Mike Riley left the door open for the Ducks with a fatal error of clock management. They scored too quickly on the fly sweep with the ball and a chance to run out the clock for a last-second field goal. 1st and ten at the Oregon 25 trailing 30-29 with 1:44 to go, with a running game Oregon hadn’t stopped all game, many coaches would have pounded it off tackle, ground out one or two more first downs, and set up a chip shot for the win (Huffington Post, AP photo).
Instead, the Beavers scored in one play, a 25-yard carry by receiver Victor Bolden, into the same end zone and on the very same play that James Rodgers scampered for a score in 2007. The quick td gave the Ducks a crucial window of opportunity, and Huff, Mariota and company capitalized on the last-gasp chance.
Until that 8-play, 83-yard touchdown drive with just 1:38 to play, the game looked to be a bitter referendum on a disappointing season, with turnovers, missed chances, disorganization and a porous and ineffective defense. The win salves the concerns but doesn’t eliminate them.
So much of what OSU does is so blasted familiar, but the Ducks had trouble stopping any of it. The visitors kept the ball for 35 minutes and racked up 545 yards. Three turnovers, and three turnovers on downs by the Beavers, two drives that ended in field goals, coupled with three clutch drives by Mariota and the Oregon offense in the final quarter and a half added up to a win.
After the game Mark Helfrich announced to the media that Erick Dargan and Troy Hill had been suspended for the game for a violation of team rules. They were missed in Oregon’s nickle package, but the coaches are to be commended for enforcing discipline over expediency.
In their absence, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was a warrior tonight. He had 12 tackles, all solo, intercepted a first quarter pass, and broke up three others. He hurdled a blocker to drive Terron Ward out of bounds at the Oregon four, just shy of a first down, then Ward slipped in the backfield on fourth and one on the next play. It was a game-saving tackle. Huff, Ifo and Mariota willed this team to a win today. It was not a triumph of preparation and coaching.
The win tonight was a relief, but there’s lots to work on, coaching, run defense, ball security, execution, scheme, focus. It was a great win, a gutty, never-give-up moment for a team in an embattled and sometimes disappointing season, but the Oregon coaches need to have a summit in February after National Signing Day, a three-day retreat to reevaluate EVERYTHING. This team has regressed badly, struggled defensively, suffered from too many self-inflicted wounds. They limped and faltered in November. They’ve been unable to adjust. They’ve looked unprepared, disorganized, and sometimes disinterested. The conference is getting tougher. They won’t sustain success without a renewed commitment to innovation, discipline, and a strong finish in recruiting, particularly at linebacker, offensive line and defensive tackle.
One major area of improvement: in a physical game, the Ducks had just 6 penalties for 40 yards. They were foutunate to recover a couple of their own fumbles, and got a big break when Brandin Cooks fumbled through the end zone on a catch inside the five just before half, a gift they gave back a few plays later when Mariota was picked off for the second time.
Thomas Tyner had his breakout game as the Webfoots resurrected their running attack, carrying the ball 22 times for 140 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown and a 40 yard run that set up the Ducks first score, a five-yard scamper by De’Anthony Thomas, who contributed 15 carries for 88 yards. Curiously, Oregon backs didn’t catch a pass in the game.
Marcus Mariota had a Joey Harrington type of game in every respect. He missed Pharaoh Brown wide open for a touchdown, missed Tyner wide open on a swing pass, had Brown drop an easy third down catch on third down deep in the fourth quarter. He looked erratic and out of synch for a quarter and a half, then put together three great drives to win, the last in the final 1:38, 83 yards for a score trailing 35-30. It was the first late-game, come-from-behind drive of his career, a defining moment. On the clinching possession he connected on 5-7 passes to four different receivers, for 23, 19, 17, 5 and then the 12-yard td pass to Huff for the score. In the third quarter he juked a Beaver defender with a clear shot at him on a scramble, keeping a drive alive with a 21-yard run on 3rd and 7, hitting Huff on a 28-yard floater behind the coverage two plays later to make the score 24-20.
Coaches Helfrich and Frost had Duck fans swearing at their television earlier in the game with head-scratching play calling, but in the fourth quarter they crossed the Beavers up twice with gutsy calls. Trailing 29-24, first Thomas Tyner blasted for 24 yards on 3rd and 13 from the Beaver 35. Then on 4th and 11 from the 12, Oregon went for it, and Mariota threaded a strike to Huff inside the right pylon for the td, making it 30-29 Ducks with 7:56 to play.
Oregon has won 10 or more games six seasons in a row, 10 regular season games five seasons in a row. They are the only team in the country to do that. They have the opportunity to finish in the Top Ten for the fourth straight year. After the game Mariota told reporters, “10-2 is better than 9-3.”
11-2 is better still.
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