Oregon Weekly Football Release - Week 12
|
|
|
For the complete release with full notes, statistics, etc., please view the PDF. GAME TIMEKickoff is scheduled for 5:12 p.m. PST at Arizona Stadium with a live telecast on ABC. A live radio broadcast will be available across the Oregon Sports Network and on XM 195 and Sirius 217. THE SERIES •Oregon leads the all-time series against Arizona, 20-14. •The two sides have split 18 games played at Arizona Stadium. •UO has won12 of the past 15 meetings, dating to 1994, including 6-of-8 in Tucson. •The Ducks have lost their starting QB to a season-ending injury in two straight trips to Tucson: Kellen Clemens in 2005 and Dennis Dixon in ‘07. QUICK HITS •Oregon and Arizona both control their own fate when it comes to the Pac-10’s BCS berth in the Rose Bowl. If either team wins out - UO has two games remaining, including Saturday, UA has three - they would play a Big Ten representative in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1, 2010. •The Ducks have scored 40 or more points in six of their seven Pac-10 games this season. •JR QB Jeremiah Masoli is the most efficient passer in conference play (153.1) and has thrown 11 touchdowns against one interception. As a runner, Masoli is averaging a league-best 7.6 yards per carry versus Pac-10 opponents. •FR RB LaMichael James eclipsed 100 yards for a fifth straight game last week - seventh time overall - and extended his UO freshman rushing mark to 1,193 yards, good for seventh in school history. •Both of UO’s freshmen running backs, James (1,364) and Kenjon Barner (1,025) have surpassed 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2009. •Saturday’s game will be the 50th in SR TE Ed Dickson’s career. The school’s all-time leader in receptions (119) and yards (1,494) by a tight end has started 36 straight. PLAYER NOTES Player bios are updated after every game and are available for viewing at www.GoDucks.com. BLOUNT REINSTATED SR RB LeGarrette Blount was reinstated prior to the Arizona State game Nov. 14, following what amounted to an eight-game suspension resulting from his postgame actions following Oregon’s Sept. 3 game at Boise State. The Perry, Fla., native rushed for 1,002 yards a year ago and established a school record with 17 rushing touchdowns. He did not play against the Sun Devils and carried eight times for minus-5 yards and made two receptions for 13 yards at BSU. BOWL ELIGIBLE The Ducks were the first team in the Pac-10 to become bowl eligible in 2009, a feat they accomplished for the fifth straight year. Oregon has been to 16 bowls in the past 20 seasons, the eighth-most appearances in college football over that time span. The Pac-10 now has six bowl eligible teams. ROOKIE BOWLER Chip Kelly will join the man he succeeded as UO’s head coach - Mike Bellotti - as the only men to lead the Ducks to a bowl game in their first year at the helm of the program. BCS STANDINGS The Ducks enter this week’s action ranked No. 11 in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. The appearance in the rankings is Oregon’s 50th all-time, which ranks 13th among all schools in the history of the BCS. UO is the only Pac-10 school other than USC (T6th, 62) on the list. Final BCS standings and teams selected for games will be announced on Dec. 6. FLINT A GROZA SEMIFINALIST SR PK Morgan Flint is one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, which annually honors the top kicker in college football. The list will be pared down to three finalists by season’s end and the winner will be announced Dec. 10 on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards program. A former walk-on from Bend, Ore., Flint ranks tenth nationally and fourth in the Pac-10 in scoring average (9.33). He has converted 13-of-15 field goal attempts, 43-of-43 PATs and added one 2-point conversion. DICKSON ONE OF EIGHT SEMIFINALISTS FOR THE MACKEY AWARD The Nassau County Sports Commission has announced that SR TE Ed Dickson is one of eight semifinalists for the 2009 John Mackey Award, honoring the best collegiate tight end. Three finalists will be chosen Nov. 23 and a winner announced Dec. 10 on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards program. The Bellflower, Calif., product is enjoying his best season, leading the Ducks in catches (37), yards (488) and receiving touchdowns (5). Often overlooked are his contributions as a blocker for the nation’s sixth-best rushing offense (237.0 yards per game). GOING POLLING Oregon moved up three spots to No. 11 in the AP top 25 this week. UO is also 11th in the USA Today (coaches) and Harris polls. TOUGHENING UP The Ducks have the 12th toughest schedule based on cumulative opposition. UO opponents have combined to post a record of 62-43 (.590) against FBS foes. Mississippi State (66) and Alabama (63) are the only teams with opponents totaling more wins to date. TOP OF THE PAC Seven games into the Pac-10 slate, Oregon’s prowess on both sides of the ball in conference play has been stellar. The Ducks lead the conference (league games only) in 11 of 23 statistical categories, including scoring offense (42.0 ppg), scoring defense (18.6 ppg), total offense (475.4 ypg), total defense (287.7 ypg) and rushing offense (275.6 ypg). They are also the best pass defending team (165.3 ypg, 96.8 effic.). AMONG THE FBS LEADERS FR RB LaMichael James ranks ninth in rushing with an average of 119.30 yards per game ... SR PK Morgan Flint is tenth in scoring with 9.33 points per game ... As a team, UO is sixth nationally in rushing offense (237.00), ninth in scoring offense (37.10), 12th in kickoff returns (25.84), 12th in pass efficiency defense (100.95) and 20th in sacks (2.7). TD MACHINE JR QB Jeremiah Masoli has rushed for a touchdown in all but two of his nine appearances this season, giving the Bay Area native at least one score in 13 of his last 16 games. He has 19 career TDs in 21 games as a Duck. THE MAGNIFICENT 11 Thanks in large part to a tremendous effort from all 11 defensive positions in wins over Cal (Sept. 26), Washington State (Oct. 3) and UCLA (Oct. 10), Oregon held three consecutive opponents to less than ten points for the first time since 1980. MASOLI SETS QB RUSHING MARK With 55 rushing yards at Stanford Nov. 7, JR QB Jeremiah Masoli passed fellow Bay Area native Dennis Dixon as the most prolific rushing quarterback in UO history. Masoli now has 1,276 rushing yards for his career. Dixon amassed 1,208 yards between 2004 and 2007. FLINT ON SEASON SCORING CHART SR PK Morgan Flint is in a three-way tie with Derek Loville (1989) and Jared Siegel (2003) for tenth on Oregon’s all-time scoring list for a single season, amassing 84 points to date. Fellow kicker Nathan Villegas set the school mark in 1998 with 117. MASOLI AMONG OREGON’S ELITE Just 21 games into his Oregon football career, JR QB Jeremiah Masoli joined a very elite group of Ducks on the career ledger for total offense. Masoli had 187 yards in a Nov. 14 win vs. Arizona State, pushing him past Bob Berry (4,543, 1962-64) into UO’s all-time top ten with 4,601 yards. BARNER GENERATING AMPLE RETURNS FR RB Kenjon Barner ranks eighth in school history in kickoff return yards for a single season with 630 on 24 returns to date. Chris Oldham (1988) holds the UO record with 765. FAST START Chip Kelly’s seven-game winning streak earlier this season was the longest by a first-year head coach at Oregon since C.W. Spears won seven straight to start the 1930 season. Kelly’s 6-0 home mark to start a coaching career is also the best record since Spears won his first seven home games from 1930 to ‘31. AUTZEN ADVANTAGE The Ducks have won nine straight games at Autzen Stadium, dating to 2008, which is the third longest streak in stadium history. UO won 10 in a row at Autzen between 1989 and ‘91, and a record 23 straight between 1997 and 2001. Oregon has won its last eight Pac-10 contests at home since falling in overtime against Oregon State in the 2007 Civil War. ANOTHER TFL FOR TUKUAFU SR DE Will Tukuafu is now ranked among the top 10 players in UO history when it comes