Scoring Machine

This feat is webbed.

The Oregon Ducks are 5-0 for the first time since 1964 and averaging 50.6 points a game, offering countless series that are more offensive than three hours of Howard Stern.

That not only makes them undefeated and No. 11 in the nation heading into the Rose Bowl to play No. 2 UCLA, but probably a genuine threat Saturday afternoon, the slight disclaimer offered since the victories have been over Michigan State, Texas El Paso, San Jose State, Stanford and Washington State, none of which is better than .500 and combined have an 11-18 record.

“I can honestly say this is the best University of Oregon team I’ve seen,” said Bruin Coach Bob Toledo, an assistant in Eugene for six seasons during the 1980s and a close observer since. “They’re very, very explosive. Defensively, they play as well as any Oregon team I’ve seen. And special teams, they put a lot of pressure on you.”

Just so eager to get the ball back, probably. The Ducks lead the Pacific 10 in five of eight offensive categories--and are immediately ahead of UCLA in four of those. They are second in the country in scoring, behind only Kansas State, and in total offense, trailing Louisiana Tech.

Talk about your special teams.

“I had sort of a funny feeling,” Coach Mike Bellotti said. “I said it before the season, that this group of kids has great chemistry. They’ve got commitment to each other and unity, and that was really important to me and sort of stuck out. I thought it was something special, and I thought they came out of the chute so hard in the first game. I was pleased, maybe even mildly surprised, at the overall performance, but it wasn’t something that I didn’t think was possible.

“I thought we had the makings of a very good football team because I thought we had a veteran offensive line and veteran quarterbacks coming back on offense, and that’s a great place to start. And I really believed our defense was going to be improved, and I think they have improved significantly.”

Said quarterback Akili Smith, “It’s always been, ‘We’ll see.’ We beat San Jose State and were 3-0 and people said, ‘Yeah, now they’ve got to start Pac-10 play.’ We beat Stanford. Then it was, ‘Well, they’ve got to go to Washington State.’ We got them. I don’t know what it will take for people to respect us.

“We’ve got all the talent in the world here. We’ve just been overshadowed, but I guess our time has come. People around the country are starting to understand the kind of talent the University of Oregon has.”

The delayed reaction may be understandable. This wasn’t a group that came with much advance notice, apart from the offensive line that has been a major factor in the current success. The 1997 Ducks averaged 31.7 points a game and went 6-5 in the regular season before beating Air Force in the Las Vegas Bowl.

When reserve tailback Derien Latimer told his friend Cade McNown before the season about how Oregon might compete for the national championship, the UCLA quarterback could not help but wonder about the lofty, if not unrealistic, ambitions.

With good reason. The defense had given up 29.2 points a game in ’97. And apart from the line, where right tackle Josh Beckett from Santa Margarita High would become the lone addition to the opening lineup, the offense was still under construction.

The quarterback? Smith was a part-time starter a year ago, platooning with Jason Maas, although Smith had the job when the Ducks beat Arizona in the season opener, Washington on the road and Air Force. Now, he only leads the nation in passing efficiency and tops the Pac-10 in total offense and touchdown passes and is second in yards passing.

The 1,000 or so postcards touting him as a Heisman Trophy candidate went out last week.

“I probably can’t do it justice,” Bellotti said when asked to describe Smith’s impact. “I can attempt to. I think he’s a great leader, he’s a very accurate passer, he’s comfortable with the offense and he’s making great decisions. Combine that with his athleticism--he has a strong arm, an accurate arm and he has escapability. He has speed and he can create. I think he’s obviously one of the best quarterbacks playing the game right now. His ranking is No. 1.”

The tailback? Please. The only Division I quality anyone knew Reuben Droughns had for sure before the first Saturday in September was loyalty. He had planned to attend Oregon out of Anaheim High, only to be turned down because of bad grades. So he went to Merced College, starred there, and did not waver from his original choice, landing in Eugene this fall.

Then he rushed for 202 yards against Michigan State, becoming the first Duck to break 200 in his college debut.

He got 214 against Stanford three weeks later, becoming the first Duck to break 200 twice in a season.

And then he got 217, with a school-record 39 carries, last week against Washington State, becoming only the ninth player in Pac-10 history to break 200 three times in the same campaign and the first since Napoleon Kaufman in 1996.

Droughns has six chances left in the regular season to join Marcus Allen and O.J. Simpson to pull off the quad.

“I knew Reuben would be good,” Bellotti said. “I didn’t know how good. And he’s exceeded my expectations. I mean, he’s an amazing back.”

The task of finding a place in history is ahead for all the Ducks. They are 5-0, the only conference team that can make such a claim, but now get the real hunters, UCLA being merely the start. USC comes next, followed by Arizona in Tucson and Washington, before finishing with Arizona State and Oregon State.

The next four opponents are a combined 16-5, with each better than .500. So they’ll pass on the parades in Eugene for another few weeks, just in case.

“Everybody is screaming national championship and Rose Bowl,” Smith said. “For real. We’re just happy to be mentioned like that. We’ve still got six games left and we’re going into the home of the No. 2 team in the country this week, so there’s still a long way to go.”

For the team that has already come so far. Score one for possibilities.

Oregon’s average points per game: 50.6

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Pacific Classic

No. 2 UCLA (4-0) vs. No. 11 Oregon (5-0)

When: Saturday

Time: 12:30 p.m.

TV: Channel 7

Radio: AM 1150