Wide receiver Darren Carrington hadn’t seen the field since Oregon’s Rose Bowl victory over Florida State on Jan. 1.
In many ways, Carrington’s two-touchdown, 165-yard performance was his most signature game to date. His encore performance, as it turned out, had to wait ten months.
Carrington failed an NCAA-administered drug test just days before Oregon faced Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship, which kept him out of the game and the first half of the 2015 season.
His opportunity to play again finally came on Saturday against Washington, and it was as if he never left. On the opening drive, Carrington broke open in the right corner of the end zone, and quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., in his first appearance since exiting the Utah game, hit him for the touchdown. Carrington’s ten-month hiatus finally came full-circle.
“I almost shed a tear, but it was all smiles,” Carrington said. “It was just good to be back out there.”
Oregon wasn’t perfect in its 26-20 defeat of Washington, but it did just enough in the waning moments of the game to leave Husky Stadium with a win. Adams threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, running around the Huskies defense as if he was still in an Eastern Washington uniform. Running back Royce Freeman kept Washington’s defense honest with 138 rushing yards. And the Ducks’ pass-rush, led by defensive end DeForest Buckner, kept quarterback Jake Browning and the Huskies out of sync for much of the game.
“We complemented one another really well tonight, as far as if the offense scored a touchdown, defense gave up a field goal, and vice-versa,” head coach Mark Helfrich said.
During the last three weeks, Oregon’s offense sputtered with an unsettled quarterback situation. Adams looked far from himself against Utah, and it was clear his index finger wasn’t healed. In his absence, Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie struggled to move the ball downfield. On Saturday, Adams changed the narrative.
Scrambling to avoid Huskies pass-rushers, Adams converted 9 of 18 third downs and extended plays in ways Lockie and Alie were unable to previously. Although Adams spread the ball around to five different receivers, his favorite target was Carrington, who finished with 125 yards and two touchdowns. Adams and Carrington never played together in a game until Saturday, yet the two clicked from the opening drive.
“We went to the Rec after fall camp late nights, and we worked on our timing,” Adams said. “I think D.C. and I have a lot of chemistry.”
Oregon’s defense also had a newfound stinginess. Aside from Myles Gaskin’s 72-yard touchdown run, the Ducks kept the Huskies’ offense at bay. Oregon’s defensive line combined for four sacks, including one and a half from Buckner.
Yet for all the positive takeaways, Oregon victory’s was nearly spoiled for the second straight week. The Ducks punted to the Huskies at their own 20-yard line with 1:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Huskies started marching with two quick first downs, but the drive ended abruptly when freshman cornerback Ugo Amadi picked off R.J. Carta-Samuels, who replaced an injured Browning. The Ducks kneeled in victory formation to seal the win.
“As a defense, you always want to end the game,” Amadi said. “Especially to get redemption after the Washington State game, we were like, ‘let’s make Oregon known for being a defensive team as well.’”
The Ducks now have 11 days to prepare for a road date with Arizona State, who narrowly lost to Utah on Saturday.
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner
After ten-month hiatus, Darren Carrington delivers encore performance
Will Denner
October 17, 2015
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