to tackles for loss. With 6.5 on the season, Tukuafu has 32.5 in his three-year career to rank ninth. He recently passed current graduate assistant coach Peter Sirmon (1996-99), who had 32.0 TFLs as an Oregon linebacker. LEADER OF THE PAC JR QB Jeremiah Masoli is tops among all Pac-10 players in points accounted for with an average of 13.33 per game (20 TD: 9 run, 11 pass). NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND... Former coach and current ESPN College GameDay analyst Lee Corso’s catch phrase could be directed at the Davey O’Brien award folks after they left JR QB Jeremiah Masoli off their list of 15 semifinalists released Oct. 26. In consecutive weeks, Masoli out-dueled Washington’s Jake Locker and USC’s Matt Barkley, both semifinalists for the prestigious award. Since Week 4, no Pac-10 quarterback stacks up to Masoli from an efficiency standpoint. From Sept. 26 to present, the former City College of San Francisco standout is completing 64.7 percent of his passes (99 of 153) with 11 touchdowns against one interception. He’s averaging 68.8 yards rushing per game over that stretch (7.4 per carry), with five TDs, while totaling 269.2 yards of offense per contest. KING JAMES Only ten games into his career, LaMichael James has already put together the top season by a freshman running back in Oregon football history. The redshirt from Texarkana, Texas, has established frosh records for most yards in a single game (183 vs. USC) and season (1,193), as well as the most 100-yard games (7). MORE ON JAMES FR RB LaMichael James is the 14th Oregon player and first freshman to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a season. For comparison sake, Jonathan Stewart (2005) had 188 yards and Jeremiah Johnson (2005) 147 during their freshman seasons. All-Time Single-Season Rushers 1. Jonathan Stewart (2007), 1,722 2. Saladin McCullough (1997), 1,343 3. Reuben Droughns (1999), 1,234 4. Ahmad Rashad* (1971), 1,211 5. Derek Loville** (1988), 1,202 6. Jeremiah Johnson (2008), 1,201 7. LaMichael James (2009) 1,193 8. Maurice Morris (2000), 1,188 9. Terrence Whitehead (2004), 1,144 10. Onterrio Smith (2002), 1,141 *Formerly known as Bobby Moore **UO career leader with 3,296 yards THE PLAYMAKER SO TE David Paulson has a modest season total of 11 catches, but ten have been for first downs. UO has scored on ten of the 11 drives in which he has a reception. BUSTING LOOSE Oregon has ten rushes of 30 yards or more this season, including seven by FR RB LaMichael James, who had a season-high 60-yard scamper at Stanford Nov. 7. JR QB Jeremiah Masoli has two such runs this year and FR RB Kenjon Barner has the other. Last season Jeremiah Johnson had eight carries of 30-plus yards and SR RB LeGarrette Blount had seven. CRAM SESSION The Ducks are 8-0 on the season when the opposing team has only one week to prepare for them and 0-2 when the opposition has more than seven days to get ready. QUARTET ON CFPA WATCH LIST The College Football Performance Awards has named four Ducks to its November watch list, led by JR QB Jeremiah Masoli, who is among 19 players under consideration for National Performer of the Year. Masoli is also one of two Pac-10 quarterbacks - along with Oregon State’s Sean Canfield - up for the CFPA Quarterback Trophy. FR RB LaMichael James (Running Back Trophy), SR TE Ed Dickson (Tight End Trophy) and FR RB Kenjon Barner (Kickoff Returner Trophy) are also nominated for postseason accolades. MASOLI NAMED WALTER CAMP POTW JR QB Jeremiah Masoli was named national offensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation for Week 9 of the college football season, after leading the Ducks to a 47-20 blowout win of then-No. 4 USC. A preseason all-conference choice, Masoli totaled 386 yards of offense and two touchdowns (1 rush, 1 pass). He orchestrated an attack that produced 613 yards - the second-highest total ever allowed by the Trojans behind Notre Dame’s 623 yards in 1946. FOR THE RECORD Oregon’s 47-20 win over USC on Halloween was the kind of result neither