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After losing QB Roper, Oregon hosts Boise State

Sep 20, 2008 - 10:08 AM Boise St (2-0) at No. 12 Oregon (3-0), 3:30 pm EDT

EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- After barely escaping with a win in its trip to Big Ten country, Oregon is happy to be back home in the friendly environs of the Pacific Northwest.

The 12th-ranked Ducks host Boise State on Saturday in their final non-conference contest.

Oregon (3-0) rallied for a 32-26 overtime victory at Purdue last week but lost quarterback Justin Roper, who suffered a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee late in the game. He is expected to be sidelined two to four weeks.

Coach Mike Bellotti has not name a starter for this week's game. Both sophomore transfer Jeremiah Masoli and true freshman Chris Harper played in Oregon's first two games.

Harper, the Ducks' third-leading rusher this season, engineered the winning drive in overtime last week. He has rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns while completing 4-of-6 passes for 40 yards and one score.

Masoli, who led City College of San Francisco to the state junior college championship last fall, has completed 16-of-28 passes for 193 yards and two TDs.

"Both have strong attributes and bring different strengths to the table," Bellotti said. "We can capitalize on their assets."

Boise State's winning percentage of .843 this decade is the best of any team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Chris Peterson, a former receivers coach at Oregon, has guided the Broncos to a 25-3 record in his two-plus seasons.

Boise State improved to 2-0 last week with a 20-7 victory over Bowling Green. The Broncos opened with a 49-7 romp of Idaho State of the Football Championship Subdivision.

"I always felt that Chris possessed the kind of skills to be a very successful head coach," Bellotti added. "He is very creative and took on a role as a mad scientist as he tried to always develop new schemes."