The Oregon football team had been steady in the first half, but had nothing to show for it.
The offense was staying afloat, able to move the ball under first-time starter Nate Costa, but unable to find the end zone.
The defense was thriving, forcing a UCLA turnover on downs with a first-quarter goal-line stand and allowing just three points off a 15-play, 65-yard Bruin scoring drive.
It was hard to tell where a spark would come from, but within four minutes in the second half, the Ducks put on a fireworks show.
Oregon running back Kenjon Barner returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, and cornerback Talmadge Jackson III picked off UCLA starting quarterback Kevin Prince on the Bruins’ first offensive play of the half as the Ducks racked up 21 points in 3:54 to stifle UCLA, 24-10.
The win gives Oregon (5-1, 3-0 Pacific-10 Conference) its best conference start since 2001, while UCLA (3-2, 0-2 Pac-10) is off to its worst conference start since 1999.
“That’s what our team does,” head coach Chip Kelly said. “They feed off each other. When somebody makes a big play, the other guys feed off that. These guys have a great attitude, a great chemistry right now. It’s fun to be around them.”
Kelly’s charges were certainly sparked by Barner’s return. The redshirt freshman caught the ball two yards deep in the end zone and returned it for Oregon’s second-longest kick return for a touchdown at 100 yards, set by Woodley Lewis with 102 yards in 1949.
Yardage in the end zone is no longer counted, otherwise it would have tied Lewis’ record. That was followed Jackson’s interception return, the Ducks’ fifth non-offensive touchdown on the season.
Then on the second play of the Bruins’ second possession of the second half, defensive end Kenny Rowe stripped Prince of the ball, and linebacker Eddie Pleasant recovered the fumble. Eight plays later, Costa hit wide receiver Jeff Maehl for his first career touchdown pass — and the first touchdown pass to an Oregon receiver — to put the Ducks up 21-3.
“Oregon’s defense took away some of the things we like to do,” UCLA head coach Rick
Neuheisel said.
Neuheisel ended up switching out Prince for true freshman quarterback Richard Brehaut twice over the course of the game, but the Bruins’ best scoring play came on defense.
Pinned at the two-yard line off a Jeff Locke punt, Costa rolled to his right as two UCLA defenders sniffed out the play fake.
He threw the ball right at linebacker Akeem Ayers — who caught the ball, then planted his feet in the very back of the end zone to secure the Bruins’ only touchdown.
“Next time I’ll pump-fake differently,” said Costa, who went 9-for-17 for 82 yards. “That was just a flat-out great play.”
Oregon’s offense out gained UCLA’s with 303 yards to the Bruins’ 211, 145 of which came through the air.
“They’re as good a defense as I’ve seen in a long time,” Kelly said of his unit.
LaMichael James had 152 of the Ducks’ 221 rushing yards on the game, including a spectacular 49-yard carry with the offense pinned on its own one-yard line. UCLA’s Taylor Embree led all receivers with five catches for 50 yards.
The lone score of the first half was a 52-yard field goal by UCLA’s Kai Forbath. Oregon attempted a 51-yard kick from Rob Beard in the first quarter, but the kick was low and was blocked. Morgan Flint tacked on a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to cement what would be the final score.
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Putting the ‘D’ in Ducks
Daily Emerald
October 10, 2009
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