#11 OREGON VS #16 AUBURN

OREGON 14/0/7/0 - 21

AUBURN 3/3/7/14 - 27

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - The season opener in 2019 brought back painful memories for Duck fans as once again a late-game play dramatically turned the tide in favor of the Tigers, this time it was a 26-yard touchdown pass from true freshman Bo Nix to receiver Seth Williams with nine seconds left in the game.

The Oregon Ducks played the Auburn Tigers for the second time in history; the first time was in the 2011 National Championship game, a hard-fought contest that ended in heartbreak for the Ducks as running back Michael Dyer was not ruled down on a tackle, resulting in a 37-yard run that set up a short field goal for the 22-19 victory for Cam Newton and the Tigers.

Before the season began, the unit of most concern for the Ducks was wide receiver. Dillon Mitchell set a single-season program record the year before, but with his departure to the NFL Oregon was left with a receiving corps that was previously plagued by drops and heavily reliant on fresh faces due to four of the most promising pass-catchers (freshman Mycah Pittman, senior Brenden Schooler, tight end Cam McCormick and grad-transfer Juwan Johnson) being sidelined for the opener due to preseason injuries.

The troubles at receiver made themselves known early as coach Cristobal was forced to call a timeout before the first play of the game to help align his players, but senior quarterback Justin Herbert was able to put together an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive due in large part to a 47-yard completion to junior Johnny Johnson III. The opening drive concluded with a one-yard CJ Verdell rushing touchdown, and at the end of the half Oregon led 14 to 6 thanks to a ferocious touchdown catch by Spencer Webb and Andy Avalos’ new stifling defense.

However, despite leading 21 to 6 after a Darrian Felix six-yard rushing score with 9:23 left in the third, Oregon allowed 21 unanswered points from Auburn in the second half: junior wide receiver Eli Stove picked up 36 yards on the ground and then 11 through the air for the Tiger’s first touchdown, then backup quarterback Joey Gatewood capped off an 8-play, 69-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run that made the score 21 to 20 in Oregon’s favor. Then, the Ducks failed to convert on fourth-and-1 at midfield with 5:30 left in the game which energized the Tigers for their late-game touchdown led by freshman Bo Nix.

Justin Herbert had an opportunity on the go-ahead score, but the senior quarterback sent the Hail Mary soaring over the head of Johnny Johnson III. It was a painful loss for a team desperate to exact revenge for the loss in the National Championship, but the competitive matchup against an SEC powerhouse earned the Ducks some early season credibility.

“The most important thing I need to ask you… is, can’t I count on you?… Because stuff like this either rips you apart, or brings you together.” - Mario Cristobal to his team after the loss.

• Oregon Offense (total: 332 - pass: 242 - rush: 90)

• Auburn Offense (total: 383 - pass: 177 - rush: 206)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 2 - INT: 2)

• Auburn Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - FUM: 1)

• UO (0-1) AU (1-0)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW

College Football 2019 #11 Oregon vs #16 Auburn Week 1 | (8/31/2019) Every week I put 20+ hours into this channel to bring you up to date on College Football....

OREGON VS MICHIGAN STATE

MICHIGAN ST 0/0/6/0 - 6

OREGON 0/0/0/7 - 7

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - At times the 2018 Redbox bowl was painful to watch for both Oregon and Michigan State fans, but in the end, the Ducks capped off a successful debut season for head coach Mario Cristobal by winning their first bowl game since the 2014 Rose Bowl against Florida State. The Ducks and Spartans had a combined 17 punts in what amounted to a defensive grudge match, a single touchdown pass from Justin Herbert (as well as an outmatched Spartan offensive) resulted in an Oregon win that capped off a promising 9-4 season.

Oregon’s first possession of the game failed to gain a yard as Herbert threw three consecutive incompletions, but the Duck defense retaliated by keeping the Michigan State offense from reaching a first down on the next drive with a Troy Dye sack that pushed the Spartans back 10 yards. Both defenses shutdown the opposition, and five possessions after the opening three-and-outs Jevon Holland picked off Brian Lewerke after the QB comically recovered a fumble and threw a panicked ball to the freshman, it was the only turnover of the game.

