Fall. Football is, first and foremost, the best indication that fall is near. With its plummeting temperatures and winds of change blowing through the red, yellow, and orange hue of leaves, fall in Oregon also brings rain. On what was to be a spectacular day in Western Oregon – fall leaves and colors staving off the foreboding gloom of winter – the Oregon football team looked to end a five game skid against visiting Arizona State on a nearly perfect October afternoon at Autzen Stadium.
The Sun Devils entered the game with issues of their own. Down to a fourth-string, true-freshman quarterback and a defense playing just as porous as that of the Ducks, the Sun Devils limped into the game looking for revenge on their North Division nemesis. On the wings of hope, the Oregon team looked to stem the tide of losses.
The Ducks ended a five game losing streak dating back to a September trip to Lincoln – and also exorcised some demons with some key defensive stops, including three forced turnovers in the game.
The game would start off well on both sides of the ball for this beleaguered band of gridiron gladiators. Following a defensive stand and punt, the Duck offense returned to its form of old with a quick strike, big play offense. With a 72-yard touchdown reception on a tight end screen, Pharoah Brown opened the scoring for an early 7-0 Oregon lead. Brown, perhaps the most inspirational player in all of college football had a career day setting career highs with 7 receptions and 129 yards on the day.
"We knew that they were gonna blitz all week, so we just had some plays ready for that - and DC (Darren Carrington) made a block down field that got me in," said Brown of his stellar game.
Following the early defensive stop, Oregon and Arizona State traveled back into time to the O.K. Corral with an olde time shootout. A game that had featured two porous defenses did not seem to disappoint early, but it would be the continued emergence of freshman quarterback Justin Herbert giving the fans hope for not just a future – but a present as well. Mathematically, a bowl bid is not yet out of reach for this Oregon team, but they will need to win four of five down the stretch. Given the road which must be traversed, that is a tall order. By the midway point of the first quarter, the teams had already combined for 251 yards of total offense.
Energized by a newly invigorated crowd, the defense stepped up in the second quarter holding Arizona State to just 24 yards of total offense and recording their first turnover since Colorado.
A game of momentum swinging both ways – adjustments on both sides of the ball, saw the Ducks open the third quarter reverting to their more porous identity while struggling to move the ball on their first drive. After exchanging punts with the Ducks offense looking pedestrian, Arizona State capitalized on a missed Oregon field goal attempt with a 9 play, 77 yard touchdown drive that took 3:11 off the clock. A two point conversion cut the lead in half with the Ducks holding a precarious 30-22 lead with 4:56 left in the third quarter.
Royce Freeman returned again and looked healthy early with a 10 yard run that seemed vintage ‘Rolls’ Royce – but there was still a lack of normal burst as Freeman struggled for most of the game with 17 carries for 38 yards – just 2.2 yards per carry."I'll have to look at film and see what happened," said Helfrich of Freeman's performance.
Having been outplayed for most of the third quarter, the Ducks would respond with their last possession in the frame on a scramble by Herbert who found Jalen Brown for a 49-yard gain to set the Ducks up with a first-and-goal situation that would ultimately result in a field goal to extend the Oregon lead to 33-22 with less than a half-minute left in the period. Despite the tightening game, the Oregon defense held the Sun Devils to just 85 yards in the third quarter.
With both defenses struggling to make plays, converting yards into points would be imperative. Most importantly, converting long drives into touchdowns could have sealed a much more comfortable position if not for four drives ending in field goal attempts; three converted and one missed. Instead, Oregon would watch haplessly as Arizona State mounted a comeback pulling to within 33-28 with just under 13 minutes left in the game.
“I thought we started out well on defense,” said Helfrich. “There’s always things that can be corrected, but that’s us watching film.”
This would be the opportunity for Justin Herbert to grow up and become a leader as his team looked for a spark.
Arizona State brought pressure the entire game and with each successive possession in the second half seemed to gain steam confusing and stymieing the Duck offensive line. A simple half roll on third-and-ten provided the spark for the Ducks as Herbert found Johnny Mundt for a 53-yard touchdown. With a 12-point lead, the Ducks needed one more stop and then a long time killing drive; which would elude them when Arizona State returned a Kani Benoit fumble to the 10-yard line and converted in two plays to cut the lead to 40-35 with less than seven minutes to play.
The Ducks would lock down the win with a big 87-yard interception returned followed by a quick drive ending in a Royce Freeman touchdown run. Tony Brooks James, playing the understudy to Freeman carried the ball just 9 times for 132 yards including an impressive 58-yard burst to the right for a touchdown.
Herbert would tie the school record with 489 passing yards completing 31 of 42 and adding an impressive 4 touchdown passes. The defense gave up 468 yards for the day but made just enough big plays to give the offense an opportunity to send Duck fans home happy with a win.
As the students chanted ‘J-U-S-T-I-N H-E-R-B-E-R-T’ as the Ducks left the field, there was the momentary glee of days gone by. These were moments that are remembered by players and fans for years to come, but coaches understand that the moment passes too soon and the next opponent sits squarely on the radar of the Oregon staff."It was kind of cool, but I know that its a lot of guys working together, not just me," said Herbert following the game.
Up next for the Ducks is a trip to Los Angeles to take on a resurgent USC Trojan team coming off a dominant 45-24 victory over Cal this week.
