Oregon 31, Washington 28

SEATTLE, WA -- Akili Smith connected on 15-of-25 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner, to power the Oregon Ducks to a 31-28 upset victory over sixth-ranked Washington at Husky Stadium. Oregon snapped a four-game Pac-10 losing skid, and is now 2-4 in conference. The Huskies suffered their first Pac-10 loss, dropping to 5-1.

Washington took the lead at 28-24 with eight minutes remaining in the game. Marques Tuiasosopu, who started the game at quarterback for the Huskies in place of Brock Huard, combined with Ja'Warren Hooker on a 41-yard TD pass.

The Ducks returned the ensuing kickoff to the 27-yard line. Smith methodically marched the offense down the field. Facing a third-and- 20, Smith found Pat Johnson for a 29-yard scoring strike to cap the 10-play, 73-yard drive. Josh Frankle's kick made it 31-28 with 2:33 left.

The Huskies, only needing a field goal to force overtime, started on their 34 after the Oregon kickoff. The Ducks defense responded to the challenge. On fourth-and-four, Tuiasosopu called the option. He rolled right, and finding no receivers, open decided to run. He was dropped for a one-yard loss and Oregon took over possession. The Ducks simply ran out the clock to survive with the win.

Smith and A.J. Jelks combined on a 2-yard scoring pass with 8:19 into the first quarter. Saladin McCullough plunged in from one yard out to give Oregon a 14-0 lead with 3:46 left in the period. A Frankle field goal made it 17-0 early in the second quarter.

Nick Lentz hit a 46-yard field goal to put Washington on the board at the halfway point of the second stanza. Smith found Blake Spence for a four-yard TD pass four minutes later to give the Ducks a 24-3 advantage. Lentz' second field goal, a 35-yarder, made it a 24-6 game at the half.

Washington scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to cut the margin to 24-21. Tuiasosopu sprinted 42 yards to paydirt just 2:23 out of the locker room. Olin Kreutz recovered a fumble in the end zone five minutes later to get the Huskies within three.

Huard missed the game because of a sprained ankle and Washigton's leading rusher, Rashaan Shehee, also did not suit up because of a sprained knee.



General Remarks


"I want to compliment Oregon on the game plan, on an obvious two weeks of efficiency in putting together a plan that we couldn't master. Way to many mistakes on the part of our football team that hurt us. When your trying to go with a couple of new starters you need to go out and support them and obviously we didn't give them enough support today. We took our turns hurting ourselves in all phases, whether it was the defense at the end or the beginning, the kicking game had its problems. They played very consistent the whole way through. They did an outstanding job of buying time in the pocket and we missed an awful lot of tackles. They're receivers caught the ball the way that you would want your offense to and you saw a running back that has the great potential to run the 100-yard totals up in four or five games right now. We certainly appreciate what Mike and his staff did today with all phases of their football team. It was certainly a big win for them and an equally big defeat for us."

On Akili Smith
"He did a great job out their, avoiding tackles, avoiding sacks, making plays, throwing the ball real well after avoiding two, three, four of our people."

On Brock Huard's Status
"Brock was no more than 80-85 percent. There was no way that we were going to play him."

Is there any chance that Brock won't be 100 percent for UCLA?
"No."

On Where to Go Now
"We have to regroup and get ourselves together. We get a week. We just have to go back and take apart the little things that hurt us today, and do a good job of making corrections in our own football team."

On the Use of Timeouts
"It came down to making plays out there more than anything else, whether its catching the ball, dropping the ball. I don't think time-outs play any big deal right at the end, not the way it played out on fourth down or working your way down, it always can but I didn't feel it did in this game."

On Making the Rose Bowl
"The nice thing is that you still have the potential to go, the goal is still there, but it's about three times as hard, not making progress in this last week and playing like we did today. We won't have a chance against the final two teams if we play like we did today."

On Coaching for the Game
"I don't think our coaches prepared them as well as we should. This is a head coaches loss. You have to get a team prepared to win a rival type game. My coaches are really good at making judgments in a first half. They came in (to half-time) with good ideas and I thought gave us a chance, and Marques Tuiasosopo made some really fine plays, defense went out and stepped up but gradually you could feel that Oregon also was a good football team and came back into the game. I was very, very pleased with the half time adjustments, the way we came out and the momentum in the third quarter."

On the Personal Fouls
"I'm disappointed in the lack of discipline. This is always an emotional game, you have to go out and play with some class and not lose your poise. Individuals got penalties out there and that comes down to an individual thing and we have to go back now and evaluate it in slow motion."
On Marques Tuiasosopo
"He struggled at times finding the right receiver and putting the ball right there but he kept coming right back. He runs so well, he kept us in the game nicely with his feet."