But neither team was able to score in the first half, and the only possession that didn’t end in a punt or turnover before halftime was an 11-play, 56-yard drive that concluded with a turnover on downs when Lewerke threw an incompletion on fourth-and-1 at the Duck 23.

Michigan State took a 6-0 lead in the third quarter, scoring two field goals from the Oregon 16-yard line. The Duck defense did a masterful job keeping the unimpressive Spartan offense out of the end zone, but Oregon looked hopeless on the offensive side of the ball until Herbert went four-of-four for 70 yards to fuel an up-tempo touchdown drive that gave the Ducks the lead with 11:19 in the fourth. Passes of 15 and 18 yards to Jaylon Redd kickstarted an Oregon passing attack that was dormant throughout the majority of the game, and once the Ducks reached reached the Spartan 28-yard line, Herbert found Dillon Mitchell in the end zone to score the only touchdown of the night -redeeming the star receiver from a drop he suffered earlier in the contest that would have been a score.

The Spartans had a couple of opportunities to take the lead late in the game, but failed to take advantage of them. Michigan State’s final three possessions ended with a 50-yard missed field goal, a botched field goal attempt that turned into an incompletion, and a turnover-on-downs on their final drive. The Duck defense was helped out by a mistake-prone Spartan team, but still turned in a bowl winning performance. And though the Oregon offense left a lot to be desired, Dillon Mitchell’s 70-yard performance gave him the record in single-season receiving yards with 1,184 yards, surpassing Josh Huff’s 2013 season total.

"We take those points all day, especially when you have 10 and 13, that's a great combo. They always find a way to get it done."

- Troy Dye on Herbert’s (No. 10) touchdown pass to Mitchell (No. 13)

• Oregon Offense (total: 203 - pass: 166 - rush: 37)

• Michigan State Offense (total: 331 - pass: 172 - rush: 159)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 1- INT: 1)

• Michigan State Defense (forced turnovers: 0)

• UO (9-4) MSU (7-6)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW

Here are some Ducks highlights from the Red Box Bowl. This sure was not a pretty game but Ducks get the W. Defense came to play! Footage courtesy of Fox Sports

OREGON @ OREGON STATE

OREGON 14/7/13/21 - 55

OREGON STATE 0/3/6/6 - 15

CORVALLIS, OREGON - Mario Cristobal finished his first regular season as an Oregon Duck with a 55-15 road beatdown of the Beavers in the Civil War. The Oregon offense totaled 510 yards of offense despite losing quarterback Justin Herbert to injury late in the second quarter. Travis Dye and CJ Verdell had a combined seven touchdowns and 411 yards, while the Ducks won the turnover battle 4 to 0 to fuel the offensive onslaught.

The Beavers, led by quarterback Jake Luton, managed to reach the Duck 33-yard line on their opening possession, but on fourth-and-5 Deommodore Lenoir broke up a pass intended for Timmy Hernandez that killed the drive. Then, Travis Dye and CJ Verdell moved the ball 46 yards in five plays to set up a 21-yard pass from Herbert to Verdell for the game’s first touchdown. Oregon’s first drive was an early example of the damage the Duck rushing attack would do to the Oregon State defense, which allowed 392 yards on the ground.

The Ducks forced back-to-back punts from the Beavers before they were able to score a second touchdown; Utilizing just six carries, Verdell gained every yard of Oregon’s 56-yard touchdown drive. Oregon State’s proceeding drive ended with a missed field goal, and Herbert and the offense were able to take advantage by marching down the field from their own 22-yard line to set up Verdell’s second short-yardage touchdown of the evening, giving the Ducks a 21-0 lead. OSU’s Jordan Choukair hit a 45-yard field goal with 33 seconds left before the half.

Due to a sack that sidelined starting quarterback Herbert late in the second, Cristobal elected to rely on the run game in the second half. In fact, backup quarterback Braxton Burmeister threw just three passes in the second half. Oregon’s first three touchdown drives of the second half resembled the Army football team, featuring no passes but plenty of big run plays from Verdell, Dye and even a handful of runs from Burmeister.

The Beaver offense, on the other hand, only managed to score 15 points: a field goal in the second quarter, and two touchdown passes to Timmy Hernandez in the third and fourth quarter, respectively. Both of OSU’s touchdowns were followed by failed two-point conversion attempts.

