The last time Oregon lost to Utah, the Ducks played in the 1994
Rose Bowl following their 9-3 season.
Although the end of the season looks far away after Oregon’s 17-13
loss to the Utes at Rice-Eccles Field on Friday, Oregon still has
seven conference games remaining in its season.
“The good thing is…that we’re back to the league next week,”
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti told KUGN 590 AM after the game.
“That’s important. This game doesn’t have anything to do with our
league and that’s what we’re focusing on now.”
It did, however, impact the Ducks’ season record, which now stands
at 4-2.
Oregon was in the game early, putting the first points on the board
with a 42-yard field goal by Jared Siegel midway through the first
quarter. The short-lived lead silenced the crowd of 44,676 fans,
the sixth largest crowd in the stadium’s history.
The Utes answered in the same quarter with a 28-yard field goal by
Brian Borreson–the only field goal he made in three attempts.
In the second quarter, the Ducks looked like the Oregon of old as
they took the lead with 10 points in four minutes.
After a successful fake punt on fourth down, quarterback Kellen
Clemens threw a long pass to Samie Parker to get Oregon to the two
yard line.
Following an incomplete pass, Clemens ran around the right side and
dove in for the Ducks’ only touchdown of the day and a 10-3
lead.
When Utah came back on offense, cornerback Steven Moore stripped a
Utah receiver of the ball to bring the Oregon offense back on the
field. The Ducks capped their scoring with a 40-yard field goal by
Siegel.
The Utes narrowed the lead to 13-10 on a 69-yard touchdown pass
from Alex Smith to Steve Savoy.
“Utah controlled the line of scrimmage on us which doesn’t happen
to us very often,” Bellotti said. “Obviously, their offense kept
the ball a lot. Our offense did not move the ball the way we’re
used to doing.”
That was apparent when Oregon was unable to score in the second
half.
While the defense held strong for most of the half, the 13-10 lead
wasn’t safe.
Shortly after the fourth quarter began, Smith found Ben Moa open
for a nine-yard touchdown pass. Borreson’s successful point gave
the Utes the 17-13 lead.
The Ducks now have time to refocus and work out their kinks with an
extra day during their practice week before traveling to Arizona
State for an Oct. 11 game.
One weakness Oregon discovered against Utah is its defense.
The defense can be a rollercoaster. The Ducks went from being
beaten on long passes to holding the Utes on the half-yard line in
the fourth quarter.
“We thought we had it pretty well figured out,” Oregon linebacker
Kevin Mitchell told KUGN. “We stopped them down in the red zone a
couple times and we stopped them in the red zone at the end. It was
just a matter of us overcoming the different things that they did
that we’re not used to.
“To be successful, you’ve got to make plays. We made some plays but
we didn’t make them all.”
The Ducks also had lingering injuries plague them during the game
with Parker, Demetrius Williams, Robby Valenzuela and Justin
Phinisee each taking hard hits.
“There were some bumps and bruises,” Bellotti said. “It was a hard
fought physical game.”
The sole Duck who did not return to the game after being injured
was fullback Luke Rowley. He suffered a concussion during the
game.
“Like a wounded animal, there’s nothing else to do but fight,”
Mitchell said. “That’s what we plan on doing. We’re just going to
take it upon ourselves to get ready for next week.”
Utes take down Oregon
Daily Emerald
October 4, 2003
0
More to Discover