OREGON 7/0/7/14 - 28
MICHIGAN ST 7/7/10/7 - 31
EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN - Despite playing with a broken index finger on his throwing hand, Vernon Adams Jr. nearly stole a victory on the road against the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans. The transfer quarterback threw two first-half interceptions, but bounced back by finishing with 309 passing yards and two touchdown: one in the air and one on the ground. Adams was one play away from completing the comeback, but overthrew Byron Marshall for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown; likely due to his injured finger, which clearly affected the usually accurate quarterback.
The Ducks started strong by scoring on a 75-yard, 13-play drive that ended with Royce Freeman barreling into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown. Charles Nelson played his first game of the season after sitting out in week one due to injury, and, early on, it appeared Adams had recovered from his finger injury, completing four-of-six passes for 52 yards during the opening drive.
But Michigan State responded with a 62-yard run from Madre London on their first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, the score was tied at seven apiece after a 12-yard touchdown pass from Connor Cook to Josiah Price. After the opening drives both offenses took a step back in their efficiency, and just when it appeared Michigan State would add to their score late in the first, Michael Geiger missed a 28-yard field goal attempt. Adams (a.k.a Big Play VA) attempted to pick up momentum with a deep pass, but the ball just barely lacked the power to reach his intended target, Nelson, and was picked off and returned 30 yards by defensive back Montae Nicholson.
The Spartans capitalized on the turnover by scoring, converting on a fourth-and-1 and then reaching the end zone with a 17-yard pass to Aaron Burbridge to a take a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Ducks managed to reach the MSU one-yard line, but saw Freeman stuffed twice on third and fourth down. Adams made another big play by finding Nelson for a 25-yard gain later in the frame, but his second interception of the evening, this time at the hands of RJ Williamson, halted Oregon’s progress. Freshman cornerback Ugochukwu Amadi helped the Ducks get back on track by picking off Connor Cook and returning it 25 yards to midfield on the following drive, but an incompletion on fourth-and-11 ended their chance at evening the score at the half.
Then, as they had done so many times during the Chip Kelly-Mark Helfrich era, the Oregon Ducks used their unparalleled speed to make a play on special teams; After Michigan State was forced into a three-and-out on the first possession of the second half, Bralon Addison returned the ensuing punt 81 yards to the house to tie the game 14 to 14.
However, the Spartans responded well, scoring 10 unanswered points in the third quarter by capping off an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a carry from LJ Scott, forcing a three-and-out on the Oregon Offense’s first possession of the second half, and then tacking on a 36-yard field goal with 1:08 left in the third quarter. Adams led a long 12-play drive, during which he made one of his famous big plays by converting on fourth-and-7 with a 25-yard pass to Marshall, that finished with the shifty quarterback running in a two-yard score, but Cooks and the Spartan offense retaliated with a 38-yard touchdown run from Scott that fully displayed Oregon’s questionable tackling methods.
Down by ten with 3:25 on the clock, Adams capped off another lengthy drive by connecting with Marshall for a 15-yard touchdown, and then the Duck defense came up huge by making Michigan State punt from their own 17 on the following drive. Despite plenty of mistakes made on both sides of the field, Oregon had a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown when Marshall found himself as wide-open as wide-open can be, strolling behind enemy territory with nothing but grass in front of him for what should have been a 33-yard touchdown. But, alas, Adams’ bum finger forced an inaccurate throw from a highly-accurate quarterback. Adams was sacked on the proceeding play, and then, once again, failed to connect with Marshall on fourth down. Overall. the Ducks finished 2-of-6 on fourth-down conversions.
Michigan State was able to pick up the necessary first down and run out the clock, handing Oregon their first loss of the season. Addison finished with a career-high 236 all-purpose yards, and the return of Nelson and track-star Devon Allen (who suffered an injury during the 2014 Rose Bowl) was a welcome site for Duck fans.
“You guys who were here last year, we went through a similar situation. We lost a battle, and the next day, it was on. It galvanized us like never before.”
- Mark Helfrich
Oregon Offense (total: 432 - pass: 309 - rush: 123)
Michigan State Offense (total: 389 - pass: 192 - rush: 197)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - INT: 1)
Michigan State Defense (forced turnovers: 2 - INT: 2)
UO (1-1) MSU (2-0)