Oregon’s running backs weren’t the Ducks to score, cornerback Thomas Graham Jr, picked off Luton in the final quarter and returned it 38 yards for a pick-six that gave the Ducks a 41-9 lead. Graham Jr. recorded another interception about three minutes later, the Ducks third interception of the game, the first being a pick from Nick Pickett in the second quarter. Gus Cumberlander also joined the turnover club when a double-reverse fleaflicker by Oregon State ended in disaster for the Beavers thanks to a hard hit from Ugo Amadi that forced a fumble that was eagerly gobbled up by Cumberlander.

In Cristobal’s first season as head coach, he delivered wins over Oregon’s biggest rivals. And a few weeks later, he would deliver Duck fans their first bowl win since the 2014 season.

" We wanted to continue to get better at playing on the road, in difficult environments, so we made that a huge point of emphasis. And we wanted to start fast, and we started fast, and continued building momentum."

- Mario Cristobal

• Oregon Offense (total: 510 - pass: 118 - rush: 392)

• Oregon State Offense (total: 336 - pass: 282 - rush: 54)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 4 - FUM: 1 - INT: 3)

• Oregon State Defense (forced turnovers: 0)

• UO (8-4, 5-4) OSU (2-10, 1-8)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW

Here are some Ducks highlights from the Civil War on 11/23/18. Go Ducks!!! Highlight Footage courtesy of Fox Sports FS1.

OREGON VS ARIZONA STATE

ARIZONA ST 3/10/3/13 - 29

OREGON 7/21/0/3 - 31

EUGENE, OREGON - The Ducks survived four turnovers and a second half in which they scored just three points to defeat the Arizona State Sun Devils by a score of 31 to 29. Justin Herbert was picked off twice, but also threw two touchdowns. Dillon Mitchell, Travis Dye and CJ Verdell pulled off just enough big plays to build a three-point lead, but it was the Oregon secondary and a late-game strip-sack from La’Mar Winston Jr that sealed the victory.

The Ducks built a 28 to 13 lead at the half thanks to a defense that bent but rarely broke and big plays from Justin Herbert, Travis Dye, CJ Verdell, Dillon Mitchell and Jaylon Redd. A combination of Dye and Verdell fueled a touchdown drive on Oregon’s opening possession; the former picked up 50 yards on three carries and the latter touched the ball five times to close out the drive with a six-yard TD run. Arizona State responded by reaching the Oregon 12-yard line, but a gang tackle of running back Eno Benjamin on third-and-4 resulted in a loss of eight yards and a Sun Devil field goal.

After trading punts with ASU, Justin Herbert and the Oregon offense flew down the field in a nine-play, 83-yard drive in which Herbert was a perfect 6-of-6 for a total of 74 yards. The drive was capped off with an 18-yard pass to CJ Verdell that gave the Ducks a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. A fumble from senior running back Tony Brooks-James at midfield led to an Arizona State field goal that cut the lead to eight, but with 4:03 before halftime, Herbert connected with Mitchell for a 57-yard touchdown pass that gave Oregon a two-score lead.

Late in the second, the Ducks were looking to run out the clock and add to their 15-point lead, but Aashari Crosswell picked off Herbert and returned it 50 yards to the Oregon 22. And on the next play, Manny Wilkins connected with Frank Darby for a touchdown pass with under a minute before the half. However, the Ducks weren’t ready to head to the locker rooms, and the Oregon offense traveled 71 yards in 39 seconds to re-establish their lead with an eight-yard touchdown run from Jaylon Redd.

The second half began with four consecutive punts, then a 31-yard run from Eno Benjamin kick-started an ASU drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal from Brandon Ruiz. Both defenses stepped up their game and forced four more punts that extended to the beginning of the final quarter. It appeared the Duck offense would return to the field after Gus Cumberlander sacked Wilkins on third down, but on the proceeding punt, Ugo Amadi -one of Oregon’s most reliable players during the 2018 season - fumbled the ball which was recovered by Nick Ralston at the Oregon 47.