program had ever experienced in 55 prior meetings: •It was the Ducks’ most points ever against the Trojans, as well as the most points scored against USC since UCLA had 48 in two overtimes in 1996. •It was also Troy’s largest losing deficit since a 27-point loss to Washington in 1997. •Oregon gained 613 total yards, the second most ever against USC (behind Notre Dame’s 623 in 1946), and ran for 391 yards (the most since Texas A&M had 486 in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl). •Oregon’s 31 first downs were the most against Troy since UCLA had a USC opponent record-tying 32 in 1970. •The Ducks did this against a USC defense that was allowing just 291.7 total yards (including 79.9 rushing, fifth in the nation) and 15.1 points. •It also snapped USC’s 10-game winning streak against AP top 25 opponents. •It was the most first half points surrendered by USC since Stanford had 28 in 2004. JAMES NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FR RB LaMichael James was named the Pac-10 offensive player of the week, following his 183-yard rushing performance in UO’s 47-20 win over No. 4 USC. James carried 24 times, scored a touchdown and set a new UO single-game freshman standard with his game-high rushing total. He became the third Duck to take home a conference honor this season, joining SR TE Ed Dickson (offense, Week 4) and FR RB Kenjon Barner (special teams, Week 6). SPREAD DEFENSE Oregon’s spread offense has garnered plenty of attention over the past few seasons, but 2009 is looking like the year of the spread defense for the Ducks. In the win over No. 6 California Sept. 26, the Ducks had 19 players record two or more tackles, with no one player making more than five. In a similar effort vs. Washington Oct. 24, 17 players had multiple stops with no one Duck registering more than seven. STREAK BUSTERS The Ducks ended the nation’s longest active winning streak at 16 games, when they defeated then-No. 18 Utah, 31-24, on Sept. 19. It was the Utes first loss since Nov. 24, 2007, at BYU. The following week, UO snapped Cal’s Pac-10 best six-game streak (all games). DICKSON NAMED NAT’L POTW SR TE Ed Dickson was named national offensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation for Week 4 of the college football season, following his performance vs. Cal (Sept. 26). The All-America candidate had career bests of 11 receptions, 148 yards and three touchdowns in UO’s 42-3 romp over the then-No. 6 Golden Bears. His 11 grabs equalled the previous school single-game mark by a tight end, tying Josh Wilcox, who had 11 in the 1995 Rose Bowl. Dickson was also one of four nominees for AT&T’s All-America Player of the Week. MORE HONORS FOR DICKSON SR TE Ed Dickson became the first Duck to garner Pac-10 player of the week honors in 2009, winning the offensive award for Week 4 (11 rec, 148 yds, 3 TD vs. Cal, Sept. 26). In addition, he was selected as the John Mackey tight end of the week and the College Football Performance Awards tight end performer of the week. Dickson recorded the second 100-yard receiving game of his career to become the 30th player in school history with multiple century-mark receiving efforts. IN THE CLASSROOM No fewer than eight players have either already completed requirements for their undergraduate degrees or are expected to by the end of the coming season. DE Will Tukuafu, DB Titus Jackson already have earned their degrees while CB Willie Glasper, TE Ed Dickson, LB Riley Showalter, CB Walter Thurmond III, DT Simi Toeaina and DB T.J. Ward are all expected to qualify to graduate no later than the end of the 2009 fall term. LUCKY NUMBER 7 Few players looked forward to the start of the 2009 season more than Nate Costa. On Sept. 12 vs. Purdue, the junior quarterback stepped onto the field for the first time since Nov. 11, 2006, when he completed both of his pass attempts for 22 yards and ran for another 25 yards at USC. Against the Boilermakers, Costa was the holder on five extra-points and two field goal attempts. The Hillmar, Calif., product took his first quarterback snaps of ‘09 vs. Cal (Sept. 26) and completed his first two passes, running his string of consecutive completions in his career to seven. He missed his first-ever pass on his eighth all-time attempt and finished the game with a line of 4-7-0 for 35 yards. Costa made his first career start at UCLA (Oct. 10) and tossed the first TD pass of his UO tenure in the Ducks’ win. In his Oregon career, Costa has suffered two season-ending knee injuries, the last of which occurred just over a week prior to the start of the 2008 season and after he had won the No. 1 QB job in fall camp. DICKSON NABS RECEIVING MARK SR TE Ed Dickson, an All-America candidate and member of the watch list for the 2009 John Mackey Award recognizing the top tight end in college football, is the top receiver at the position in Oregon history. The senior has 119 career receptions and 1,494 receiving yards, breaking Josh Wilcox’s former marks of 103 and 1,416, respectively. WATCH OUT As has become the norm for Oregon football, the Ducks had several players on preseason watch lists for major college football awards: Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year) SR DE Will Tukuafu Ted Hendricks Award (top def. lineman) SR DE Will Tukuafu John Mackey Award (top tight end) SR TE Ed Dickson Manning Award (top quarterback, including bowl games) JR QB Jeremiah Masoli Maxwell Award (player of the year) SR RB LeGarrette Blount JR QB Jeremiah Masoli Davey O’Brien Award (top quarterback) JR QB Jeremiah Masoli Jim Thorpe Award (top defensive back) SR CB Walter Thurmond III Doak Walker Award (top running back) SR RB LeGarrette Blount KELLY ON WATCH LIST Chip Kelly is one of 20 head coaches named to the Bryant College Football Coach of the Year watch list, selected by the Paul “Bear” Bryant awards committee of the American Heart Association. Bryant College Football Coach of the Year finalists will be announced in December. WARD TO SHRINE SR DB T.J. Ward has accepted an invitation to play in the 85th annual East-West Shrine Game, benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children, on Jan. 23, 2010, in Orlando, Fla. WHAT A RUSH When FR RB LaMichael James surpassed 1,000 yards rushing Nov. 7 at Stanford, he extended Oregon’s streak of having at least one 1,000-yard rusher to three consecutive seasons (Jonathan Stewart in 2007 and LeGarrette Blount and Jeremiah Johnson in ‘08). The longest such streak in UO history is four, from 1999-2002. FIRST-TIME STARTERS Oregon had seven first-time starters among the 22 players who received opening assignments in the season opener Sept. 3 at Boise State. Since then, ten more players have made their starting debuts this season. FRESH FACES In 2007, Oregon ended the year utilizing the services of 10 true freshmen. Last season, that number dropped to five, including current squad members Garrett Embry (WR), Josh Kaddu (LB), Dewitt Stuckey (LB) and Darron Thomas (QB). This year, the Ducks have called upon only three newcomers who were preparing for their final high school seasons a year ago: P Jackson Rice, from Moraga’s (CA) Campolindo High School, LB Michael Clay, who joined the Ducks this summer as a linebacker from San Jose’s Bellarmine Prep, and CB Cliff Harris, a U.S. Army all-American from Fresno, Calif. (Edison HS). FRONT AND CENTER With the departure of three offensive linemen who were keys to last year’s offensive success and spent the summer in NFL camps, Oregon’s starting interior line entered the season having accumulated a total of only 20 career starting assignments. The defensive line was in a similar situation, returning 24 career starts -- all by DE Will Tukuafu. What may be lacking in the number of returning headliners is accounted for in experience in the program. Eight of the 10 offensive linemen in the team’s two-deep have already been in the program for a minimum of two seasons. ROSTER EXPANSION Following the first game, the Ducks were permitted to expand their roster from 105 to as many as 119 for the remainder