Oregon has taken great pride in becoming routine bowlers, reaching bowl games seven times in the 1990s -- a mark exceeded in the Pac-10 only by Washington's eight. Amazingly, the Ducks have been to seven different bowls in that time, adding the trip to the Sun Bowl this season to go with previous trips to the now-defunct Freedom, Independence, Rose, Cotton, Las Vegas and Aloha.

	Related Links: Minnesota bowl report Oregon season results Oregon bowl history Sun Bowl coverage Sun Bowl results Bowl matchups Forum: Are the Ducks the best Pac-10 bowl team?
	T O P   N E W S

The problems start once the Ducks arrive at their proscribed bowl site, no matter where it is. Fact is, they usually lose.

Oregon is 1-5 in bowl games in the decade, with the only victory coming over an overmatched Air Force team in the 1997 Las Vegas Bowl.

Coach Mike Bellotti's Ducks have been nothing less than powerhouses in November stretches to finish high in the Pac-10 standings. Maybe it's that time off before the bowl practices that costs them their edge. Or maybe it has been facing ranked teams like Colorado (twice) and Penn State in three of their past four postseason games.

So consider that the subplot as Oregon takes on 12th-ranked Minnesota in the Sun Bowl, a matchup of teams that appear evenly matched, each bringing in 8-3 records, and each coming in on a roll. The Ducks have won five in a row and Minnesota its last three games.

There are differences -- Oregon is the vastly superior passing team while Minnesota finds its success with a rugged rushing attack and defense -- but most of those numbers appear to be mostly a function of the differences in the team's styles and their conferences.

Although Oregon is viewed as an offensive powerhouse, the Ducks held their last four opponents to fewer than 20 points, and didn't score more than 25 in three of those contests … which suggests they won defensive struggles.

Minnesota gave up 20 or more points in each of its last four games, and scored 25 or better in three of those games.

Oregon finished third in the Pac-10 in rushing defense, allowing only 125.6 yards per game (Minnesota allowed 138.6), but figures to have its hands full with a UM offense that averaged at 239.1 yards a game (11th best in the country). Minnesota's Thomas Hamner was second in the Big Ten in rushing behind Ron Dayne with 1,362 yards.

The most intriguing question about this bowl game, however, is how Oregon's passing offense fares against Minnesota's secondary. The Gophers were eighth in the nation in pass-efficiency defense, allowing teams to complete only 48.6 percent of passes. Oregon was 19th in the nation in passing, throwing for 266.4 yards per game while completing 53 percent.

Oregon is far from merely a passing-only team, though, especially if Reuben Droughns is 100 percent, as he figures to be for one of the few times all season.

Minnesota hardly played a steady slate of teams that can throw the ball and lost to the best passing team it played -- Purdue -- 33-28. A lot of Minnesota's glossy defensive numbers can be traced to the team's laughable non-conference schedule of Ohio, Louisiana-Monroe and Illinois State.

Oregon, meanwhile, threw for 371 yards in a loss at Michigan State in what was the first start for QB A.J. Feeley and before Droughns was running well.

Minnesota is favored to win, perhaps in large part due to the perception that the Big Ten is so much better than the Pac-10 this season. With Stanford a huge underdog in the Rose Bowl, Oregon can help salvage some respect for its conference … and its own bowl tradition.

The Personnel File

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Droughns might have been the best running back in the Pac-10 when healthy, averaging better than 150 yards in Oregon's last five games. He was also the biggest workhorse in the Pac-10, carrying 45 times for 202 yards against Arizona, and rushing 38 times against Arizona State.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Safety Michael Fletcher was among the most feared players in the conference -- his hits ended the season for quarterbacks Carson Palmer of USC and Kyle Boller of Cal. But Fletcher was more than just big hits; he was also a reliable pass defender and an overall team leader. Fletcher finished with 60 tackles. Senior linebacker Peter Sirmon is a close second for this award after making a team-high 93 tackles and earning all-league honors, as Fletcher did.

COACH UPDATE: Bellotti is 38-20 in five years at Oregon and is as secure as he wants to be in Eugene. His success could make him a candidate elsewhere, but his situation is good at Oregon, which has built new facilities in recent years that are the envy of most of the Pac-10. Bellotti's contract includes a provision that gives him money for every season ticket sold, which means he will be in for a heavy raise when Autzen Stadium expands in the 2002 season.

STRENGTHS: Oregon ranked near the top of the Pac-10 in every offensive statistical category and has few real concerns on that side of the ball. Oregon's main offensive problems were injuries to Droughns and on the offensive line, which rarely started the same five players from game-to-game. Neither of those should be a problem against Minnesota. Oregon was also one of the better run-defending teams in the Pac-10, ranking third in the conference and allowing only 125.6 yards per game, although the Ducks were run over by Washington in a key loss to the Huskies in early October.

CONCERNS: Oregon's biggest offensive weakness is third-down conversions (the Ducks ranked only eighth in the conference at 36.4 percent). They are good against the run but not as good against the pass, ranking ninth in the Pac-10, allowing 258.3 yards per game -- and the Ducks didn't have to play Stanford, the best passing team in the conference.

Luckily for the Ducks, Minnesota is a run-first team.

JOINER KICKED OFF TEAM: Former starting cornerback Tamoni Joiner has been kicked off the team for a repeated violation of team rules, Bellotti said. Joiner, who started five of the first six games of the season, had been suspended twice for team rules violations, missing four games in the process, before being reinstated before the Oregon State game. He had taken part in the first two weeks of practice before the Sun Bowl before the latest transgression.

A GREAT MATCHUP: They won't necessarily be one-on-one with each other, but this game does feature a matchup of one of the best receivers in the nation in Tony Hartley against one of the best safeties in the nation in Minnesota's Tyrone Carter. Carter may actually match up more against RB Reuben Droughns, as he is a terrific run stopper. Carter is also a instinctive blitzer, so quarterbacks Joey Harrington and A.J. Feeley will have to be very aware of him.

Noteworthy

DUCKS LOOK AT NEW TURF: The Ducks are toying with the idea of replacing their current artificial turf with the new FieldTurf, a grass-like surface that was tested at Nebraska to rave reviews this season. Oregon likely wouldn't do anything until the 2001 season, but the Ducks have proven to be at the forefront of many college football innovations and might jump at this.

A Look Ahead

Here's a glance at who the Ducks will have to replace in the starting lineup next season.

OFFENSE: 5 -- OL Josh Beckett, Deke Moen and Scott Fergus, RB Reuben Droughns, WR Tony Hartley. The line was such an injury-riddled mess this season that a lot of players got playing time, which should ease the blow of losing the three seniors. Droughns and Hartley -- two of the best players at their positions in the Pac-10 -- will be harder to replace, though the Ducks always seem to come up with answers at the skill positions.

DEFENSE: 7 -- DE Saul Patu, DT Caleb Smith, LB Peter Sirmon, OLB Dietrich Moore, Rover Michael Fletcher, FS Brandon McLemore, CB Justin Wilcox. Fletcher and Sirmon were all Pac-10 picks and the heart and soul of a defense that turned out to be better than anticipated. They will be the hardest to replace. Oregon should get CB Rashad Bauman, who missed all of this year with a knee injury, back for next season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: 1 -- PK Nathan Villegas will be gone, although the Ducks had to make do without him for much of the 1999, anyway.