Seven plays later, Wilkins found Brandon Aiyuk for a 25-yard touchdown on fourth-and-3, making it a one-score game. Brooks-James atoned for his earlier fumble by returning the following punt for 56 yards, and a couple of successful runs from Dye and Verdell set up a 28-yard field goal from Adam Stack to extend the Duck lead.

A 10-play, 75-yard Sun Devil drive was capped off with a one-yard touchdown run from Wilkins, but a failed two-point attempt kept Oregon’s lead intact. With 4:35 left in the game, the Ducks were hoping to run out the clock for the win, but Herbert threw an interception at the ASU 37-yard line. After the interception, Oregon’s fourth of the night, the Sun Devils had the ball near midfield with under four minutes remaining, but three plays into the drive La’Mar Winston Jr forced ASU’s first turnover of the game on a strip-sack, Cumberlander recovered the ball and the Ducks were able to kill the clock.

Oregon fans weren’t the only ones celebrating, the loss gave Utah the advantage over ASU in the PAC-12 South and the Utes would go on to play in their first ever PAC-12 Championship game.

" We had some brilliant moments, but we had some where we shot ourselves in the foot, The passion our guys played with to close out Autzen for the '18 season, to play like that for the seniors, really proud."

- Mario Cristobal

• Oregon Offense (total: 449 - pass: 262 - rush: 187)

• Arizona State Offense (total: 324 - pass: 182 - rush: 142)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - FUM: 1)

• Arizona State Defense (forced turnovers: 4 - FUM: 2 - INT: 2)

• UO (7-4, 4-4) ASU (6-5, 4-4)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW

Here are some Ducks highlights from the game against the Sun Devils on 11/17/18. Go Ducks! Highlight footage courtesy of the Pac-12 Network.

OREGON @ UTAH

OREGON 0/7/10/8 - 25

UTAH 10/9/3/10 - 32

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - The Ducks lost their third straight road game when they traveled to Rice-Eccles Stadium and fell to the Utes, 25 to 32. Despite playing with a backup quarterback and running back, Utah was able to score 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory that would eventually lead them to their first PAC-12 championship game. Justin Herbert tallied three touchdowns and 288 yards on 20-of-33 passing in a losing effort.

The Ducks suffered through another slow start, resulting in a quick 10-0 lead for the home team: Matt Gay connected on a 35-yard field goal to score the game’s opening points, then, after a Cody Barton sack caused a fumble from Herbert, backup redshirt freshman Jason Shelley capped off a short drive with a two-yard touchdown run. Oregon finished the first quarter with just four yards of offense.

Utah reached the Oregon five-yard line with a fresh set of downs, but only managed to pickup three yards in three plays, leading coach Kyle Whittingham to settle for the field goal to put the Utes up 13-0. Justin Herbert and the Oregon offense traveled 75 yards in six plays to cut the lead to six with a 34-yard touchdown reception from Dillon Mitchell. The Duck defense kept the Utes out of the end zone for the remainder of the first half, but allowed two more Matt Gay field goals to give Utah a 19-7 lead at halftime. Oregon had an opportunity to add to their score late in the second, but Adam Stack missed the field goal attempt from the Utah 18.

In a reversal of the first quarter, Oregon scored 10 unanswered points to cut the lead to two. CJ Verdell and Dillon Mitchell led a 75-yard, nine-play drive that ended with Mitchell’s second touchdown of the day. Oregon’s defense managed to force a three-and-out after the Duck touchdown, and on the next drive a 58-yard pass to Mitchell set up a 34-yard field goal attempt, which this time Adam Stack nailed.

A 42-yard run from backup running back Armand Shyne fueled a drive that was capped off with a 41-yard field goal that gave the Utes a five-point lead with 3:27 left in the third quarter. Four consecutive punts slowed down the game until Oregon tight end Kano Dillon blocked a punt form Mitch Wishnowsky, which was recovered and carried to the Utah three-yard line by Adrian Jackson. One play later, Justin Herbert found Travis Dye for the touchdown, and after a Jaylon Redd two-point conversion the Ducks had their first lead of the game at 25 to 22.

