SEATTLE — While you’re still gnashing what’s left of your teeth at Washington’s 55-34 blowout to Oregon, consider this:
In the UW death march that is its 2007 schedule, seventh-ranked Oregon has the best, most explosive offense the Huskies will deal with this season.
Better than USC’s. Better than Ohio State’s. Better than Hawaii’s.
The Ducks may have the ugliest uniforms in America — and probably in world history, next to the Vancouver Canucks’ yellow-and-black chaos in the late ’80s. Their offense, however, is Nicole Kidman gorgeous and Charlie Manson dangerous.
It is no coincidence that the Ducks flew through Husky defenders for much of the first half and in their first few possessions in particular. To say Oregon has weapons is akin to saying the media’s attention to misbehaving bimbos is a tad excessive.
They run plays sans huddle, which is next to impossible to prepare for in practice. Of course, that’s not the only way Oregon is difficult to play against.
To review: The Ducks rolled up 661 yards, a school-record 465 on the ground. They finished with 39 first downs, 25 via the run.
In the past two games, Oregon has scored 108 points.
“I do a lot of studying on TV games,” Washington defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. “I watch the Big Ten, the Pac-10 and the SEC. I don’t think there’s a better offense in the country right now. I really don’t.”
Quarterback Dennis Dixon was on the receiving end of coach Mike Bellotti’s verbal boot for playing minor league baseball last summer instead of sticking around Eugene for assorted, football-related torture, but Dixon still manages to baffle defenses with his magic. Forget for a second that Dixon came into Saturday’s game third in the nation in passing efficiency, with a completion rate of better than 70 percent. He also had thrown for 15 touchdowns and two picks.
A vital way Dixon makes the UO offense go is by the way he executes and carries out his fakes. How many times did he leave UW linemen and linebackers grasping at Jonathan Stewart, only to watch Dixon running in open field, having withdrawn the football from Stewart’s gut and given it to Andre Crenshaw?
Stewart, the refugee from Lacey’s Timberline High School, attracts that kind of attention. A frightening fusion of speed and power, the 230-pound junior would look great in Seattle Seahawk blue as Shaun Alexander’s heir. Against the Huskies, he ran for a school-record 251 yards on 32 carries.
“Coach told me I’d have to carry a lot of the load tonight,” Stewart said. “Our offensive line did a great job. They gave us confidence. We felt like we could get what we wanted on the ground. That’s thanks to the line.”
The Ducks were said to be thin at receiver against the Huskies because of injury and suspension, but “thin” is a relative term. Oregon is loaded with athletes. They’re all fast. They all can catch. For the season, Dixon has thrown TD passes to seven different receivers.
All that adds up to the Ducks entering Husky Stadium fourth in the nation in rushing, fifth in scoring offense and sixth in total offense.
That said, Washington played the Ducks even-up for more than three quarters.
The Huskies suffered no third-quarter collapse, a habit in their previous four games, all losses. Instead, the breakdown came in the fourth quarter, more than anything as a result of fatigue.
The Huskies could have packed it in after a disastrous first quarter in which they were out-gained, 201-93 and had exactly one first down to Oregon’s 13.
They came back, primarily by burning the Ducks on big plays and by sticking to their own stubborn refusal to fold. Jake Locker had his finest day as a Husky. The receivers dropped fewer balls and did a better job than they have of getting open.
Oregon’s defense was vulnerable against the big play, yet its offense was rarely stopped. No team has stopped the Ducks this season.
In the end, the Huskies wore down by superior speed, superior power and superior execution. They aren’t the first.
“That’s the kind of team we are,” Stewart said. “We have so much confidence in each other, we’re not going to let up. We have a lot of faith. We never felt we were in trouble.”
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, click on www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.
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