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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Harrington gives Oregon a reason to Fiesta
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Joey Harrington's last walk from the Oregon huddle -- where he created so many storybook moments -- was uneventful. There was no standing ovation. There was no salute to the Duck faithful. No boisterous motions made to the dozens of cameras watching his every movement.
|  | | Now that he's dismantled Colorado, Joey Harrington will root for Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. |
There was no need. With 3:38 left in the Fiesta Bowl and a 38-10 lead, he didn't have to prove anything more on the field. Though a 10-1 record and a gaudy billboard in New York City didn't win help him win the Heisman Trophy in his senior season, Harrington certainly played like the best college football player in the nation while leading Oregon to a 38-16 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes on a gorgeous New Year's Day in front of 74,118 fans at Sun Devil Stadium.
"What a great way to go out," said the Pacific-10's Offensive Player of the Year and Heisman finalist. "We were excellent tonight."
The Ducks were excellent, to be sure, but as always, their signal-caller was their brightest star.
Whether by way of his strong right arm being maxed out on deep bombs to Samie Parker, hitting his tight end while rolling right in pure Brett Favre-like fashion, or finding his speedy wideouts on a multitude of quick outs, Harrington didn't leave anything in the bag.
Even his wobbly, ugly-as-sin, left-footed pooch punt in the first half aided his Ducks.
Throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns on 28-for-42 passing, Harrington kept Colorado's defense off balance all night. The Buffs threw a multitude of looks at him, including several blitzes, zone looks and line stunts, but the Portland native stood tall in the pocket and calmly picked apart his prey.
"He just made a lot of great decisions tonight," said Colorado free safety Robbie Robinson. "We didn't play really well and we made a lot of mistakes. We were crossed up and out of position a lot of times, and he found those. He exploited those. He's undoubtedly the best quarterback that we've ever faced, or that I've ever faced."
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We were crossed up and out of position a lot of times, and he (Harrington) found those. He exploited those. He's undoubtedly the best quarterback that we've ever faced, or that I've ever faced. ” |
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— Colorado FS Robbie Robinson |
One of the aspects of Oregon's vaunted offensive arsenal that hasn't always been included in the game plan is the Harrington-to-Parker combination. Undoubtedly the fastest player on the Ducks, the sophomore wideout is counted on to stretch opposing defenses. Though he had his moments throughout the 2001 campaign, the two never hooked up in the fashion that they did tonight.
"Usually," said Parker, who caught nine balls for 162 yards and a TD, "we have complications -- he'll be throwing it too far or too short -- but today in the 15th week of the season we got that connection down."
And it helped to put Colorado in an early 21-7 hole, as Parker already had six catches for 145 yards at halftime. Most of that came via a picture-perfect 79-yard TD strike on a deep post pattern in the second quarter that resembled Montana-to-Rice, which now is the longest scoring play in Oregon bowl history.
"He was feelin' it," said Parker. "He was in a groove. He put the balls in the spots we needed to make plays."
Besides a few long balls to Parker, Harrington did a lot of damage by hurling strikes to his wide receivers off of quick, two-step drops that surprised Colorado's corners who were at times giving their men up to 10 yards of breathing room. Getting the ball across the field so quickly gave his receivers room to make maneuvers and those dreaded yards-after-catch that drives defensive coaches crazy.
"The thing that you don't get off of videotape is that he's got tremendous velocity on the ball," said Colorado co-defensive coordinator Vince Okruch. "He does not need a very large window to get the ball in there."
Even when Colorado brought the house and gave him no options, he showed his experience.
|  | | Samie Parker's 79-yard TD catch gave Oregon a lead it wouldn't relinquish. |
"They brought a lot of pressure, brought the corners, brought the 'backers," said Harrington. "We just had protections where in order to pick those up, we had to sight-adjust with our receivers, and they did a great job of seeing them."
When they didn't see them, he had the smarts to throw the ball to the sideline and not force any passes into double coverage.
"There were a couple of times tonight when we got him in a bad situation, and he threw the ball away," said Okruch. "And one was on a third-and-3. He just threw it into the bench and said, 'OK, we'll punt it and come up and score the next time.'"
And they did throughout the game. The 38 points Oregon scored were the most allowed by the Buffs all year. Even when they intercepted Harrington on a crossing route, it wasn't because of anything he did, said his top pass-catcher.
"That pick wasn't even his fault," said Howry on Robinson's second-quarter interception. "When I turned around, the sun hit me in the face and I didn't even see the ball."
That was all he gave to Colorado on this night. The same defense that confused Eric Crouch for most of the game in their 62-36 drubbing of the Huskers on Nov. 23 and sent Chris Simms to the sideline after one half of football in the Big 12 Championship simply had no luck.
"He really showed himself as a player today," said Colorado cornerback Roderick Sneed, who said Harrington and Fresno State's David Carr tie as the best quarterbacks he has faced. "He just made plays."
After Harrington hugged what seemed like half of Oregon's contingent -- his dozens of family members, friends and teammates -- he finally let out three huge sighs at the postgame press conference. He then admitted that he hardly slept the night before due to nerves.
But he had no reason to be nervous in the Valley of the Sun. After attaining the early 14-point cushion, the Ducks stepped on the pedal and pushed it to 38-7 at one point. Harrington may not have needed to morph into Captain Comeback as he did time and time again, but this win was impressive just the same.
"Not only was it the biggest win," said the Fiesta Bowl's Offensive Player of the Game, "but it was on the biggest stage and in an emphatic manner."
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online. He can be reached at marc.connolly@abc.com.
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Joey Harrington goes deep over the middle to Samie Parker for a 79-yard touchdown (Courtesy: ABC Sports).
The nation's newest Nebraska fan Joey Harrington plans on keeping a watchful eye on Thursday's Rose Bowl