With a 16-7 lead early in the third quarter, Oregon head coach Chip Kelly rolled the dice yet again.
Already known for his uncultivated play calling, Kelly took a chance on fourth-and-three during the Ducks second drive after intermission.
Backup middle linebacker Michael Clay was positioned in the backfield with true freshman punter Alejandro Maldonado lined up for his first official punt of the season. Clay took the direct snap and stormed through the line with nothing but daylight in front of him, and 64 yards later the sophomore was knocked out of bounds inside the Oregon State 10-yard line.
Having already converted on several risky special teams plays this season, Kelly was confident in his players’ execution.
“We were going to do it the first time we punted,” Kelly said. “And that happened to be in the third quarter.”
Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas hit senior wide receiver D.J. Davis with a 19-yard touchdown pass, and after the ensuing extra point, top-ranked Oregon was ahead 23-7.
The play encapsulated Oregon’s perfect regular season, with high-risk, high-reward play-calling going in the Ducks’ favor. But if it were not for Oregon’s standout performance defensively, Kelly may have been more hesitant with the possibility of handing the Beavers the ball at midfield.
The second-year head coach, however, had no such worry after the opening play from scrimmage, which featured a bone-crushing tackle from senior Casey Matthews delivered directly to the chest of Oregon State quarterback Ryan Katz. The hit quickly silenced a rowdy Reser Stadium crowd, setting the tone for one of the strongest showings of the year for Nick Aliotti’s defense.
“After that first hit, I was kind of at a daze for a little bit,” Katz said. “And I got the wind knocked out of me.”
In the last Civil War matchup of their careers, Matthews and fellow senior Spencer Paysinger led the way for the No. 1 Ducks throughout the day. Matthews finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss, and the opening sack on Katz, while Paysinger recorded a team-high eight tackles and two pass breakups.
The front seven had consistent pressure on Katz all day, forcing throws into the arms of several Oregon defenders. In all, nine different Ducks tallied pass breakups, while Talmadge Jackson III, John Boyett, Terrell Turner and Clay also recorded interceptions.
“We knew they’d give us their best shot. We expected a fight from them and obviously it was a physical game,” Matthews said. “But it did take us a little while to go, but when you get into the Pac-10 teams they know you more year in and year out. So we expected this kind of challenge.”
Oregon held star running back Jacquizz Rodgers to just 87 yards on 22 carries, and kept the junior out of the end zone on the ground all game as Oregon State finished with just 90 yards rushing.
Katz did, however, pick up a lot of yards through the air in the second half, extending several drives with third-down completions. Of the Beavers 20 first downs on the day, 13 came through the air.
Oregon’s secondary did clean some things up from the 448-yard showing against Arizona quarterback Nick Foles last weekend, as they allowed 229 yard passing on the day.
The defensive performance was one Oregon certainly needed moving forward, and one it will relish in for the next few days before preparations for powerhouse Auburn and the National Championship Game on Jan. 10.
“Everybody was going crazy,” Oregon sophomore Cliff Harris said. “It’s a great accomplishment, you know, to see all your hard work that you put on over the summer, just throughout the year and just see it coming and its paying off, you know, so it’s a good thing.”
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