College Football | Oregon QB Dixon will be out for season
Dennis Dixon will have surgery on the left knee that buckled early in second-ranked Oregon’s upset loss to Arizona, spoiling his chance to win the Heisman Trophy.
The senior quarterback tore his anterior cruciate ligament during Oregon’s Nov. 3 victory over Arizona State, according to Ducks coach Mike Bellotti, but he had rested it and felt as if he was ready to play Thursday night against Arizona.
Dixon will miss the rest of the season, school officials said.
“He’s a little bit despondent, because he obviously wanted to continue to play,” Bellotti said.
Dixon was among the front-runners for the Heisman after he put the Ducks in line for the national title. Oregon had started the season unranked, and was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-10.
Drawing comparisons to former Texas standout Vince Young, Dixon completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,136 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He ran for 583 yards and nine scores.
Thursday night’s 34-24 loss to unranked Arizona knocked the Ducks (8-2 overall, 5-2 Pac-10) out of the national-title picture. Dixon’s left knee crumbled as he tried to plant on an option carry with about five minutes to go in the first quarter against Arizona.
His recovery after surgery will take about six months, team physician Bob Crist said. The date for the surgery wasn’t set.
Dixon was not available for comment.
While Dixon knew the extent of the injury he suffered against Arizona State, he felt he could continue to play.
“He asked us, on behalf of himself and his family, to keep that quiet,” Bellotti said in a conference call with reporters Friday.
It was Dixon’s intention to delay the surgery until after the season, the coach said.
“While he certainly had some personal goals at stake, anyone who is familiar with Dennis knows that any decisions he made were purely in the interest of his teammates and not motivated by any personal gains,” Bellotti said.
Top 25 game
No. 13 Hawaii 28,
at Nevada 26
Dan Kelly kicked a 45-yard field goal with 11.7 seconds left as the Warriors (10-0 overall, 7-0 Western Athletic Conference) edged the Wolf Pack (5-5, 3-3).
Hawaii’s Tyler Graunke, playing in place of standout quarterback Colt Brennan, passed for 358 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third.
The Warriors end their regular season with home games against Boise State on Friday and against Washington on Dec. 1.
Notes
• No. 7 Ohio State seeks to beat No. 23 Michigan for the fourth time in a row today. The teams meet for the outright Big Ten Conference title in Ann Arbor, Mich.
• No. 15 Clemson hosts No. 18 Boston College, with the winner taking the Atlantic Division title in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Yale hosts Harvard in a matchup of teams with 6-0 records in Ivy League play.
The last time they were each unbeaten in league play entering “The Game” was 1968, when Harvard rallied from 16 points down in the final 42 seconds to earn a tie.
• Virginia tailback Cedric Peerman will miss the remainder of the season because of a foot injury.
• An off-campus bonfire Texas A&M students light before the annual game against rival Texas was postponed this weekend because of drought conditions and a ban on outdoor burning. The bonfire was planned for today. The Robertson County Commissioner’s Court might re-evaluate the burn ban Monday.