It was an easy win, but it was also a tale of two halves for Oregon’s defensive unit in a 55-12 victory against I-AA Portland State Saturday.
In every game but one this season, the Ducks have allowed an opposing running back to gain over 100 yards rushing. Not only did Oregon allow that same amount Saturday, it allowed the Vikings’ Mu’Ammar Ali to eclipse the century mark in the first half.
To add insult to injury, the defensive line jumped offsides six times during the game.
“That was embarrassing,” coach Mike Bellotti said. “Our defensive line embarrassed us, in terms of jumping offside that many times.”
After the Washington State loss, the Ducks’ defensive line came out looking to redeem itself and Portland State took advantage of that over-aggressiveness.
“We were anxious to get on the ball,” defensive tackle Matt Toeaina said.
Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said, “We looked like the Oakland Raiders a little bit. You can’t hand them five yards.”
The defensive struggles were remedied in the second half after the defense adjusted to Portland State’s unusual offensive schemes.
Ali ran for 127 yards on 11 carries in the first half, but was limited to eight yards on 11 carries in the third quarter.
“We made some adjustments during the half,” Toeaina said. “They came out in some weird formations during the game but we adjusted to those.”
One of Ali’s carries in the first half broke for a 45-yard gain, but strong safety Kwame Agyeman forced a fumble and free safety J.D. Nelson recovered the ball.
“They made a play out of it and luckily we got a fumble out of it,” Aliotti said. “They got yards but we got the ball.”
Ali also had a touchdown run of 57 yards in the second quarter that cut Oregon’s lead to 21-12. Linebacker Blair Phillips said that late substitutions were to blame for the Vikings’ big plays.
“They caught us with our eyes in the wrong spot,” Phillips said. “You take away those (long) runs, they had less than 30 yards rushing.”
Despite the penalties and long rushing plays, the defense recorded five sacks.
“We did have a productive day,” Toeaina said. “But as a unit we did have some offside penalties that we didn’t need and some personal fouls. As the leader of the D-line, I take responsibility for that.”
Running back Jonathan Stewart saw limited action during the game after suffering an abdominal strain when he was driven 10-yards out of bounds by Portland State safety Charles Manigo.
The tackle elicited a strong reaction from the Oregon players and fans.
“It seems like how (Div. 1)-AA teams play,” Toeaina said. “They usually do dirty stuff like that. We have to let them know they can’t disrespect us in our own house.”
Bellotti said he was extremely upset about the referees not calling a penalty and plans to file a complaint to the Pac-10 officiating crew.
“That’s what I’m still livid about,” Bellotti said. “When you take somebody 10 yards off the field into a bench and the officials can’t see it because it’s so far inside the crowd – there ought to be something done about that.”
The tackle lit a fire among the Oregon players who wanted to come out and avenge their fallen teammate.
“Oh, I gotta getcha back,” Jeremiah Johnson, Stewart’s replacement, said. “Because that’s my family. That’s like a brother to me. It came to be a little personal, instead of just going out there and playing a ballgame. (Stewart) just told me to go out there and go get ’em.”
Johnson ran for 86 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in Stewart’s absence.
Regardless of the defensive lapses and the injury to Stewart, the Ducks coasted to a blowout victory and were happy to be bowl eligible for the 12th time in the past 14 seasons.
“It’s the confidence factor – getting back on track as a team,” Bellotti said. “Now we have to secure a better bowl game each week.”
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Oregon cruises after early hiccup
Daily Emerald
October 29, 2006
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