It wasn’t the most glorious of starts for Oregon as Colorado surprised the Ducks with an onside kick to start the game.
After that, it was all Oregon.
After a three-and-out on defensive, the Ducks took the ball and marched right down the field that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown run by freshman Royce Freeman and the rout was on.
Led by a vaunted offense and ever-stiffening defense, No. 2 Oregon leads Colorado 30-3 at the half.
Marcus Mariota added to his Heisman trophy resume with a 46-yard touchdown run on the Ducks’ third drive of the game to make the score 13-0 and put the Ducks firmly in control.
The story of the first half has been Oregon’s defense.
The Ducks held the Buffaloes to 93 total yards while Troy Hill and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu have done a good job of bottling up wide receiver Nelson Spruce. Spruce came into the game with 99 catches for 1,091 yards and 11 touchdowns but was held without a catch the entire half.
Twice Colorado had the ball within the Ducks’ 30-yard line and both times Oregon held the Buffaloes without a touchdown. The first possession came in the first quarter and resulted in a missed 46-yard field goal while the second possession ended with a made 23-yard field goal.
Key Plays:
– There was always the potential Oregon was going to overlook this game in preparation for next week’s Civil War but that possibility was gone when the Buffaloes started the game with an onside kick and recovered it, denying Mariota the ball to start with.
– Tony Washington stopped Colorado running back Jordan Gehrke on third-and-11, forcing Colorado to punt on its possession after recovering the onside kick and giving momentum back to Oregon.
– Royce Freeman showed his burst when he ran 20-yads for Oregon’s first score of the day. After rushing around left end, Freeman made one cut and was gone into the end zone for the 6-0 lead.
– Mariota added to his “speeding legacy” when he ran untouched into the end zone from 46-yards out, going right by the would-be Colorado tacklers.
– Charles Nelson made the score 27-3 when he caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Mariota midway through the second quarter, giving Mariota a rushing and passing touchdown in the game.
– Darren Carrington made one of the plays of the year on a catch at Oregon’s 10-yard line. Mariota lofted a ball up for Carrington and after battling with the Colorado defensive back, the ball caromed off Carrington’s leg and high into the air. While laying on the ground after falling, the ball came down and landed right into Carrington’s hands, resulting in a circus catch.
Three things to watch in the second half:
– With the game pretty much out of hand, it’ll be interesting to see how Andre Yruretagoyena plays in his first game since getting hurt early in the season. Yruretagoyena was scheduled to start in place of the injured Tyler Johnstone but was unable to do after suffering a leg injury against Michigan State. Yruretagoyena’s experience should help the Ducks get by without injured all-American center Hroniss Grasu so the amount of time he gets in the second half could pay huge dividends down the road.
– Spruce vs. Ekpre-Olomu was one of the main matches to watch but it’s been mainly Troy Hill getting the reps against Spruce. It’ll be interesting to see, with the starters expected to be out, how Oregon’s second string of defensive backs in Chris Seisay and Dior Mathis do against Spruce.
– It’s senior day for the Ducks so one thing to watch will be how many of the unsung seniors get to see action on the field in their last home game. Obviously that will come down to head coach Mark Helfrich but my guess it that he’ll let as many of the seniors play in the game as possible.
Stats:
Total yards:
Oregon – 340
Colorado – 93
Oregon passing:
Marcus Mariota – 14/20, 172 yards, 1 touchdown
Colorado passing:
Jordan Gehrke – 8/17, 59 yards
Oregon rushing:
Royce Freeman – 12 att, 58 yards, two touchdowns
Marcus Mariota – 6 att, 81 yards, 1 touchdown
Devon Allen – 1 att, 21 yards
Colorado rushing:
Phillip Lindsay – 8 att, 42 yards
Christian Powell – 2 att, 4 yards
Oregon receiving:
Keanon Lowe – 4 rec, 41 yards
Darren Carrington – 2 rec, 38 yards
Byron Marshall – 2 rec, 14 yards
Colorado receiving:
Phillip Lindsay – 3 rec, 27 yards
Tony Jones – 2 rec, 12 yards
Not at the game? We’ll keep you posted. Follow our live updates here, and sports reporters Andrew Bantly and Ryan Kostecka on Twitter.