Closer Look

Morris' run could lead Oregon to its first national title

Maurice Morris (right) is congratulated by a teammate after his 49-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Jeff Gross/Getty Images

By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

PHOENIX -- The funny thing about maybe the biggest play in Oregon's football history is that the man who pulled it off doesn't even remember it. Not all of it, anyway.

Oh, Maurice Morris remembers running all right. And he remembers the fact that he never went down. He knows he never heard a whistle. Surely he remembers his final steps into the end zone.

But there were some things in between -- little things, like leaping a would-be tackler -- that never really registered.

It's OK, though. Really. With a little help from Nebraska on Thursday in the Rose Bowl, Morris' run could be forever remembered in the rest of Duckdom as the play that helped Oregon to its first national title.

"Unreal," said his running back partner, Oneterrio Smith. "I told him, I'm going to go buy you a diary and write in there 'January 1, 2002, Fiesta Bowl. Forty-nine yards.'"

The run that pretty much salted away the Ducks' 38-16 win over Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday night was as unlikely a big play as anyone could imagine in a big game like this.

It started with a little run inside the left tackle, picked up steam as Morris beat a defender to the corner and culminated not in the end zone, but in a collision 10 or 15 yards away.

"He's a no give-up guy," Oregon offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford said of Morris. "He churns for every yard he can get. That run ... that was the one that broke their back."

Oregon was up 21-7 at the time, but it still was way too early to crown them the Fiesta Bowl kings. The third quarter had just started -- the teams were just five plays into it -- when quarterback Joey Harrington walked up to the line with the ball at the Colorado 49.

Back up one play: The Ducks had just completed a critical third-and-five when Harrington, the game's MVP, zipped a pass to tight end Justin Peelle on the right sideline. Peelle rumbled down the field for 21 yards.

Then came the handoff to Morris, who burst past the line, then pulled off a sharp left to the sideline. He beat cornerback Roderick Sneed to the corner and turned up the left sideline.

That's when things got kind of blurry for Morris. Somewhere inside the 20, Colorado safety Medford Moorer came barreling toward Morris and tried to take him out at the ankles. But Morris jumped him, already looking ahead down the sideline to his next challenge. Almost as soon as Morris landed, he spun into linebacker Joey Johnson, who put his head down and seemed sure to wrap up Morris.

But Johnson got too far under Morris, and when Morris started to go down -- his back on Johnson's -- Johnson ended up between Morris and the turf.

Morris kept his legs moving, got up, turned the run inside and outran a couple defenders to the end zone.

Touchdown. A 28-7 lead. And the Ducks were on their way.

"I saw a bunch of guys stop chasing him," fumed Vince Okruch, one of Colorado's two defensive coordinators. "That is totally unacceptable. That play, in itself, broke our back."

Morris' run actually hurt Colorado for a couple reasons. It not only gave the Ducks a three-touchdown lead, it forced Colorado out of its much bragged-about running game in an effort to catch up. The Buffaloes, who ran for only 61 yards in the first half, actually lost 12 yards running in the second half. They ended up with 49 running yards -- a whopping 179 yards below their average.

"It just gave us a lot of momentum," Morris said on the field after the game. "Hopefully, now, Nebraska does us a favor."

Morris and the Ducks already did their part.

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