Leaf joins mix
While Mike Bellotti’s Oregon Ducks have a chance to recover this week by playing I-AA Portland State after their surprisingly one-sided loss at Washington State last week, it appears that the head coach is thinking that some change might be a good thing.
Calling Saturday’s 34-23 loss one of quarterback Dennis Dixon’s worst days, Bellotti suggested that he may again start giving Brady Leaf snaps under center along with Dixon.
“Dennis is our starter, Brady is our backup. We’ve talked about that,” Bellotti said. “I do think Brady will play some. I don’t know if it’ll be a designed rotation or a feel thing.
“Dennis has some things to work out. But I do believe Dennis will rise to the occasion.”
Rotating the two worked for Oregon last year as they took over for an injured Kellen Clemens and managed to pilot the Ducks to the Holiday Bowl. But this season, Dixon has been the man while Leaf has mostly watched from the sidelines.
Oregon also has to guard against the possibility that future opponents will take a page from the Cougars playbook. Having stopped Oregon’s run game early, WSU often dropped eight defenders into pass coverage, rushing only three. Dixon, who as Bellotti said likes to make quick decisions, struggled against the look and was intercepted twice before getting pulled.
If other defenses try to drop as many defenders into coverage, Dixon will have to learn to make better decisions – in a hurry.
“Some of the downfield throws are more difficult,” Bellotti said. “You have to be more patient. And Dennis is a very quick-reacting quarterback.”
Trojans bye some time
USC coach Pete Carroll said he used the exact same strategy during this year’s bye week that he has in the past. He added that he doesn’t understand why some schools complain about the timing of their weeks off on the schedule.
“It just depends on your attitude, on how you go about it,” Carroll said. “We certainly never look at a bye like we’re disappointed that we have to deal with it.”
At 6-0, the Trojans successfully navigated the first half of the season without a blemish despite having to replace a tremendous amount of firepower from the 2005 squad. Third in the BCS rankings, the Trojans appear to be headed for a November showdown with Cal to determine which team will come out on top of the Pac-10.
Fail Mary
Cal coach Jeff Tedford said his team has some work to do after the Golden Bears allowed Washington to score on a Hail Mary at the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime.
The Bears survived the game by intercepting a Carl Bonnell pass for a fifth time to end the extra session. But Tedford said he’d like to see his players knock the ball down instead of going for an interception, as it appeared some of the Cal defenders were doing before the ball bounced directly to a Washington receiver for the score.
“Any time one of those plays happens, it’s a fluky thing. But you have to give Washington credit for that,” Tedford said. “We would prefer to jump up and knock the ball down. … We’ll probably do a drill or two just to remind them of that.”
Notes
Arizona coach Mike Stoops, whose team has the week off before it travels to Pullman on Nov. 4, indicated that his top two quarterbacks, Willie Tuitama and Adam Austin, should be cleared to play by then after being out with injuries. … Stanford’s Walt Harris seemed to acknowledge that the rebuilding job ahead of him could be a long-term project. “What’s happening on the field is unfortunate for everyone, especially our players,” he said. “We’re just going to have to recruit our way out of it and that takes time.” … Three teams have the week off from game action, and so only three intraconference games are on the schedule.