Wednesday Football Notebook
Three days to go before the Ducks head south to face the Trojans on their turf. Read up on the Oregon side in Wednesday's football notebook and find out more about the explosive Duck offense.
OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING . . . For a team with two new starting QBs and one returning offensive lineman, the Oregon offense hasn't fared too bad. Since finishing with 183 yards of offense to open the season against Arizona, the Ducks have racked up over 400 yards of total offense in each of their last six outings (twice over 500 yards). Excluding its '97 debut, the nation's 23rd-ranked offense (5th in the Pac-10, 422.43) is averaging 462.3 yards per game, just shy of its 18th ranking (449.0) a year ago.
DEFENSIVE STAND . . . Clinging to a slim 17-13 halftime lead last week vs. Utah, Oregon's defense rose to the challenge with its best 30 minutes since the opening half of the season. Not only did it keep Utah off the scoreboard, it limited the visitors to only 183 yards of offense in the final 30:00. It also marked the first game since last year's season opener that it didn't allow a touchdown pass while yielding a season-low 196 yards passing.
SOMETHING SPECIAL . . . After kicking off the season with a 93-yard TD return against Arizona, senior tailback Saladin McCullough continues to make believers of his on-field doubters. Two weeks ago it was a 71-yard touchdown run vs. UCLA. Two weeks before that it was 302 all-purpose yards (155 kickoff returns, 123 rushing and 24 receiving) vs. Stanford -- fifth on Oregon's all-time single-game list. The former Pasadena, Calif., standout, who accumulated 15 touchdowns in seven games a year ago, now has collected seven TDs this season -- four rushing, two receiving and one kickoff return. Breaking that down per carry, he's averaging a TD every 13.9 times he's touched the ball. Rushing-wise, he's averaging 101.8 yards a game in his 14 Oregon appearances, also seeking to become the first career 100-yard rusher in school history.
Single Season Rushing Att Avg Yds 10. Sean Burwell (92) 193 4.3 822 11. George Bennett (75) 175 4.6 805 12. Don Reynolds (74) 165 4.8 787 13. Reggie Brown (80) 171 4.5 775 14. Mel Renfro (62) 126 5.9 753 15. Saladin McCullough (97) 145 5.1 740 Single Season All-Purpose Run Rec Ret Yds 10. Don Reynolds (74) 787 140 480 1407 11. Bobby Moore (70) 924 455 27 1406 12. Tony Cherry (84) 569 64 751 1384 13. Mel Renfro (62) 753 298 286 1337 14. Saladin McCullough 740 121 367 1228 Career Rushing Att Avg Yds 12. Mel Renfro (61-63) 269 5.2 1540 13. Reggie Brown (80-81) 348 4.2 1465 14. Dick James (53-55) 314 4.6 1434 15. Saladin McCullough (96- ) 267 5.3 1425 Career Touchdowns TD 5. Cristin McLemore (92-95) 24 Jim Shanley (55-57) 24 7. Mel Renfro (61-63) 23 8. Saladin McCullough (96- ) 22
OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY . . . While McCullough steals the headlines, his comrades up front aren't doing a bad job either. So far in '97, Oregon's per-game rushing average is currently ahead of last year's final total and is significantly better than a year ago at this time. Averaging 152.6 yards per game on the ground through the first seven games, the Ducks have picked up 4.2 yards per carry in '97. After seven games last season, Oregon was averaging 104.3 yards on the ground (3.2 per carry) before finishing the year averaging 147.1 yards per game. Seven different starters have manned the five interior line slots, with only two of them (David Weber, Michael Klews) having so much as started a single game at the Pac-10 level prior to this year.
MOVING UP THE LADDER . . . There is little doubt Oregon's newcomers at quarterback have benefitted from some experienced hands on the other ends of those passes. Seniors Pat Johnson and Blake Spence are both rapidly moving up the school's all-time receptions chart in their first full seasons as permanent starters. The following is a look at the California duo:
Career Receptions Player (Years) Rec. Yds. Avg. TD 12. Leland Glass (69-71) 100 1408 14.0 7 13. Ricky Whittle (92-95) 93 838 9.0 3 14. Derek Loville (86-89) 92 744 8.1 4 Pat Johnson (94- ) 92 1409 15.3 7 21. Bob Palm (72-74) 82 1291 15.7 12 Latin Berry (86-89) 82 679 8.3 3 23. D. Deadwiler (92-93) 81 1225 15.1 6 24. Blake Spence (94- ) 78 1198 15.4 9 Career Receiving Yards Player (Years) Rec. Yds. Avg. TD 6. Bobby Moore (69-71) 131 1565 11.9 18 7. Greg Bauer (74-76) 120 1496 12.5 7 8. Steve Bunker (64-66) 103 1495 14.5 14 9. Pat Johnson (94- ) 92 1409 15.3 7
Now for a look at the current Duck leaders in each offensive category.
Rushing Att. Yds. Avg. TD Game Saladin McCullough, tb 145 740 5.1 4 105.7 Akili Smith, qb 43 140 3.3 1 23.3 Derien Latimer, tb 19 74 3.9 1 12.3 Passing Att. Comp. Yds. Pct. TD Int. Jason Maas, qb 158 87 1258 55.1 13 8 Akili Smith, qb 94 53 594 56.4 5 2 Receiving No. Yds. Avg. TD Long Pat Johnson, se 37 562 15.2 2 66 Blake Spence, te 25 462 18.5 5 56 Tony Hartley, fl 20 260 13.0 3 31 Tackles UT AT FR INT TFL Peter Sirmon, olb 47 20 1 1 14-62 Jaiya Figueras, fs 43 15 1 2 0-0 Dietrich Moore, ss 28 13 0 0 3-7 Rashad Bauman, cb 29 11 0 1 0-0