Herbert's third and final touchdown pass came at the 8:15 mark in the final quarter, unfortunately for the Ducks, Utah’s backups shined in the fourth quarter to earn the win. Shelley completed three of his four passes for 60 yards in a drive that concluded with a two-yard touchdown fun from Shyne to take the lead, and after forcing Oregon to punt from midfield, Whittingham used a combination of carries from Shelley and Shyne to run down the clock and set up a field goal to give the Utes a touchdown lead with 15 seconds remaining. Herbert managed to get the Ducks to midfield with a 28-yard pass to Brenden Schooler, but the Hail Mary attempt fell short.

"Without a doubt it's been a problem. It seemed like we snapped out of it better this time; by the time the second quarter rolled around we started to generate some stuff. ... there's no comfort in progress. It's reality, but it's not the end goal. We have to find a way to start quicker, start better on the road."

- Mario Cristobal regarding Oregon’s slow starts on the road

• Oregon Offense (total: 405 - pass: 288 - rush: 117)

• Utah Offense (total: 494 - pass: 262 - rush: 232)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 0)

• Utah Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - FUM: 1)

• UO (6-4, 3-4) UU (7-3, 5-3)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW

Jason Shelley ran for two touchdowns to lead Utah to a 32-25 win over Oregon while Matt Gay added a school record six field goals.

OREGON VS UCLA

UCLA 0/7/7/7 - 21

OREGON 14/7/7/14 - 42

EUGENE, OREGON - The Oregon special teams lived up to their name by setting up the Ducks’ first three touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead against the UCLA Bruins. The game was former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly’s first game at Autzen since he left in 2012 to coach the Philadelphia Eagles, it also snapped a two-game losing streak for the Ducks and earned them a bowl bid.

After Oregon’s opening possession ended with a punt from midfield, the Duck defense quickly put a stop to UCLA’s first drive. Then, senior safety Ugochukwu Amadi scored the game’s first touchdown by returning the proceeding punt 56 yards to give Oregon an early 7-0 lead. Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Bruin offense managed to reach the Oregon 14-yard line, but freshman Jevon Holland snatched an interception in the end zone to keep UCLA scoreless. It appeared the Bruins would hold the Ducks to a field goal when on 3rd-and-10 a pass from Justin Herbert was broken up by Adarius Pickett, but coach Mario Cristobal mirrored vintage Chip Kelly by going for it on fourth down with a fake to much success. Blake Maimone rolled out with the ball after pretending to be a holder and found tight end Jacob Breeland who was able to bully his way to the Bruin one-yard line, where CJ Verdell was eager to pick up the easy score on the next play.

The Ducks were forced to punt on their next possession, but UCLA’s Pickett fumbled the catch, and Tony Brooks-James jumped on the ball at the Bruin 11 yard-line. Three plays later, Herbert found receiver Dillon Mitchell for the four-yard score to cap off a 21-0 run by the home team. Thompson-Robinson took advantage of a cover zero by finding Caleb Wilson for a 63-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14 with 6:45 remaining in the second, but with a missed field goal from both teams neither offense was able to add to the score before the half.

UCLA failed to score on their opening drive of the second half, but the Bruin defense earned some much needed momentum by stopping Oregon’s offense on fourth-and-1 at the Bruin 47. However, that momentum was short-lived, because on the first play of UCLA’s next possession Thompson-Robinson fumbled the ball after a Justin Hollins sack. The senior linebacker not only forced the turnover, but also returned the fumble to the UCLA seven-yard line. The Ducks then took a 28-7 lead three plays later with a one-yard touchdown from Cyrus Habibi-Likio.

UCLA responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 25-yard Joshua Kelley touchdown run, but a few minutes later Oregon re-established the three-score lead with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell. Theo Howard scored for the Bruins with 8:12 left in the final quarter, but again, the Ducks answered with another long touchdown, this time a 54-yard run from Brooks-James to finish the scoring at 42 to 21. Not a very happy ‘welcome back’ party for Chip.

"We heard all week that today was about re-establishing an identity that was about physically running the football, I was really proud of the way we came out really committed to that. It just gives us confidence."

