Ducks fans cringe thinking about their team’s costly end of game mistakes in recent seasons, like the missed field goals against Stanford in 2012 and USC in 2011. On Saturday in Tucson, Ariz., however, some early blunders put the Ducks in a hole from the start and they never recovered, losing to Arizona 42-16.
The first error involved a mix of Oregon sloppiness and Arizona brilliance. Wide receiver Bralon Addison dropped a Marcus Mariota pass right next to the Arizona sideline on just the second play of the game. But instead of the pass going out of bounds, Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson flew towards the ball, grabbed it with one hand and flung it back into the field of play right into the hands of linebacker Scooby Wright.
“I just wasn’t focused on the ball and it slipped out of my hands,” Addison said after the game. “Any other day, that ball goes out of bounds and it’s 2nd-and-10.”
Nine plays after the interception, Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey found the end zone on a 6-yard run. It would be the first of four touchdowns on a historic day for the junior running back.
The Ducks were stuffed on the first two plays on the ensuing drive, but Mariota found an open De’Anthony Thomas streaking down the middle of the field. The pass was perfect, but the catch was botched. A first down and a prolonged drive were squandered.
Arizona scored another touchdown on the subsequent drive, a pass from quarterback B.J. Denker to receiver Nate Phillips. Suddenly, the Ducks trailed 14-0.
Josh Huff said he didn’t think the early dropped passes — both within the first five minutes of the game — affected the outcome too much. Rather, the Ducks had a myriad of mistakes that the Wildcats took advantage of.
“We were just poor with our execution and they were able to capitalize on that,” Huff said.
A touchdown run by Mariota on the drive following Phillips’ TD was called back after a holding penalty by Pharaoh Brown. The Ducks had to settle for a field goal, and Arizona capitalized yet again by scoring a touchdown on the next drive. The score was 21-3, a hole so deep the Ducks could never climb out.
“It’s part of the game,” Mariota said of the early mistakes. “You can’t get frustrated with your teammates.”
Perhaps the final blow to the Ducks’ chances came on a 4th-and-2 on the Arizona 6-yard line five minutes into the second half. Mariota threw a fade pass into the left corner of the end zone that sailed over the head of Keanon Lowe. The score was 28-9 at the time and Oregon’s deficit would never get smaller.
The Ducks had a decent day statistically. Mariota threw for 308 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 27-of-41 passing (65.8 completion percentage). De’Anthony Thomas also had 157 total yards (83 rushing, 74 receiving). The Ducks actually outgained the Wildcats 506-482 in total yardage, but Arizona won the turnover battle 3-0 and finished drives on offense like Oregon normally does.
“If we would’ve held onto the ball and finished [drives] off like we know we can, it would’ve been a different game,” Huff said.
In the end, the Ducks had far too many mistakes and Arizona often answered them with six points of the scoreboard. The early drops, the costly penalties (Oregon had eight compared to two from Arizona) and the failure to consistently score touchdowns in the red zone accumulated into the 26-point drubbing at Arizona Stadium.
After the game, head coach Mark Helfrich was asked if the defeat changes his team’s identity.
“No,” Helfrich said. “We got beat today.”
Noteworthy:
– Wright’s interception on the first play from scrimmage snapped Marcus Mariota’s interception-less streak at 353 pass attempts, a Pac-12 record. The last time Mariota threw a pick was Nov. 17, 2012 against Stanford. Mariota’s last pass on Saturday was also an interception.
– Ka’Deem Carey broke all-time Arizona rushing record and set all-time record for touchdowns on Saturday. He now has 3913 career rushing yards 49 total career TDs (45 rushing and four receiving). On Saturday, he rushed for 206 yards on 48 carries (4.3 yards per attempt) to go along with his four touchdowns.
– B.J. Denker threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-22 passing (86.3 completion percentage). He also rushed for 102 yards on 14 carries.
– Arizona rushed for 304 yards on Oregon, the most the Ducks have given up on the ground all season.
– This is Oregon’s largest loss since Oct. 4, 2008 when USC beat the Ducks 44-10.
– Oregon’s 28-9 halftime deficit was its largest since Sept. 11, 2004 when Indiana had a 23-0 lead through two quarters.
– This is the first time since 2006 that Oregon has trailed by at least 26 points in two games during a single season.
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415