The game was decided on the goal line.
Tim DeRuyter’s defense made three goal line stands –– on the last of which he brought a blitz, leaving Chase Garbers’ receivers no time to get open as the Bears’ last chance at an upset bounced in the end zone. The battered Oregon Ducks narrowly survived the California Golden Bears, 24-17, Friday night at Autzen Stadium.
Though imperfect, Oregon improved to 5-1 and kept its fading playoff hopes alive.
Travis Dye’s Swiss Army knife skill set was crucial for the Ducks’ success as he shouldered all but two of the Ducks’ carries, tallying 149 yards of offense on 19 carries.
Dye was also the Ducks primary receiving target, finding space out of the backfield on screen and check-down passes where he created first downs using his feet. He finished the night with 73 yards on seven receptions.
The Ducks “bend don’t break” defense allowed the Bears to move the ball up and down the field, allowing 409 yards of total offense which materialized into just 17 points.
“Teams are gonna work for everything they get,” Oregon safety Verone McKinley III said. “We do a good job of buckling down, especially when we get down in the red-zone.”
The crowd, especially the swaths of students, were critical of starting quarterback Anthony Brown. Coming off a loss at Stanford where Brown struggled, many clamored for the Ducks’ five-star freshman phenom Ty Thompson to take over.
“It really motivated us,” Oregon offensive lineman Ryan Walk said. “You want to say that you didn’t notice it, but we all noticed it.”
Brown finished 20-of-28 with 244 passing yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 44 yards including an 11 yard, go-ahead touchdown. But, despite two strong fourth-quarter drives, he again failed to look downfield on several crucial downs, instead opting to dump the ball off or check down.
The Oregon offense had no trouble driving the field, converting 23 first downs, the same amount as Cal, but failed to score on a handful of possessions as nine penalties for 82 free yards and two fumbles stalled drives.
On third-and-6, in Golden Bear territory, Brown ran for no gain. The Ducks then lined up for fourth down in which Brown dumped a screen pass to Dye, who was covered and only able to pick up two yards, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The crowd booed as the Ducks swapped personnel on the field. Oregon’s failure to create any separation between themselves and their seemingly inferior opponent created immense tension which could be felt all throughout the stadium.
“It’s always gonna be about turning up the volume on what we do,” Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal said after the game, regarding how his quarterback dealt with the crowd.
The Ducks escaped with a 24-17 win, but still lacked an identity. Many of the Ducks’ problems can be attributed to injuries on both sides of the football, but the quarterback position is a different story.
Brown has now made numerous game winning drives against Fresno State, Ohio State and now California. He is the team’s emotional nucleus, but he has yet to show the ability to throw downfield to exploit matchups caused by Oregon’s talented receiver core. Brown will remain Oregon’s quarterback, but a change at the helm could be coming.
Oregon travels to Los Angeles next weekend where they’ll face an explosive UCLA team headed by a man who changed Oregon’s trajectory: Chip Kelly.
