Oregonian: Oregon's fast start has a catch

By Bob Clark

It's going to happen. At some point, in a future game, a defense is going to concentrate on Oregon receiver Jaison Williams so much that he can't remain the primary target for the Ducks' offense.  "Teams will get smarter. They will try to take J-Will away," fellow Oregon receiver James Finley said.  As Williams has become the nation's second-leading receiver, in yards per game, Oregon's receiving statistics have gotten completely out of whack. Williams has 28 receptions himself, while the rest of Oregon's wide receivers have combined for 39 catches, led by Garren Strong and Jordan Kent with nine receptions each.  "Jaison is doing good right now and he's the No. 1 receiver," Finley said. "We all have a lot of respect for J-Will because he's worked hard and he's stepped up."  But what about that day - or Saturday night - when a defense does stop Williams? The 11th-ranked Ducks will need a second or third receiver to become more of a factor in the passing game, UO coach Mike Bellotti said.  How about Finley? Or Cameron Colvin? Those were the two receivers expected to be the featured targets for Dennis Dixon this season, yet they've combined for a total of 11 catches through four games.

Bellotti said Colvin is still hampered by an injured hamstring. About the time Colvin seems to be recovered, he aggravates the injury, as he did on a 19-yard reception against Arizona State last Saturday that ended with him fumbling the football.

That was his longest reception of six this season, and almost half of his 39 receiving yards on one play.  "He hasn't distinguished himself probably more due to the injuries and lack of practice time than anything else," Bellotti said. "Once he gets healthy, he'll make his presence felt."  Finley was Oregon's second-leading receiver in 2005 with 57 catches, only two fewer than Demetrius Williams. On media day before this season, Bellotti himself broached the idea that Finley had 100 receptions as a goal for 2006.  Through four games, Finley has five receptions for 30 yards, 18 of those yards on one play.  "I'm kind of frustrated because I feel like I could help the team more than what I have done," Finley said. "I feel like I've done a great job blocking and if we keep winning, I'm not really worried" about receptions.  There have also been injury issues with Finley, from an elbow to an ankle that have either kept him out of practices or slowed him in games. Bellotti said Finley suffered from missing numerous spring drills due to what the coach described as "academic difficulties."  "He's a competitor, and I think there will still be a tremendous opportunity for him to be involved," Bellotti said. "Fin's probably been somewhat unfortunate. He's had a couple of (completions) called back (by penalties) that might have gotten him untracked.  "He's been rotating (among receivers) and the ball just hasn't seemed to go his way."  Finley had one of his best games in 2005 against California, Oregon's opponent Saturday in Berkeley. Against the Bears, Finley had six receptions for 47 yards, including two on an overtime drive that culminated with his four-yard catch for the winning points.  "All of us, if we get the opportunity, we're going to make some plays," Finley said. "If some balls come my way, I'll make the play."

Not saying much

Oregon didn't need to learn a lesson from what happened earlier to USC.  Brent Musburger, who will handle the play-by-play duties for ABC's telecast of Oregon's game at California, earlier this season stirred up the Trojans by revealing what USC thought was secret information during the broadcast of a game.  "I thought that was out of line, in all honesty," Bellotti said of Musburger's gaffe.  So how do the Ducks avoid a repeat?  "I don't give a lot of information to the TV broadcasters," Bellotti said. "I don't give them any insider information."  Television broadcasters typically meet with players and coaches on the day before a game, both for interviews that are used during the broadcast and for background information. Bellotti said he assumes anything said might be used on the broadcast, so he speaks "in generalities" and assumes his players are "smart enough" to deal with the media and not divulge anything they wouldn't want another team to know.  

West Coast bias?

If elsewhere there are questions about the strength of the Pac-10, there seems no doubt in the Sagarin Ratings.  This week's edition of that computer evaluation has USC at No. 1 with Oregon sixth and California 10th in the nation. There are three other Pac-10 teams in the top 30, with UCLA at No. 26, Washington State at No. 27 and Washington at No. 29. It also has Arizona State, with losses to the Ducks and Bears, at No. 45 and Oregon State, with defeats to this computer's No. 14 Boise State and Cal, at No. 49.  Actually, maybe that's not so good. The Sagarin has Montana of the Big Sky at No. 40.  While the Sagarin Ratings are more well-known for basketball, it is one of the six computer rankings used in the Bowl Championship Series poll, which sets up the pairing for the national title game. Of the other five rankings that feed the BCS, three are available this week and have Oregon ranked third, fifth and seventh nationally. The first BCS poll will be released Oct. 15.