- Calvin Throckmorton

• Oregon Offense (total: 492 - pass: 292 - rush: 200)

• UCLA Offense (total: 496 - pass: 297 - rush: 199)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 3 - FUM: 2 - INT: 1)

• UCLA Defense (forced turnovers: 0)

• UO (6-3, 3-3) UCLA (2-7, 2-4)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW

Here are some of the bigger Ducks highlights from the game against the Bruins on 11/3/18. Go Ducks!

#19 OREGON @ ARIZONA

OREGON 0/8/0/7 - 15

ARIZONA 10/13/14/7 - 44

TUCSON, ARIZONA - The Oregon football team lost their second consecutive game of the season when they traveled down to Arizona Stadium and were outscored 44 to 15. The Ducks went in as heavy favorites, ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll despite having already suffered losses to Stanford and Washington State, but the Oregon offense scored just 15 points on a defense that allowed an average of 29 points in there previous eight contests. Running back J.J. Taylor out-rushed Oregon 213 to 84, and also tacked on two touchdowns against a slowly eroding Duck defense. while Justin Herbert completed only 50-percent of his passes.

Both of Oregon’s touchdowns came at the 9:17 mark, the first in the second quarter to make it a one-score game, and the second in the final quarter to cut the lead to 22. Before Dillon Mitchell crossed the end zone and Justin Herbert ran in a two-point conversion to score Oregon’s first touchdown, the Ducks offense put together a miserable run of drives that proceeded as follows: Three consecutive three-and-outs, a fumble from Travis Dye on first down, a punt, a deep interception from Herbert to Scottie Young Jr, then a blocked punt.

Fortunately for the Ducks, the Wildcats weren’t as adept at turning a bad Oregon opening-half into points. After ending Oregon’s opening drive with a three-and-out, Arizona raced down the field in a 75-yard, seven-play drive that was capped off with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Poindexter. Four consecutive punts were traded between the Ducks and Wildcats, but Travis Dye’s fumble at the Oregon 21 gave Arizona an opportunity to add to their lead, and to the Duck defense’s credit the Wildcats were forced to settle for a field goal.

In the second quarter, Herbert’s interception from deep in Oregon territory to midfield turned into another Wildcat field goal when Khalil Tate was able to travel 37 yards to set up the 32-yard attempt from kicker Josh Pollack, who added three more points after the next drive ended deep in Oregon territory thanks to a blocked punt by Chacho Ulloa. Thanks to some praiseworthy damage control from the Duck defense, Herbert’s second quarter touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion was able to put Oregon back in striking distance of the home team, 8 to 16, but J.J. Taylor fueled an 18-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that finished with him in the end zone from the Oregon one-yard line.

Taylor’s touchdown gave the Wildcats a 23-8 lead that they would take with them at the end of the second quarter, and the Ducks slapped together a similar performance in the second half.  

The first play of the third quarter appeared to be just what Oregon needed to stage the comeback, an interception from Khalil Tate made by cornerback Thomas Graham Jr., but Justin Herbert and the offense once again failed to pick up a first down and were forced to punt the ball back to the Wildcats, who scored off of an eight-yard touchdown pass to Poindexter seven plays later.

Again, the Ducks and Wildcats traded punts after the Arizona score, but with 4:43 left in the third, Charles Sudduth was touched by the ball on a punt return and Lorenzo Burns was able to recover it to give the Wildcats the ball. Arizona added to their momentum by adding a 27-yard touchdown pass to Shun Brown to the lead after the Oregon turnover, giving the underdogs a 37-8 lead late in the third.

Brenden Schooler (brother of Arizona linebacker Colin Schooler) cut the lead to 22 late in the game by collecting a touchdown pass intended for Jacob Breeland, but a long Wildcat drive iced the game by running down the clock to 3:32 in the final quarter, capping off the beatdown with an acrobatic touchdown from Taylor that made the score 44-15.

"Schematically, the things that we were successful at the first six weeks are things we felt we could lean on... We had a really good identity, and we certainly did not have that tonight, or even last week."

- Mario Cristobal

• Oregon Offense (total: 270 - pass: 186 - rush: 84)

• Arizona Offense (total: 465 - pass: 189 - rush: 276)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - INT: 1)

• Arizona Defense (forced turnovers: 3 - INT: 1 - FUM: 2)

• UO (5-3, 2-3) UA (4-5, 3-3)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW

Arizona racks up 465 yards of total offense while the Ducks are held to 270 yards as the Wildcats upset No. 19 Oregon on Saturday in Tucson. Arizona built a ...

