Against Colorado, Oregon Tries to Gain Respect

The Oregon Ducks sure are defensive for a team that hasn’t played a down in the last six weeks.

From strong safety Brad Collins: “I don’t see how people can’t respect us.”

Offensive coordinator Al Borges: “I know some of our kids feel they have something to prove.”

Flanker Cristin McLemore: “We have in the last five years dealt with a lot of criticism. You will see peoples’ faces tighten and lips curl when the respect factor is mentioned.”

And tight end Josh Wilcox: “No one knows who we are.”

Heath Irwin, Colorado’s All-American offensive guard, didn’t.

“I had no idea who they were when we first heard we were playing Oregon,” he said.

They are 9-2, ranked 12th in the country and have cornered the whine market in Dallas, where they will play No. 7 Colorado (9-2) in today’s Cotton Bowl.

Oregon, which finished third in the Pacific 10 Conference behind co-champions USC and Washington, doesn’t want to admit it, but a victory is needed today to establish itself as a West Coast football power.

Thus far, it has been an embarrassing postseason for the Pac-10, with losses by UCLA in the Aloha Bowl, Washington in the Sun Bowl and Stanford in the Liberty bowl .

Oregon knows what that is like, having lost three postseason games in a row, including last year’s Rose Bowl to Penn State, 38-20.

“Last year, we were the biggest underdog in bowl game history and we came out and disproved it,” Wilcox said.

Actually, Oregon disproved little in losing by 18 points to the Nittany Lions. And the Ducks failed to impress many despite their 9-2 season. That’s because Oregon barely escaped two goal-line stands--against UCLA and Arizona--that could have easily resulted in defeats. The Ducks also finished the regular season with a lackluster 12-10 victory over lowly Oregon State.

But just mention any of that and the “Gang Green” defense comes to life.

Not surprisingly, Colorado has said nothing to add to Oregon’s Us Against the World motivation. After a month of preparing for the Ducks, Colorado coaches and players said they are impressed.

“I think Oregon has a very unique defense,” said Karl Dorrell, the Buffaloes’ offensive coordinator. “What they have shown to me is tremendous character down there [near the goal].”

Colorado built a national powerhouse in the last decade behind former coach Bill McCartney and now continuing with first-year Coach Rich Neuheisel.

The Buffaloes lost only to Kansas and the top-ranked Cornhuskers despite losing their starting quarterback, Koy Detmer, in the fourth game of the season.

John Hessler replaced Detmer and, although inconsistent, he has been brilliant at times.

“I came into the season not expecting to play much,” he said.

The Cotton Bowl’s outcome might depend on Hessler’s ability to find receivers Rae Carruth, James Kidd and Phil Savoy in the face of Oregon’s high-pressure pass rush.

“It will be a chore for our wide receivers,” Neuheisel said of Oregon’s secondary.

Neuheisel said he is equally concerned with Oregon’s defensive line.

“Their front seven is always moving,” he said. “It’s like, stand still so I can block you.”

Oregon has nine seniors on a defense that has been the cornerstone of its recent resurgence. Much of the credit has gone to defensive coordinator Charlie Waters, the former Dallas Cowboy.

Trying to hold off the Ducks will be Colorado’s impressive pair, Irwin and Brian Stoltenberg.

It could make for an interesting matchup, but then, how many care about this once-fabled bowl game? For the first time in 55 years, a Southwest Conference team will not play in Dallas on New Year’s Day.

Relegated to a second-tier bowl, the Cotton probably will not be a sellout today. It might do better next year when the runner-up of the new Big 12 (the best of the old Southwest mixed with the Big Eight) will play against either the Pac-10 runner-up or the Western Athletic Conference champion.

Although 10 of the last 11 Cotton Bowls sold out, the game might be forgotten before it is remembered.

But don’t say it.

Even the football fanatics from Texas are not too keen about the team from Eugene.