COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT / AROUND THE NATION : Replacing Smith a Concern at Oregon

Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti has been faced with the unenviable task of finding a quarterback to replace Akili Smith, whom the Cincinnati Bengals took with the third pick in the NFL draft.

Smith, leading Oregon to an 8-4 record and a berth in the Aloha Bowl, passed for 3,763 yards and 32 touchdowns. Four of those touchdown tosses came in the Oregon opener as the Ducks buried Michigan State, 48-14, at Eugene, Ore.

Tonight is the 1999 opener for Oregon and Michigan State, this time in Spartan Stadium at East Lansing, Mich. Certainly not the kind of environment Bellotti would have preferred for breaking in a new quarterback.

“That’s the acid test for a lot of our young players, how are they going to respond when the lights go on and people start yelling,” he said.

Bellotti has settled on junior A.J. Feeley to replace Smith at quarterback. But he also wants sophomore Joey Harrington to get playing time.

Feeley passed for 137 yards and one touchdown as a freshman. Last season, he saw mop-up duty in six games and never attempted a pass. Harrington’s lone pass attempt last season was incomplete.

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University of Arkansas sophomore defensive end Carlos Hall pleaded guilty to charges in two Arkansas counties, including an accusation that he stole checks from the university. He drew probation on all charges.

Hall pleaded guilty in Washington County to theft of property after being accused of stealing $220 worth of checks made out to the University of Arkansas. In Pope County, he pleaded guilty to charges related to a July 10 traffic accident in which a woman was injured.

Any decision on Hall’s returning to the team would be made later, the university said.