#12 OREGON @ #25 WASHINGTON STATE

OREGON 0/0/17/3 - 20

WASHINGTON ST 7/20/0/7 - 34

PULLMAN, WASHINGTON - A week after upsetting Washington at Autzen stadium, the Ducks were upset themselves by No. 25 Washington State on the road at a raucous Martin Stadium. The Cougar fans let the the Fireball flow early as College GameDay made their long awaited debut in Pullman. Oregon nearly came back from a 27-0 deficit, but a late touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to Dezmon Patmon sealed the fourth consecutive victory against the Ducks for Mike Leach’s Cougars .

The Duck defense bent but did not break on the Cougar’s opening possession, allowing grad-transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew to reach the Oregon 11, but on third-and-9 Deommodore Lenoir ended the drive with an interception at the 5-yard line. Despite starting the game with a victory from the defense, Justin Herbert and the Oregon offense found no momentum in the first half of the game; back-to-back bad snaps doomed the offense’s first drive. They had three three-and-outs, they punted on their first four drives, and only managed to pass midfield on their final possession of the half which ended at the Wazzu 46 with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-2.

Amid Oregon’s offensive troubles, Minshew had the Cougar air raid running like a well-oiled machine. James Williams scored the opening points off a 24-yard touchdown run, then Minshew, the mustachioed quarterback, threw touchdown passes of 16, 6, and 15 yards to Renard Bell, Easop Winston, and Max Borghi, respectively. This was all made easier by an influx of missed tackles from the Duck defense.

Each touchdown came after an Oregon punt, and outside of Minshew’s early interception and a missed point-after by Blake Mazza, Washington State looked like the clear victors on a day in which they felt destined to win. Wazzu went into the half having outgained Oregon 295 to 39, but the Ducks used a gutsy call in the fourth quarter to spark a comeback bid that fell just short of shocking the home team.

A couple of passes to tight end Jacob Breeland helped jump-start Oregon’s opening possession of the second half by picking up 20 and then 27 yards. Cristobal elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Wazzu 8-yard line, and Herbert rewarded him by scoring the Ducks’ first touchdown of the night with an 8-yard keeper. Jim Leavitt’s defense fueled the momentum by forcing the opposing offense into their first three-and-out of the matchup, and again, Herbert and the Oregon rushing attack were able to add points to the board, though this time they had to settle for an Adam Stack field goal as they were pushed back once they reached the Wazzu six-yard line.

The comeback bid was stoked even more when on the next drive Lenoir tallied his second interception of the game. Runs from Herbert and Verdell opened up the attack against the Cougar defense, and once the Ducks reached the enemy 11-yard line, Jaylon Redd caught Oregon’s first and last touchdown pass of the evening when Herbert found him alone in the corner of the end zone. Washington State was unable to disrupt Oregon’s second-half rhythm and were forced to punt from midfield early in the final quarter. Herbert led a 16-play, 74-yard drive that was capped off by a 23-yard field goal that cut the lead to seven with 6:38 remaining.

However, Washington State was able to put together a crucial touchdown drive to solidify a surprisingly tense conclusion to the game. Deep passes to Travell Harris fly down the field to the Oregon 22-yard line, and from there Minshew (who finished 39-of-51 for 323 yard, four touchdowns and two interceptions) connected with Dezmon Patmon to make it a two-score game. Herbert and the offense attempted to rally for a quick score, but a sack by Willie Taylor III on third-and-10 setup an unobtainable fourth down situation that resulted in the Cougars being able to kill the clock.

" We really weren't able to get no rhythm on the offensive side of the ball… We started to call different plays, and find gaps and open space in the defense. We just weren't able to finish it."

- Jaylon Redd

• Oregon Offense (total: 328 - pass: 270 - rush: 58)

• Washington St Offense (total: 400 - pass: 323 - rush: 77)

• Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 2 - INT: 2)

• Washington St Defense (forced turnovers: 0 )

• UO (5-2, 2-2) WSU (6-1, 3-1)

  QUACK 12 PODCAST REVIEW