SEATTLE — When the No. 2 Oregon Ducks came to Husky Stadium in Seattle two years ago, the only thing the Ducks had to lose was everything: an undefeated record and a serious shot at a national championship.
Enter 2015, a different Oregon team and completely different story. These Ducks came into Saturday’s game with Pac-12 title hopes in the rear-view mirror and College Football Playoff hopes well out of sight.
The 3-3 Ducks came as close to hitting rock bottom as they had in years.
Oregon didn’t have as much to play for this time around, but it had more to prove. Win, and show the world the Ducks are not a team to be taken lightly. Lose, and become the laughingstock of the FBS.
The Ducks didn’t strut into Husky Stadium with an air of confidence. They couldn’t. For the first time in the last decade, the Washington Huskies were more excited to play Oregon than Oregon was to play them.
The Ducks fed off that energy. The long-awaited returns of quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and wide receiver Darren Carrington lit a fire under their tails. They played their most complete game of the season and extended their win streak against Washington to 12 straight.
When asked how disappointing the 26-20 loss was, Washington nose tackle Elijah Qualls said, “Twelve years disappointing.”
Qualls said Washington didn’t have a quarterback on its scout team who could simulate what Adams could do.
The last time Adams faced the Huskies, he completed 31 passes for 475 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions for Eastern Washington.
Tonight, Adams wasn’t the entire show, but he gave the Ducks a legitimate shot to win—something Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie simply wouldn’t have been able to do against Washington’s stout defense, which entered the game ranked first in the Pac-12 in rushing defense (121.6 ypg), total defense (326.0 ypg) and scoring defense (15.0 ppg). Adams threw 14 completions for 272 yards and two touchdowns; Carrington caught five of those passes for 125 yards and both touchdowns.
Adams and Carrington spent many late summer nights playing catch and working on timing on the turf fields at the UO Student Recreation Center. The chemistry they built showed on the big stage, when they connected for a 36-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-10 during the first drive of the game.
“He’s a big playmaker,” Adams said of Carrington. “I just saw him going deep; he put his hand up and I just threw it. I knew he was going to go get it.”
Adams missed Oregon’s last two games recovering from a broken index finger on his throwing hand. Carrington missed all seven games the Ducks played since the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1—when he exploded for seven catches, 165 yards and touchdowns of 56 and 30 yards—due to a failed drug test.
“I almost shed a tear, but it was just all smiles,” Carrington said. “You never know how fast it can be gone, but it was just good to be back out there.”
Head coach Mark Helfrich said getting Adams and Carrington back on the field was the spark plug Oregon needed.
“When the team has confidence in the quarterback… that elevates everybody,” Helfrich said.
Oregon ramped up performance in all facets of its game. For the first time all season, it resembled the program that came within one win of a national title nine months ago.
“I think that was just the beginning,” Carrington said. “We’re just going to get better from there.”
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @KennyJacoby