TEMPE, Ariz. — One word: respect.
In the week leading up to the Fiesta Bowl, the Ducks could not get away from the Colorado running game — it’s all they heard about.
But when it mattered most, the Colorado tailbacks could not get away from the Ducks.
“I’m going to be honest with you — with all the talk, we had a score to settle, and we had a chip on our shoulders coming into this game,” Oregon sophomore linebacker Kevin Mitchell said after Oregon’s 38-16 rout of Colorado on New Year’s Day. “We had an attitude that we were going to stop the run.”
It showed.
Against a rushing offense that averaged nearly 230 yards per game — and tallied 380 yards on the ground against then-No. 1 Nebraska on Nov. 23 — Oregon’s speedy defense held the highly touted Buffalo rushers to a season-low 49 total yards.
“It was one of the top efforts I’ve ever been around,” Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said. “If you can control the run and make a team one dimension, you have a good chance of winning. And — God, I don’t like to sound like I’m bragging — but we certainly did that tonight.”
Fullback Brandon Drumm gave the Buffs a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter, but there would be few highlights on the ground for Colorado after that.
On consecutive series in the second quarter, Oregon was able to hold the Buffaloes on key third-and-one plays. Redshirt freshman tackle Igor Olshansky was involved in both tackles.
“I feel that we’re the best in the country. We dominated this game,” Olshansky said. “I don’t think anyone in the country can run on us. We may not be the biggest or the fastest defense in the country, but we’re going to play hard.”
Quarterback Joey Harrington and the Oregon offense scored 38 unanswered points to give the Ducks a 38-7 lead at the 9:38 mark of the fourth quarter, and, by then, Colorado had to rely almost entirely on its passing game.
“They didn’t even try to run the ball in the end,” Aliotti said.
With seniors Steve Smith and Rashad Bauman patrolling the air, Colorado senior quarterback Bobby Pesavento could not establish a rhythm and was replaced by sophomore Craig Ochs.
“They just wanted it more,” Pesavento said.
Ochs was not greeted warmly either, with his first pass attempt turning into one of Smith’s three interceptions — a Fiesta Bowl record.
“Steve Smith has a knack for the ball, and he’s a play-maker,” Aliotti said. “Throughout his career … Steve has just a knack for making the big plays.”
Pesavento finished 11-of-27 with two interceptions, and Ochs came in to give the Buffs 279 total passing yards, most of which came when the game was out of reach.
“Once we got them in air, we knew the game was over,” Bauman said. “They’re not a throwing team. (Pesavento) isn’t used to throwing the ball that many times, and we knew that would be to our advantage.”
For a defense that was ranked ninth in the Pacific-10 Conference — allowing 406 yards per game — Oregon surprised, and silenced, many critics.
“I don’t think we really went into the game underestimating them,” Colorado wide receiver Roman Hollowell said. “They just stepped up to the challenge. They just stopped the run, stopped our whole offense entirely.”