Washington Player Quotes

Ja'Warren Hooker
General comments
"The guys are pretty upset. We knew what we had to come out and do to win the game. Oregon just came out and played well and we give all the congratulations to them. I heard a lot about Oregon and the stuff that they did the last couple years. That got everyone hyped, even the people that aren't playing. For us to go out and not execute like we should have is a real disappointment to the whole team. We're going to dwell on this game. We're really disappointed because we knew what we had to do. We know what they have and we know what we have and we know we're better than that. A lot better than that."

On the second-half comeback
"It was real great. We were down the whole game and to come out and put a quick 21 on the board got our team going. We thought we were going to keep it driving and keep it going, but they put a stop to that."

On his go-ahead touchdown catch
"It's bitter-sweet right now. It was a great catch, but it wasn't enough for us to come out with a win. We had a two-receiver set and whoever is open is open. Marques makes the reads."

On Husky freshman quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo
"Marques is the type of guy that once he gets going, when he gets one play going, then he just keeps rolling. He got rolling there in the second half and he gave us 21 points on the board. But, we just didn't execute down the stretch."

Lester Towns
General Comments
"Everyone is real down. The hard thing is trying to come back off this loss and beat UCLA next week. It was a lack of execution on our part. There were a lot of penalties."

On Oregon quarterback Akili Smith
"He's a big, powerful guy and he can throw good. He's slippery, almost like a Jake Plummer. There was one time when seven guys had him and he still got away. I was shaking my head. He's a real strong runner and he shakes off tackles good. He's a great player."

What adjustments were made at halftime?
"Not too many adjustments. Just a lot of emotion and we talked a lot about missed tackles on defense. We just wanted to go out and pick things up in the second half."

On the Rose Bowl race
"If we win these next two games then we still have a chance to go to the Rose Bowl.

How disappointing is this loss to the Ducks?
"I don't think it matters who we play, it matters that we lost. The fact that we lost is disappointing."

Nick Lentz
General Comments
"The field goal team, we just took care of business and today it wasn't good enough. I think this is actually pretty good for us right now. It will just light a fire in us. We should have already had a fire lit, but stuff like this happens and you just have to take it with the good and go out next week and get the job done."

Do you think Oregon wanted to win more today?
"I don't think they wanted it more, they were just a better team today. That was the bottom line, they were the better team today."

Marques Tuiasosopo
When did you find out you were going to start the game
"Not until last night."

Was there ever a thought of playing Brock Huard?
"I wasn't sure. I didn't really think about it because I was thinking about what was going on on offense."

What was your confidence level compared with the Nebraska game?
"Confidence comes from the guys you are with. They are always telling me to just relax and let them make plays, just like they do for Brock. They make it really easy for a quarterback to come in and play here. They try to just take a lot of pressure off the quarterback and let you go out and make your reads and make throws."

On the second-half comeback
"They jumped up really fast. We knew it was going to be a battle. We just relaxed a little bit and they went up. We came in at halftime and thought about what was going on in the first half and we weren't very happy about it. We had to come out and play a little bit harder in the second half. We just missed a couple shots in the first half."

Oregon Head Coach Mike Bellotti

General Remarks
"I'm very proud and pleased with our players and coaches. I think they did a great job. It was tough going two weeks after the USC game knowing that we could have and possibly should have won. Our kids came out today and played inspired football. We lost the momentum and found a way to regain it. Obviously Pat Johnson's catch was something that made up for a lot of things over the course of the year and our defense stepped up when they needed to. I'm a little tired but it's a great day and it was a great win."

On the Difficulty of Regaining Momentum in Husky Stadium
"There's no question. Their fans do a great job when things go right getting into the game and making it very difficult to hear, and the Huskies are a good football team. Obviously they were minus some people today that probably would have made a difference and that's unfortunate for them, but I was very proud of our kids. Not a lot of people gave them a chance to win this football game, and they believed and they knew that they could and the fought back. I thought Akili Smith should some great poise at the end. We had a couple of serious injuries that I'm afraid are going to be tough for us down the road but for today I think everyone feels pretty good."

On Talk in the Huddle in the Final Timeout Beofre the TD Pass
"We talked about the fact that we needed to protect. We were checking the coverage. He (Akili Smith) saw the single coverage and I know that he challenged Pat (Johnson) earlier to come up and make a play, and we gave great protection and threw the ball right on the money. So I think the biggest thing was we were trying to calm down. We got very excited; it got a little crazy there at the end. Just to relax and make plays, and I think those two kids did that."

On UW Using Timeouts Early in the Second Half
"Those things happen. I feel for coach Lambright. When you start a true freshman quarterback those things happen. But I also think he made some big, big plays over the course of the game and he's a great athlete. He's tough to contain."

On the Ducks Making Plays When They Needed To
" Our kids just believed. We talked a lot about faith. I'm not sure I can describe it or define it, but our kids lived it today."

On the Impact of this Game and the Pac-10 Race
" I told our team they've got to know what it feels like to do this, to accomplish something, because I'm going to hold them to it. They know now that when they put their minds to something they can accomplish it, and that's a big confidence factor. I think for this group of young players that's very big and this is a big step in the right direction. We've gotten close a lot this year and not been able to get over the hump, but today we got over the hump. Now the expectation is that we play better and I've challenged them to continue this, to use this as a building block for the remainder of the season."

