Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Bothell Herald: Ducks down to second-string QB

Pac-10 Notebook

By Mike Allende

Herald Writer

It was a nightmare for Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, and one that may linger for the rest of the season. The Ducks found themselves battling to avoid an upset last Saturday at Arizona, and in the process saw star quarterback Kellen Clemens go down with a fractured ankle and his backup, Dennis Dixon, leave with a concussion. Oregon was able to escape with a 28-21 win behind third-string quarterback Brady Leaf, but the victory was a costly one. Clemens, a senior who ranked fifth in the nation and first in the Pacific-10 in total offense (329.3 yards) is done for the year. Luckily, Dixon is fine and will get a week (Oregon has a bye this weekend) to prepare to take over as the starter, but the loss of Clemens is a huge one. "He will continue to be a part of our program," Bellotti said. "He'll help coach our young quarterbacks. ... It's disheartening to lose Kellen Clemens at this point but it's exciting to see what our young guys can do. We'll get a jump-start on next year right now." Clemens was completing 64 percent of his passes for 300.8 yards a game with 19 touchdowns and just four interceptions for the 7-1 Ducks, ranked 14th in the nation and, at 4-1, in third place in the Pac-10. He also topped all conference quarterbacks with 228 rushing yards. Bellotti said Clemens' surgery on Monday went well, and the quarterback will have about four months of rehabilitation. Now the reigns of Oregon's explosive offense (464.8 yards, 35.4 points a game) go to Dixon, a sophomore who is 15-for-20 for 130 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and 66 rushing yards this season. Bellotti said Dixon will go from getting about 30 percent of the snaps in practice to about 60-to-70 percent, with most of the rest going to Leaf.

"Dennis is an exceptional athlete," Bellotti said. "He brings an electricity to the atmosphere because he can take the ball and do a lot with it. He's an excellent passer. ... We expect him to step right in. The learning curve will be great but I think he's ready. He's excited and the team is excited for him."

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