It was a different kind of experience for Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez in the post-game press conference. Following a performance in which his offense could never find its footing, Rodriguez was put in the awkward position of answering questions about a game in which nothing could go right offensively.
“It wasn’t a good night,” Rodriguez said.
While Arizona had averaged 36.5 points per game in its two previous match-ups with the Ducks, Friday night’s Pac-12 Championship proved to be an entirely different story.
Oregon’s defense, swarming to the ball and just overwhelming the Arizona offense on every possession, allowed just 224 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers as it keyed a 51-13 rout to take the Pac-12 crown.
It was the most obvious difference in the previous matchup, in which Arizona ran the ball 55 times for 208 yards as part of a 31-24 upset versus Oregon.
Any difference in the strategy? Not according to outside linebacker Tony Washington.
“It just came down to a lot of guys doing their job,” Washington said. “Last game it came down to a lot missed tackles, missed assignments.”
While the Ducks’ offense appeared to be a bit tight, the Oregon defense decided to make sure that it would have the ball as much as it could want in the first half.
By the end of the first 30 minutes, the Wildcats offense was on the field for just 8:29 and had totaled just 25 yards of offense on 25 plays. This all coming against a team that averaged over 450 yards per game of offense.
“Our guys did a great job getting off blocks and actually pressuring,” defensive coordinator Don Pellum said. “We had em dialed in a litte better today.
Washington finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. His opposite end mate Deforest Buckner added to the fire, finishing with seven tackles and a sack.
That type of pressure created equal problems for the Wildcats passing attack.
Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon passed the ball for 289 yards in their previous meeting but was limited to just 34 yards through the air on 6-of-12 passing in this one.
That stat line for Solomon was another clear indicator for how much the Ducks were in control.
In October, the Wildcats offense ran roughshod over the Ducks defense and throughout the season, the one clear question mark next to the second-ranked team in the nation was the capability of Pellum’s unit.
This then, may’ve been Oregon’s one statement to the committee, as it prepares to release its final rankings on Sunday at 9:45 PT.
“We’re a real stingy defense and we don’t want to give anyone an inch,” senior linebacker Derrick Malon said. “We’re dominating in all our areas.”
The most encouraging sign for Pellum was the fact that his guys payed their ‘best game’ when the most was on the line. Usually a group that is on the field much more than the Ducks’ offense simply because how Marcus Mariota and Co. operate, was on the field for just 21:05 in this one.
Arizona averaged just 3.7 yards per play and went 3-for-15 on third-down.
It was such a stark contrast to the game in Autzen Stadium on Oct. 2 and for Pellum even, he could tell how dialed in the unit would be Friday night all week.
“This week in practice was unreal,” Pellum said. “When we had our meeting last night, you could tell that these guys were not ready but ready ready. In the meeting today, it was like ‘we’re ready.’”
It appears that Oregon’s a virtual lock for the playoff now. With so much put into the rematch, the most obvious factor in how a shift took place was the constant pressure Solomon faced and the lack of running lanes Wildcats running back Nick Wilson had.
“What we focus on is ourselves,” Malone said. “Instead of thinking about revenge, we just think about playing for each other and that’s why we were victorious.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise
