Weekend Recap – Oregon Ducks & Oregon State Beavers

Just six days after watching Pac-12 rival UCLA execute the biggest comeback in college football in over a decade, the University of Oregon Ducks likely got a firsthand sense of what the Texas A&M Aggies were feeling as the Bruins erased a 31-point second half lead.

Fortunately for Oregon, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers — the Ducks’ opponent on Saturday — weren’t up to the task a second miraculous comeback in as many weeks of this year’s college football season. While Nebraska did erase much of Oregon’s 42-14 halftime lead, cutting the score to 42-35 while possessing the ball with just over two minutes left, Ducks cornerback Ugochukwu Amadi intercepted Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee’s pass, allowing the Ducks to mercifully run out the clock before Nebraska could score again.

After racking up 442 yard of offense in the first quarter, Oregon was held to only 124 yards in the second half, and turned the football at two different critical junctures of the half. But, while Nebraska did score three second-half touchdowns, the Ducks defense did their part by hold the Cornhuskers to less than 200 yards of offense in the second half, and sealing the game with the aforementioned interception by Amadi.

The Ducks ran the football 44 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday, led by senior running back Royce Freeman’s second game with at least 150 yards and multiple rushing touchdowns (he had 153 yards and two touchdowns). Senior Kani Benoit also found the endzone for the second straight week, scoring on a five-yard run (his only attempt of the day).

Oregon currently sits alone at #1 in the country in most rushing touchdowns, finding the endzone on the ground 12 times in two games. They’re ranked second in the Pac-12 conference, and 16th in the nation, in rushing yards per game. They’ll take their potent ground game to Laramie, Wyoming next Saturday, to take on the University of Wyoming Cowboys.

Meanwhile, the Oregon State Beavers can’t say they were on either end of an exciting game that came down to a wire. In fact, they spent much of last Saturday watching P.J. Fleck and his University of Minnesota Golden Gophers row their boat all over Reser Stadium, en route to a lopsided 48-14 win over the Beavers.

While Minnesota nursed a 20-14 lead over Oregon State at halftime, when the Beavers reduced the 17-0 deficit they started off the game with down to just six points, the Gophers rowed away with the game in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points and out gaining the Beavers by a 230 to 35 margin of offensive yards. Oregon State only had one first down in the second half.

Oregon State quarterback Jake Luton had his worst game of the season to date. While he didn’t throw an interception for the first time this year, he could not supply the spark that this Beavers offense has needed.

Head coach Gary Andersen did admit to considering replacing Luton with backup quarterback Darell Garretson, leaving the door open for a potential change under center as the Beavers head to Pullman, Washington next week, to take on the Washington State University Cougars.