Dennis Dixon is Oregon's top playmaker and a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy. But Dixon, who will lead the second-ranked Ducks into Tucson on Thursday night, is not willing to buy the Heisman hype just yet.

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Dennis Dixon is a strong contender for the Heisman Trophy, a product of his team being ranked No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series poll and him thrilling national audiences against Michigan, Cal, USC and Arizona State.

Just do not tell the Oregon quarterback that.

"My motto is to never get too up," he said, "and never get too down."

Ten days ago, he should have added, "or down for long."

Dixon was hit in the fourth quarter against ASU, straining his left knee and bruising his thigh. He jumped up, determined not to be viewed as his team's latest skill-position player lost to injury. If every Oregon fan in the country gasped, it was only for a few seconds.

"I just wanted to let everybody know, by me getting up, that I was going to be OK," he said.

Dixon means that much to his team, which can build to its title case Thursday at Arizona Stadium.

"He's gotten to this point by playing great football in a very exciting innovative offense that he makes go," coach Mike Bellotti said. "He's performed on a national stage very well. He's doing all the things necessary of a Heisman candidate.

"He's winning football games; he's leading his team; he's a captain; he's a playmaker; he distributes the football."

It was not always that way. Bellotti was annoyed with his quarterback this summer when Dixon played minor-league baseball instead of staying in Eugene, Ore., to train. Dixon said, like any college student, he was looking at job prospects.

"He's been one of the prime catalysts in our resurgence this year," Bellotti said. "He had to earn this because he didn't have as much notoriety coming into the season as maybe some others. I think he's just outperformed people. I think that's to his credit. He's deserving of any accolades or any awards or rewards that he receives."

Dixon, who grew up admiring Randall Cunningham, has been dominant. He led the Ducks to three nonconference wins by a combined 84 points.

Oregon lost to Cal in part because of a last-minute fumble just short of the Cal goal line but has otherwise crushed conference opponents. In their five Pac-10 wins, the Ducks have outscored opponents by 110 points.

Dixon has averaged 230.4 passing yards and 61 rushing yards per game. He has thrown only three interceptions and is fourth in the nation with a passer rating of 163.1.

"Any time a quarterback's got his hands on the ball, it's tough to account for," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "He neutralizes numbers in a lot of ways when he pulls the ball down and scrambles."

If the Ducks seem to shrink from the hype, it is because they have been there before.

In 2001, the team was left out of the Rose Bowl — that year's de facto national title game — despite going 10-1. That year, quarterback Joey Harrington finished fourth in Heisman voting despite the school buying advertising space on a 10-story billboard outside Madison Square Garden for $250,000.

"I don't even remember 2001, to be honest with you," Bellotti said sarcastically.

If the Ducks miss out on this year's title game, they would likely land in the Rose Bowl against the Big Ten champion. Bellotti was asked last week whether the Rose Bowl was relegated to a consolation prize.

"We grew up with the Rose Bowl," he said. "Still, as coaches, we're excited about any opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl. If you get the opportunity to go to the national championship, that's obviously a different thing."

Dixon, declaring himself healthy, stressed that Oregon has to win three more games first.

"The attitude of the team is taking it one game at a time," Dixon said. "The only game that's important to us is playing against Arizona."