Was Oregon overrated? Was Washington State underrated?
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
September 28, 2003
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- While Oregon was basking in a little national recognition, Washington State was trying to generate some of its own.
The combination made for an upset Saturday as the Cougars pounced on the Ducks early and kept them stunned the rest of the way for a 55-16 victory.
Oregon, which was ranked No. 10, had been undefeated and coming off a stunning 31-27 upset of then-No. 3 Michigan.
``We were watching SportsCenter and the talk was all about them. They were on the cover of Sports Illustrated and they got a lot of the attention before the game,'' Washington State defensive lineman Jeremy Williams said. ``We wanted to come in and prove ourselves.''
Oregon (4-1, 1-1 Pacific-10) dropped to No. 19 with the loss. Defending conference champion Washington State (4-1, 1-0) rose from No. 21 to No. 14.
``We were still thinking about the Michigan game, and I really don't think we were really fired up,'' Oregon receiver Samie Parker said. ``Everyone is usually fired up in the locker room, but we were really quiet today. We were just kind of waltzing around, and I don't think we were ready to play.''
Washington State was ready.
Matt Kegel completed 13 of 33 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns for the Cougars, who also got a pair of scoring runs from Jermaine Green. Drew Dunning kicked a pair of field goals.
But most of all, Washington forced Oregon to make some costly mistakes. The Ducks had nine turnovers and had two punts blocked.
``I am proud of the team that I am part of. They showed tremendous leadership,'' Kegel said. ``The defense just dominated.''
Oregon's quarterback tandem of Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife, who went into the game with no interceptions between them, were intercepted seven times.
``It was a nightmare,'' Clemens said. ``We got some bad breaks. We didn't execute like we should have. It was a nightmare.''
A blocked Oregon punt that Jeremy Bohannon ran back 4 yards made it 38-2 for Washington State at halftime.
Oregon didn't find any offensive success until early in the second half with Terrence Whitehead's 4-yard scoring run. The Ducks, who had a safety in the first quarter, also scored on Clemens' 26-yard TD pass to Demetrius Williams.
Clemens, who started, was 16-of-34 for 232 yards and four interceptions, while Fife was 8-of-24 for 123 yards and three interceptions.
``Teams come in and think they are going to walk all over us,'' Cougars free safety Jeremy Bohannon said. ``But we always play tough.
``We like to be underrated.''
Washington State beat Oregon 32-21 last season in Pullman en route to the conference title. The Cougars' only loss this season came on Sept. 6, when they blew a 19-0 lead and lost 29-26 in overtime at Notre Dame.
Washington State goes on to host Arizona next Saturday.
Oregon travels to Utah for a game Friday night. The Ducks will be coming off their worst defeat since a 63-0 loss to Nebraska in 1985.
``I told them after the game that we were going to toss this one where it belongs -- and that's in the garbage,'' coach Mike Bellotti said. ``We probably won't watch it. We'll flush it, and we'll move on.''
