by DSH columnist Brian Mahuna
This game was like a repeat of the Duck’s come from behind win against Arizona in 2009. During that game I was with one of my best friends and we were going nuts. Screaming at the TV at plays like an 87 yard screen pass from Foles to Juron Criner for a TD. A lot of that game was familiar tonight. 3rd and Long late in the game in 2009, LaMichael runs for 14.. Flash forward, 3rd and Long and Tyner explodes for a huge first down. The Ducks got a big lift from a single corner in both games, Talmadge Jackson III in 2009, and Ifo Ekpre Olomu tonight. A star WR for the Ducks made some outstanding plays, Jeff Maehl in 2009, Josh Huff tonight. And Number 8 throws the game winner after sustaining a knee injury earlier in the season, facing criticism from fans, and then following through with a gutty game winning/tying drive. Masoli in 2009 and Mariota tonight.
Gut-check grab: like Josh Huff tonight, Ed Dickson made a clutch td catch in the closing seconds to spark the Ducks to a come-from-behind win against Arizona in 2009, stretching over two defenders in traffic. (Christian Peterson, Getty Images photo).
Let’s give credit to this Beaver Squad. They were ready. They played great. They are a much better team than most give them credit for with arguably the best WR in the country. Listen as crazy as this sounds, Alliotti’s game plan was pretty sound. They put as many dudes as needed on Cooks. Had they left him one on one to stop the run, we might have gotten blown out. Mannion had a lot of time to throw. Ifo is an amazing DB but giving Cooks that much time to get open, and Leon Sandcastle would have a rough time locking him up.
Obviously there were things that made me want to stab my couch in anger. But at the end of the day.. We won. And we won in dramatic fashion. Not every game is going to be a blow out. Especially in a rivalry as storied as this one. It probably stands as one of the greatest in the history of the 117 game series.
Luckily for the Ducks, they have weeks to heal, prepare, address mistakes, and get better before their bowl game. This conference is legitimate. If anyone has any doubts about that, well, they’re probably from the South East or have issue articulating complete sentences, or both.. Just look at what has happened in the past 5 weeks. Stanford loses to USC. Arizona State beats UCLA who beat Washington who beat Oregon State who beat Utah who beat Stanford who beat Oregon………..
Should I keep going? Or do you understand the point?
There is a certain magic about this game that defies the laws commonly held in most science text books and mathematics. How can one describe the fact that Washington puts up 500+ rushing yards on Oregon State while giving up only 106. Then the next week Oregon State runs for 231 yards on Oregon who only gave up 194 to Washington with the first or second best Running Back in the Nation taking the carries? It’s beyond understanding that is for sure. The Ducks played so well for the first 8 games of the season. They looked the part. They passed the ‘Eye Test’ and in the past four weeks they look painfully average. Vulnerable even. It’s tough to explain and even tougher to comprehend. But the result is always the same, win or lose, Go Ducks.
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