the game went on. We missed Desmond Byrd. The sternum was worse than he thought and couldn't play as much as he wanted. Without him we're definitely undersized. Leie Sualua played well, but we'll have to play better at the point of attack."
(Momentum going into this week?)
I don't know how much momentum we have. We did stop the slide. We'd lost three tough games -- had chances to win each but didn't. When you get a win, no matter who it is, it validates what you do and gives you some confidence. Our players deserved that, and hopefully now they're refocused. They know we're capable. This past game, we probably didn't play a great football game. We have to play better in the future and that's right now. We have to take the positives from this game too: the yardage we piled up, the performances of Jason Maas and Blake Spence, the defense not allowing them into the end zone in the second half. We didn't turn the ball over either and had +2 in turnovers, and a +1 the week before. I'm encouraged by that and the play of our special teams. Josh Bidwell did a great job punting the ball and our kickoff team had great coverage all day. We need to understand every game is important. Among those goals, first we need to have a winning season; two, focus on the bowl race; and three, on our own personal pride.
(How does Blake Spence compare to Josh Wilcox?)
"I don't want to get into who's better. I've said for the past three years we've been blessed with the two best tight ends in the conference. Blake's a very good line-of-scrimmage tight end, and he's one of the best down-the-field receivers we've ever had. He has breakaway speed that's deceptive. His 40 doesn't make you go 'Wow', but he has a different gear. I'm not sure if anybody made as many plays as Josh did, but Blake Spence is one of the most explosive receivers we've had. ... There's no question about Blake's pro prospects. He's already been invited to several all-star games, and plenty of pro people are looking at him, even before the season."
(Talk about Akili's health.)
"I think his shoulder was 85 or 90 percent last Saturday and could have played if we needed him. He'd practiced very sparingly. Even on Thursday, he didn't feel comfortable and he gave his reps to A.J. (Feeley). On Friday and Saturday he felt better and better.
(Evaluate the QB situation.)
"Jason's (Maas) performance last weekend makes it a tighter and a more competitive battle. I think if Akili (Smith) is completely healthy and I think he is, and Jason's not dinged up, I think it will be a very interesting week of practice. Partly to see how each reacts to the game plan we have. They will both play again this week. I know someone asked Jason how it felt to play a whole game, and there's no question that it helps. But, they both have things that they bring which makes us a more effective offense. We'll need both of their skills to beat a very good USC defense. With their great run defense, we could use both in different settings. The more we can dilute their focus, the better it is for us.
(USC's play vs. Notre Dame)
"They've played a tough schedule so far. Their offense maybe is not doing what they want to do. They're rushing for 180 yards a game and some might say their total offense isn't what they're accustomed to. They are doing a good job on special teams and on rush defense. They're 18th in the nation against the run. They've held people down defensively, but haven't been able to score as much as they'd like. I don't see that much wrong with them to be honest. They're a good football team with great athletes. For whatever reason, they haven't made the key play at the right time."
(The trip to Southern California?)
"Nearly half our team is from Southern California, so a lot of them are going home this weekend. Saladin (McCullough), Pat (Johnson), Blake (Spence), you can go on and on. This is like a home week for all of them."