of the season and added 11 players. Of the new additions, three took part in spring practices – JR TE Sam Doman, JR OL Justin Fritz and SO DL Nick Musgrove. Expansion also brings the return of FR RB Jordan Thompson, who began fall camp on the 105-man roster, but was sent home due to illness. Spring signee and scholarship student-athlete FR DB Avery Patterson is now formally on the squad. He is joined by fellow true freshmen WR Ben Butterfield (Sherwood, OR/Sherwood), the younger brother of UO cornerback Brian Butterfield, DB J.R. Maffie, DE Andy McIntyre and DB Tyler Rittenhour, a prep teammate of FR P Jackson Rice. Rounding out the newcomers are a pair of former junior college players, JR RB Andres Reed and JR OL Josh Sanford, both from College of the Siskiyous. A second wave of walk-ons arrived in early October, by way of a tryout: De La Salle product FR DB Mikey Dosen, wide receivers FR Dane Ebanez and FR Brian Harris, FR LS Ned Lyon, FR RB Brandon Thurston and JR DL Denton Tuiasosopo, a transfer from FCS school Sacramento State and cousin of current Duck Simi Toeaina. VS. THE TOP 25 It didn’t take first-year head coach Chip Kelly long to experience his team being tested by a top 25 school as the Ducks drew No. 14 Boise State on the road to open the 2009 campaign. Oregon fell to the Broncos, 19-8, but have since defeated No. 18 Utah, 31-24, No. 6 Cal, 42-3, and No. 4 USC, 47-20, to improve to 3-1. Oregon was 2-1 when facing ranked teams (the week they played them) in 2008. VS. THE TOP 10 Since 1994, UO is 9-2 at Autzen Stadium against top 10 opposition, including four straight wins dating to 2007. OREGON CAPTAINS Seniors Walter Thurmond III and Will Tukuafu, and juniors Jordan Holmes and Jeremiah Masoli, have been elected season-long captains following a team vote. ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY ESPN College GameDay produced its weekly college football preview show from the University of Oregon on Oct. 31, preceding the game vs. No. 4 USC. Overall, the premier college football pre-game show, which has aired weekly on ESPN since its inception in 1989, has made four trips to Eugene. The production’s first Oregon appearance occurred in 2000 when it made its first-ever appearance in the Pacific Northwest on Sept. 23 prior to the Oregon-UCLA game. Oregon and UCLA also were featured in 1998 when the show originated from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Ducks are 3-1 when hosting GameDay. The show will be in Tucson this week ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Arizona. OREGON ALUMS It speaks well of a program when former players return to their alma mater after they have graduated to fill a role within the athletics department and Oregon has benefitted from an influx of recent returnees. In addition to long-time assistant coaches Steve Greatwood and Don Pellum, who have both served on the Oregon coaching staff for over 20 years, the Ducks have added four former players in various capacities. Former standout linebacker Peter Sirmon (1996-99) begins his first year as one of Oregon graduate assistant coaches, In addition, former defensive backs Rashad Bauman (1997-01) and Matthew Harper (2006-07) have returned as football interns while wide receiver Garren Strong (2004-07) is a recruiting intern. COACHING CONTINUITY An overlooked facet of Oregon’s success has been the continuity of its coaching staff. Although first-year head coach Chip Kelly begins only his third season as part of the Ducks’ program and only the school’s third head football coach in 33 years, the core of the staff has remained intact over the course of three different head coaches. Running backs coach Gary Campbell enters his 27th year on the Oregon staff, which equals the longest tenure of any Oregon assistant football coach in school history. In addition, offensive line coach and running game coordinator Steve Greatwood begins his 25th year on the Ducks’ coaching staff, linebackers coach Don Pellum is in his 22nd season, while defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti begins his 19th season at Oregon. KELLY AT AUTZEN Head coach Chip Kelly made his sideline debut at Autzen Stadium in the home opener Sept. 12 (W 38-36) after spending the past two seasons calling plays from a booth high above the field as the team’s offensive coordinator. Since Kelly’s arrival in 2007, the Ducks are 16-3 at Autzen, averaging 41.3 points per home game. TV APPEARANCES Oregon has been selected for at least 11 out-of-market television appearances this season: Sept. 3 at Boise State (ESPN), Sept. 12 vs. Purdue (FSN), Sept. 19 vs. Utah (ESPN), Sept. 26 vs. Cal (ABC), Oct. 10 at UCLA (ABC), Oct. 24 at Washington (ABC), Oct. 31 vs. USC (ABC/ESPN2), Nov. 7 at Stanford (FSN), Nov. 14 vs. Arizona State (ESPN), Nov. 21 at Arizona (ABC) and Dec. 3 vs. Oregon State (ESPN). HOT COMMODITIES For only the third time in school history, Oregon has sold over 43,000 football season tickets, with ticket sales topping the 43,200 mark. That total is slightly below the 43,242 figure from 2007 while the Ducks sold 44,182 season tickets a year ago. Single-game reserved seats have been exhausted for all home games this season. THURMOND OUT FOR YEAR Preseason All-America Walter Thurmond III will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury on the opening kickoff vs. Cal (Sept. 26). The senior cornerback got off to a great start in 2009 and played instrumental roles in wins over Purdue (Sept. 12) and Utah (Sept. 19), returning an interception and punt return for touchdowns in those two games, respectively. The four-year starter posted 17 tackles in three appearances this year in addition to being ranked second in the Pacific-10 Conference (16th nationally) in punt returns (15.0 avg.) and third in the league in kickoff returns (27.7 avg.). GLASPER DONE DUE TO KNEE SR CB Willie Glasper will miss the remainder of the year after suffering a season-ending knee injury during a non-contact drill during practice Oct. 6. The Pittsburg, Calif., native had evolved into a special teams standout and solid reserve defensive back the past two years while earning one starting assignment prior to the start of the 2009 season. The three-year letterman had assumed the starting cornerback role in place of the injured Walter Thurmond III, who is also lost for the season with a knee injury. Glasper had recorded 11 tackles in five games this season, including 1.5 tackles of loss. PICK-6 TIMES III SR CB Walter Thurmond III recorded the third interception return for a touchdown of his career in UO’s Sept. 12 win vs. Purdue, placing him in a three-way tie with Rashad Bauman (1997-01) and Kenny Wheaton (1994-96) for the most in school history. Thurmond is also tied with Tennessee’s Eric Berry, Florida’s Brandon Spikes and UCLA’s Alterraun Verner for the most Pick-6 touchdowns by active NCAA FBS players. THURMOND SETS TD MARK Since the era of two-platoon football was re-established in the college game for good in 1965, no Oregon defensive player has accounted for more touchdowns than SR CB Walter Thurmond III. The senior has broken the plane of the end zone five times – one fumble return for a touchdown vs. Fresno State (‘07), interceptions against South Florida (’07), Oregon State (’08) and Purdue (’09), as well as punt return for a score vs. Utah (’09). Prior to Thurmond, cornerback Michael Fletcher (1996-99) held the unofficial record for most touchdowns by a non-offensive player – four (one fumble return in 1997, two punt returns in ’98 and a punt return in ’99). HOUSE OF LOUD With six home crowds beyond capacity so far this season, including a State of Oregon record 59,529 vs. USC on Halloween, Oregon has sold out Autzen Stadium (cap. 54,000) for 67 consecutive games, dating to 1999. BYE LOVE With its victory at Washington Oct. 24, Oregon improved to 17-2 in the regular season when coming off a bye week since 1995. The Ducks only two setbacks came vs. Washington in 1996 and at Arizona in 2007. 
|
Sophomore Javes Lewis is Oregon's leading tackler this season.
|
