Colorado had a Pac-12 coming out party on Saturday.
The Buffaloes, who before Saturday had won just one Pac-12 game in the last two years, jumped on Oregon’s defense early and held on when it counted.
Oregon, for the second straight week, is looking for answers. The Ducks now know that success ahead in the Pac-12 is not a forgone conclusion. That was evident Saturday when the Ducks lost 41-38 in the conference opener.
“It’s going to be a dog fight every game we play,” defensive back Tyree Robinson said. “We can’t just look at teams like, ‘If we’ve beaten Colorado the last 50 times, then it’s just going to be a win.’ No. Every game we have to put on these pads and make them really lose.”
Much of Colorado’s success was due to the Ducks’ poor early defensive efforts. Colorado cruised to 28 points and 351 yards of total offense before halftime. Colorado’s first four drives went: touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown.
Defensive coordinator Brady Hoke said the Ducks didn’t tackle well enough and cited NCAA rules that prohibit how much tackling teams can do in practice.
“We have to do a better job coaching,” Hoke said.
The Ducks gave up gains of 21, 23 and 16 yards on three different third down scenarios in the first half. Colorado quarterback Steven Montez, in his first NCAA start, completed 85 percent of his passes before halftime. Montez cruised with injured starter Sefo Liufau on the sideline.
“Definitely the quarterback that did play surprised a lot of us,” Robinson said. “We were preparing for the starting quarterback and we saw a new guy who looked just like the starter running the ball.”
After halftime, Oregon’s defense appeared re-energized, allowing 242 total yards. The Ducks held the Buffs to second-half 15 points, but allowed a costly touchdown pass to Bryce Bobo with 8:43 remaining. Officials on site reviewed the play and determined that Bobo had enough possession for the score, which ended up being the final touchdown of the game.
Cornerback Arrion Springs praised Colorado’s game plan and said the Buffaloes “had a counter to everything that we were doing.”
Hoke said going forward, the Ducks want to slow down the air attack and find ways to get more pressure on the quarterback. Montez finished 23-of-32 for 333 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Ducks gave up 14.5 yards per pass attempt on average.
Robinson said Oregon still needs to find its identity defensively.
“You didn’t come to Oregon to put on a magic jersey and play good,” Robinson said in reference to younger players on the team. “No. You have to go out there and put in the work.”
Coming into the week, Oregon was looking for a rebound win — perhaps a chance to right the ship with the start of Pac-12 play. Instead, the Ducks are forced to regroup and reevaluate again after losing back-to-back regular season games for the first time since 2007.
“This team can be great this year,” Helfrich said. “Still believe very much in what they’re doing.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne