Oregon-Arizona: Ducks Looks to Keep Rolling in the Desert

When Dennis Dixon and the Ducks go into Arizona on Thursday night, there will be one pressing question—can Arizona pull off an upset against No.2 Oregon?

No they will not, because with the way  Dixon has been playing this season, he will be a prominent weapon for the Ducks on offense.

Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said after practice this week, "I think there were a few more kids speaking up in practice, exhorting others to give great effort or to pay more attention. I like that. Given where we're at, obviously you would like to see that."

The Ducks have a good reason to be fired up! On Thursday night at Arizona, the Oregon Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) open a three game stretch that could lead them to the BCS Title. When the Wildcats come out they will be looking to sack and stop #10 and stop Oregon's high powered offense.

The Ducks were off last weekend after defeating USC and Arizona State on consecutive Saturdays.

"I feel great," Dixon said. "The off week was a great week for everybody to get healthy."

The nationally televised game in Tucson could provide a showcase for Dixon's Heisman campaign. In a year were no one has control of the race, Dixon has shown a combination of accurate passing and great running to emerge as a top contender. The senior ranks fourth nationally in passing accuracy.  He has 20 touchdown passes and only three interceptions and he ran for a score in Oregon's first eight games.

But Dixon isn't the Ducks only weapon on offense. Tailback Jonathan Stewart averages 126.9 yards rushing per game and ranks ninth in the country. The Ducks average 42.8 and 510.5 yards, both fifth in the country.

"Everything just goes through those two guys," Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. "They have a lot of weapons offensively that spread you out."

Picked to finish 6th in the Pac 10 by media assigned to the conference, the Ducks have responded to a late September loss to California by winning four straight games. That is a dramatic change from a year ago, when they finished the year 7-6 after losing to Cal.

"We started off (2006) real good and we had high hopes and we started looking ahead," Dixon said. "This team is totally different."

The only question that remains is can Oregon come into Tucson and beat the Wildcats at home?