The desert can be a god-forsaken, unforgiving place. In the blink of an eye, you can find yourself in a hopeless situation, wondering where it all went wrong and how you’re possibly going to pick yourself up and get out alive. Oregon found themselves in a hopeless situation on Saturday against the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson, falling 42-16, unofficially ending the Ducks 5-year run of BCS bowl berths.
![Photo: University of Arizona athletics]()
Photo: University of Arizona athletics
Arizona running back Ka’Deem Carey led the Wildcats offensive assault, running the ball 48 times for 206 yards and four touchdowns. Wildcats’ quarterback B.J. Denker also had a stellar performance, completing 19 of 22 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Troy Hill returned the game’s opening kickoff 40 yards all the way down to Arizona’s 45-yard line before the unthinkable happened on Oregon’s first play of the game.
Marcus Mariota threw an interception.
To clarify, it was more of a tip drill, eventually ending up in the hands of Scooby Wright who returned it 13 yards to Oregon’s 45-yard line.
Arizona would convert twice on third down during the drive, capping it off with a six-yard touchdown run from Carey as the Wildcats jumped out to the early 7-0 lead.
After a three-and-out by the Ducks on their next drive, the Wildcats converted two more third downs as Nate Phillips hauled in a nine-yard touchdown pass to extend Arizona’s lead to 14-0. The touchdown pass was part of a drive that went 10 plays for 59 yards. On Arizona’s first two drives, the Wildcats converted all four of their third down plays.
On Oregon’s next drive, the Ducks managed to drive all the way down to Arizona’s six-yard line, but a holding penalty forced Helfrich to have to settle for a field goal for Oregon’s first points of the day.
Oregon running back Byron Marshall also had an early exit at this point after just three carries and would not return for the rest of the game.
Arizona continued to manhandle Oregon’s defense with a 16-play, 83-yard touchdown drive to lead 21-3. By the end of the scoring drive, Arizona was a perfect 7-for-7 on third downs, and when you can’t stop a team on third down, you’re not going to like the result at the end of the day.
Oregon would score their first touchdown on the next drive, set up by a 17-yard reception by Josh Huff and a 15-yard rush by Mariota on consecutive drives. The Ducks would fail to convert on the two-point conversion attempt.
The Ducks’ defense made their first stop of the day on the next drive, forcing the Wildcats to punt after just four plays. However, Oregon was unable to capitalize as a fumble by Tyner gave Arizona the Wildcat’s the ball right back at midfield.
With their backs pinned up against their own goal line, Mariota began to lead his offense down the field in the final moments of the first half, getting first down after first down, methodically driving and using the sidelines to their advantage to control the clock. Then, on what was perhaps one of the most important plays of the day, Mariota fumbled on 4th and 2, giving the Wildcats the ball back with a minute to play. Two consecutive passes for 17 yards and 21 yards respectively set up a one-yard touchdown run by Carey to give Arizona a 28-9 lead going into the half.
An Arizona touchdown to start the second half would have essentially ended the game right there. Oregon’s defense stepped up on the opening drive in the 3rd quarter, forcing the Wildcats to punt the ball away after a three-and-out.
Oregon installed another impressive drive, going 76 yards all the way down to the six-yard line before stalling yet again. On 4th and 2, Mariota floated a pass intended for Keanon Lowe that sailed out of the back of the end zone, giving the Wildcats the ball back again as another trip to the red zone ended in no points for the Ducks.
In another defining moment, the Ducks were given another chance to cut into the Arizona lead halfway through the third quarter with the score still at 28-9. On 2nd and 10, De’Anthony Thomas was taken down in the backfield for a loss of 12 yards after hitting traffic on a run and attempting to change directions.
Arizona would essentially put the nail in the coffin on the ensuing drive. After a holding penalty on 3rd and 5, Denker and Carrey ran for 10-plus yard gains on consecutive plays. Carey would finish the drive off with a nine-yard touchdown run to give Arizona a commanding 35-9 lead heading into the final quarter.
Oregon would get one final glimmer of hope with an 84-yard scoring drive that took less than three minutes off the game clock, capped off with a two-yard touchdown catch by Josh Huff, brining the Ducks within three scores. Still a large deficit, but there were still over 14 minutes left in the game.
Any remaining light on Oregon’s season was extinguished on Arizona’s next drive, starting with a 35-yard run by Denker into Oregon territory. The Wildcats would finish the drive with 10 straight runs by Denker and Carey to extend Arizona’s lead to 42-16.
As if the blowout score wasn’t bad enough for Oregon, the final drive of the day for the Ducks’ offense was capped off with Mariota’s second interception of the day as Shaquille Robinson picked off the once Heisman front-runner as the icing on the cake. What happened next though brought back horrific memories of Tucson for Ducks fans.
Mariota, who led with his head to make the hit, tackled Robinson out of bounds, causing what initially looked like a potential concussion. The once mighty Mariota, who had yet to throw an interception comining into the 11th game of the season for Oregon, could not even get off the field without the help of his teammates, stumbling across the field looking woozy. It was a defining image brining fans back to 2007, when Dennis Dixon, also a Heisman favorite during the season, crumpled to the ground while running an option play during a 34-24 loss to the Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. The upset defeat also ended Oregon’s BCS hopes, and the Ducks would eventually have to settle with a Sun Bowl victory over South Florida.
Mariota would finish the day completing 27 of 41 passes for 308 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The clock hit zero, and for the first time since the 2007 season, Oregon’s hope at a BCS berth came crashing down in the season’s final weeks. Pending the Ducks don’t lose complete focus and rebound with a sixth straight Civil War victory over the Beavers next week, the Alamo Bowl is looking like the most probable destination for the Ducks in December.
Earlier this week, Josh Huff was quoted saying, “I don’t want to play in a Rose Bowl unless I’m playing for a national championship.”
Well, Mr. Huff, ask and ye shall receive.