Key to Maintaining the Drive forthe Final Score
"It wasn't the prettiest drive in the world. I was getting disappointed that we weren't giving ourselves three downs. We would always misfire on one of the downs and have to make it up. But the play in my mind was Donald Haynes making that third-down conversion. We got great protection. That got us down there. Obviously (Blake) Spence's catch got us out of the hole, and then Pat's catch. I don't remember too much other than that besides just surviving and not getting negative plays. Against the Huskies the biggest thing we talked about is you've got to avoid negative plays."

Examples of Akili Smith's Mobility
" There are several examples. The first touchdown, there are several others where obviously he's practically impossible to bring down one-on-one in the open field. He's so strong. What Akili has in more addition to his mobility is his body strength. One guy cannot take him down. We witnessed many plays where he was seemingly tackled and got out of the grass and made throws or made plays. Obviously, some of those might have been avoided by seeing things and making a quicker throw, but those are things he does naturally and he finds ways to make plays, so I'm not going to put too much of a corral on that."

On the Last Touchdown Play
"I thought the pass was absolutely perfect and the catch may have been even better. The throw was way out there outside where the defense could not get it and that's a catch that we've talked a lot about Pat catching over the course of his career, and I can't think of a better time for him to come up with it. It was a true concentration layout. He dropped a pass earlier in the game and I walked up to him and said, 'Pat, you're going to get another chance. We talk about those opportunities. Don't let another one go.' And he didn't."

Oregon Player Quotes

Pat Johnson
Scoring the Winning TD
"I'm just glad. Moments like this takes a lot of times I've dropped passes, when I've got called a track guy, I can't catch. I finally maybe can earn some respect as a football player. I've always saw myself as a football player first. I just happened to have a better track career while I was here. I had a drop earlier in the game and I was determined that if it came down to me making a play, then I was going to make it.

What Was Said Before that Play
"Akili and I, we talk a lot. He was saying, 'When we're throwing streaks, I'm throwing it to you. We were jogging back out and Coach Peterson told me, 'Boy, we're going for a shot.' And I just knew then, that the ball was coming to me. Akili started pointing to the sky. I started looking at the sky and I'm like, 'Yah, I've got to make this play. It's coming to me.' It was nothing but God. The db played me bump and run, but he was trying to take away the slant. He was right in my face, and I just ran past him. He recovered, and the ball was out there, and I just dove and caught it."

Akili Smith
On the Winning TD
"When we came to the line, we wanted to go at that corner. We were talking about it on the sideline. We wanted to get Pat deep on the ball. I happened to see a linebacker come at the time, and I just dropped back and tried to throw the best ball I could, and Pat caught it."

Why That Play
"They were pressing all game and we figured if they [wide receivers] could get a good release move, then maybe we could get them deep. He happened to get off of him. he had separation on him. I happened to see it. I threw an accurate ball. Pat caught it. And we went up from there."

What Was Said in the Huddle
"Nothing at all. I just told the line, 'Give me some protection, give me some protection. Let me get the ball up and everything will be okay.'"

On the Second Half
Wwhat we were doing, but after that they started bringing the house, blitzing crazy. I think they probably showed a lot more emotion in the second half then what they had in the first half. But we got a touchdown and it put ahead, and that was it. The defense played good today."

The Play Before the TD and Timeout
"That was definitely a plus for us to have that timeout. It was a screen left and I happened to see Chorak over there. The screen wasn't open so coach always tells me to run or throw it away. And I seen some to the right. I tried to get over there, but the pursuit had happened to close down on me and I couldn't go nowhere."

Why No Respect?
"Against UCLA, Washington State, Stanford - we've been in all the games. I don't understand why the nation and people in the Pac-10 are overlooking us, but we made a good little statement that we are a good football team."

Saladin McCullough
On Team Character
"We just wanted it so bad. We had it right there, and we kind of let it slip away from us, but we regrouped and at the end, we came out on top.

First Experience Playing in Husky Stadium
"It was pretty good. We shut the crowd down for awhile until they scored, and I heard the loudest roar ever. I did not like that, but we quieted them. Their fans walking, somewhere mad now and we're feeling real good. I haven't felt like this in a long time. I'm really loving it and I am going to enjoy every bit of it."

On Why UW Was Not Ready
"I know everybody was down us. Lambright, is that is name? he was down on us too, and he was bragging. I'm loving this because he was talking big time trash to everybody, saying our program was nothing. And we came in here and proved that our team is something. Our head coach is something. We proved to them that we are a winning program and we knocked them off."

Celebrating the Win
"I really don't celebrate like that. But it felt so good, I had to. I had to tell them, 'Take that to the Rose Bowl.' But I think they are not even going to go there now. We messed that all up. I'm happy. I'm real happy."

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