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Oregon begins post-Dixon era against Washington

Aug 30, 2008 - 10:11 AM Washington at No. 20 Oregon, 10:00 pm EDT

EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- Nine games into last season, Oregon had visions of playing for the national championship, having climbed to No. 2 in the BCS rankings.

But those hopes came crashing down when quarterback Dennis Dixon, a Heisman Trophy candidate, suffered a season-ending knee injury at Arizona.

Sophomore Justin Roper will be behind center Saturday, when the 20th-ranked Ducks host Washington in the Pac-10 Conference opener for both teams.

Nate Costa, another sophomore, had been projected as the starter, but he re-injured his surgically repaired left knee during a non-contact drill in practice last week and is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks. He will need surgery to repair damaged cartilage.

Without Dixon, Oregon lost its final three regular-season games before defeating South Florida, 56-21, in the Sun Bowl to salvage a 9-4 season. It was the Ducks' first bowl victory since 2001.

Making his first career start as a redshirt freshman, Roper showed promise for the future by throwing four touchdown passes against the Bulls.

Roper will be backed up Saturday by Jeremiah Masoli, a sophomore transfer, who led City College of San Francisco to the junior college national title game last year.

While the quarterbacks on Oregon's roster have a combined one career start, the Ducks also have to replace Jonathan Stewart, who ran for 253 yards against South Florida, setting a career high and Sun Bowl record. Stewart led the Pac-10 in rushing last season with 1,722 yards.

But at least Oregon coach Mike Bellotti's job is safe, which is not the case for Washington's Tyrone Willingham, who has come under intense criticism after managing just an 11-25 record in his first three seasons with the Huskies, including a 6-20 mark in conference play.

Willingham is the first coach in Washington history to have three straight losing seasons.

Washington is high on sophomore quarterback Jake Locker, whose performance may dictate Willingham's future at the school.

Locker, who already is attracting NFL scouts, was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year after throwing and rushing for a combined 27 touchdowns and 3,048 yards. He also set a league record for rushing yards for a quarterback with 986.

But Washington's Achilles heel was a porous defense that yielded a school-record 446.4 yards and 31.6 points per game.

In last season's 55-34 loss to Oregon, the Huskies surrendered 661 yards while allowing the Ducks to rush for a school-record 465 yards.