ARLINGTON, Texas — The Oregon Ducks played four grueling quarters of football against LSU on Saturday, but it took just two minutes for them to permanently lose control of the game.
The Ducks (0-1) gave up two straight touchdowns after consecutive fumbles in the third quarter, and never recovered en route to a 40-27 defeat.
“You can’t turn the ball over like that,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “That was really the difference in the game.”
The Oregon offense struggled from the onset, going three-and-out during its first two series before finally pushing across a field goal to tie the game at three with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter.
Minutes later, despite excellent field position after recovering a fumbled snap at LSU’s 20-yard line, the Ducks stalled once again and managed just a field goal to take a 6-3 lead.
The game’s first critical error came just after the second quarter began, as junior running back Kenjon Barner fumbled a punt deep in Oregon territory. LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu recovered the ball and waltzed into the end zone, giving the Tigers (1-0) a 9-6 lead after a missed extra point.
Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas was intercepted on the ensuing drive, putting an exclamation point on what had been a rocky start for the junior.
“I think early he kind of got out of rhythm from himself,” Kelly said.
The Tigers, however, failed to capitalize this time, and Oregon took the ball back with 12:57 remaining in the half. From there, the Ducks launched into what would be one of their only sustained scoring drives.
Thomas appeared to find his groove and, despite three penalties, the Ducks finally found the end zone on a three-yard carry from LaMichael James. All of a sudden, Oregon led 13-9 and appeared to have seized momentum after a 19-play drive that took 7:41 off the clock.
The Tigers quickly responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive of their own that was capped off by a touchdown pass from quarterback Jarrett Lee to wide receiver Rueben Randle. At the halftime intermission, LSU held a narrow 16-13 lead.
Though Oregon has a reputation for second half explosions, it was LSU that hit the ground running midway through the third quarter. Freshman Oregon running back De’Anthony Thomas fumbled with 8:10 remaining, and the Tigers quickly capitalized with a five-yard touchdown run.
Thomas was sent back out to return the ensuing kickoff, and fumbled for a second time. Less than three minutes later, LSU had scored again, and all of a sudden the Ducks had lost control.
“It’s just like any game, but especially football,” senior left guard Carson York said. “A couple things happen, and things swing.”
With the Tigers suddenly holding a commanding 30-13 lead, Oregon’s tailspin continued. A three-and-out forced a punt on the next possession, and the Tigers held the ball on Oregon’s 17-yard line as the third quarter came to a close.
The Ducks cut the margin to 13 in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, as Thomas hit sophomore wide receiver Josh Huff for an eight-yard touchdown. But the Tigers punched right back with yet another scoring drive, putting Oregon away for good.
“We’ve just got to come out and execute at the end of the day,” Thomas said. “Oregon had self-inflicted wounds that we’ve got to work on.”
Foremost among those wounds were penalties and turnovers. Oregon lost a total of 95 yards on 12 penalties, while also suffering four costly turnovers.
“Too many turnovers,” James said. “That’s what really killed us today: too many turnovers and penalties.”
The mistakes were abundant, but Oregon’s normally prolific offense also appeared to be flummoxed by a powerful LSU front line.
“They played good, solid football,” Kelly said. “That’s a good defensive front. They did a really nice job, they were sound in the schemes and really gap-control oriented.”
As a result, Heisman runner-up James was limited to just 3.0 yards per carry, and Thomas was forced to throw the ball 54 times. The Ducks compiled just 95 total yards rushing, and were held without a single first down in what proved to be a crucial third quarter.
The numbers were telling, but the loss was what truly stung Oregon’s players. The hope of another 12-0 season was gone, and chances for another trip to the BCS national championship game also took a significant hit.
“You start with a goal,” York said. “Everyone’s 0-0 and wants to go 12-0 and win a national championship. It’s not off the table, but one of our goals, to go 12-0, is not there anymore.
“That’s over, but we’ve got a really great team, and we come to Autzen next week and so it starts there, as far as the next goal, which is 11-1.”
Third quarter stretch dooms Ducks in 40-27 loss to LSU
Daily Emerald
September 2, 2011
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