Steven Patterson's scenery has changed dramatically.

A year ago, the Burley High graduate was staring down opponents such as Minico, Jerome and Wood River.

Now, he's on the opposite sideline of Pete Carroll and the Trojans of Southern California.

When the University of Oregon football team crushed USC last Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., Patterson had the best seat in the house. He's a redshirt freshman for Ducks, who are currently undefeated in the Pac-10 and ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and No. 8 in the BCS standings.

Even though Patterson is redshirting, his family has traveled to almost every Oregon game this season, doing so in a motorhome featuring Oregon's colors and logo.

Times-News writer Ryan Howe caught up with Patterson via telephone for an update on his college football experience.

Times-News: It's a huge jump to go from Burley and the bottom of the Great Basin Conference to Oregon and the top of the Pac-10. How have you adjusted?

Steven Patterson: It's as tough as I thought it was going to be. The games and practices are more intense than I thought they would be. You don't really realize what a big deal it is until you're involved in the whole thing. … The biggest change and difference is the speed of the game. The speed was really hard to get used to.

T-N: What's been the biggest "wow" moment for you?

Patterson: The first time I got to experience a game in Autzen. Everybody told me how it's the loudest stadium in the nation, but the biggest stadium I had been to was Boise State, so I couldn't really picture it. When we went the first time, it was so loud you couldn't even talk to the person next to you. It was a really neat experience. It showed what you've been working for all through fall camp. We have such good fans.

T-N: As a redshirt, how much are you involved with the team?

Patterson: The only difference is we don't travel and don't play in the game, but other than that we practice and do everything else the same. (At home games) we dress in our jerseys, help the team warm up, run out onto the field with the team and stand on the sideline during the game.

T-N: Phil Knight, the co-founder and chairman of Nike, is a huge supporter of Oregon. Have you met him?

Patterson: I've shaken his hand and met him a couple times. He always comes into the locker room after the games. He's a really nice guy, really pleasant, says hi to everybody and always has a smile on his face. He does so much for this program, he's a great guy. It was good to meet him.

T-N: One of the most talked about moments of this college football season was the punch your teammate LeGarrette Blount landed after the Boise State game. Where were you when you saw it, and what did you think when it happened?

Patterson: "It was a last-minute decision that I was going to redshirt, so I didn't know until that week whether I was going to get to travel. But I ended up not travelling with the team, so I had to stay back and watch it on the TV… I was thinking that was not the best way to handle it and not a good way to draw attention to a game like that. Coach took care of it properly and got everything sorted out."

T-N: Your punter is Jackson Rice, the son of Mike Rice who graduated from Twin Falls in 1983. Have you guys talked about the good ol' days back in the Magic Valley?

Patterson: Yeah, Jackson's grandparents live up there and he used to spend his summers there. He's told me about some things he used to do in Twin Falls. It proves it's a small world that he knows where Twin Falls is, his dad is from there, and we end up on the same team.

T-N: What are your goals now?

Patterson: I'm just trying to get in the weight room, get bigger and faster, keep working hard in practice and hopefully get that starting spot next year in spring ball.