QUICKIE RECAP
Heading south to Pasadena to take on a very good UCLA team, the Oregon coaches and players knew it would take a monumental effort to scale that mountain to have an opportunity to come away with a win.
Not only did the No. 10 Ducks successfully scale the mountain and reach the summit, but in true climber fashion, they also planted their Oregon flag at midfield and walked out of the Rose Bowl with a 34-31 win
The game was in doubt at the end though, after Duck quarterback Anthony Brown threw his second interception of the game giving the Bruins an opportunity to tie or win the game with under three minutes to play. On this occasion though, the Duck defense secured the win with an interception of their own when D.J. James stole an Ethan Garbers pass to give the ball back to the Ducks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
This was a game that quickly turned into the Bruins favor when they jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter appearing like they were going to run this Oregon team right out of the Arroyo Seco Valley.
The first score came at the 9:45 mark during the Bruins opening drive when QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson engineered a 12 play – 75 yard drive that ended with a Brittain Brown 2 yard score.
After Oregon failed to convert on a 4th down on their first possession, the Bruins took over on downs, but then DTR, under pressure, tossed an interception to D.J James to give the ball right back to the Ducks with good field position.
The Oregon offense once again failed to convert and was forced to punt, which the Bruins blocked leaving the UCLA offense at the doorstep of the end zone. The Bruins offense took just 4 plays and 30 yards to put the ball back into the end zone, scoring on a DTR 4 yard touchdown pass to Kazmier Allen extending the UCLA lead to 14-0 with 4:08 remaining in the 1st.
The Ducks finally found their offensive sealegs in the 2nd quarter when Anthony Brown drove the Oregon offense 88 yards in 13 plays to eventually score on a Travis Dye 1 yard run.
After a missed field goal attempt by the Bruins, Brown went back to work late in the 2nd quarter engineering an 11 play – 89-yard drive that took over 5 minutes and ended with another Travis Dye TD – this one a 5 yard run to knot the game at 14 with 2:49 to play before the break.
As time ran out though, the Bruins went back on top 17-14 when they booted a 36-yard field goal when the halftime clock hit zeros.
Unlike the Ducks previous four games, the Oregon offense came out and owned the entire 3rd quarter. The Ducks outscored UCLA 20-0 over the next 19 minutes of play to take a 34-17 lead early in the 4th quarter.
Brown was on point leading the Ducks to three consecutive touchdowns – two by Travis Dye, and the third a 46 yard run up the middle on a quarterback keep giving the Ducks a 17 point advantage with 13:53 left in the game.
But the Bruins wouldn’t go quietly.
Thompson- Robinson went back to work and drove UCLA down the field on a well-executed 12 play – 75 yard drive that ended with DTR finding the endzone on a 2 yard score to pull the Bruins within 10 at 34-24 with ten and a half minutes to play.
Appearing to be in total control, Brown threw an ill-advised pass over the middle that was picked off by the Bruins and returned to the Oregon 20 yard line. UCLA took advantage of the turnover and scored on a 1 yard Brittain Brown touchdown to pull the Bruins within 3 at 34-31 with six and a half minutes to play.
Three minutes later and with the Ducks driving and in complete control on the UCLA side of the field, Brown once again made a poor read and threw his second interception in the Oregon endzone giving the Bruins another opportunity to either tie or win the game.
Under the two minute mark and with the Bruins near midfield and marching, Dorian Thompson-Robinson was knocked out of the game on a punishing hit by the Oregon pass rush.
Ethan Garbers came into the game cold and completed consecutive passes putting the Bruins near field goal range with under a minute to play. But his luck ran out when he targeted a receiver to the boundary side of the field and threw an interception to D.J James, his second of the game, sealing the win for the Ducks.
“This one’s huge.” said safety Verone McKinley.
“We came out, we were a little flat. We got punched in the mouth, to be honest. And we woke up. … We make it a little difficult sometimes. But we play four quarters.”
TURNING POINT / MVP
The turning point in this game was the full and complete game by Oregon game-wrecker Kayvon Thibodeaux. Coming back completely healthy and having the opportunity to play a full game turned into an extremely impressive stat line by Thibodeaux who had 9 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 quarterback hurry. Just his presence on the field forced DTR into hurried or offline throws or poor reads.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Thibodeaux said. “We love games like that, being able to be out there playing to the last whistle. It was exciting. There was so much going on. I love it.”
On the opposite side, Anthony Brown threw two ill-advised balls that were intercepted, but his poise and key plays led the Ducks to the win. Brown completed 29 of 39 attempts for 296 yards, along with 6 carries for 85 yards and 1 touchdown.
“We’ve been working together for a very long time,” Brown said who completed passes to 11 different receivers. “Having things come together for us today was what we needed. I should have been playing like this for a while. The fact that it came in a big moment is important. Just being myself is big. Being true to who we are.”
GAME NOTE;
Oregon RB Travis Dye scored four touchdowns in the game against the Bruins giving him eight on the season. Dye became the first FBS player to score four consecutive touchdowns on four consecutive plays.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT’S NEXT
Oregon now goes back home to the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium to take on Colorado.
The game will kick off at 12:30 pm local time and be televised on Fox.