Oregon's Offense Pointing Fingers at Themselves after Loss to Arizona
The Ducks managed only seven points in the first half – on a throwback pass from Royce Freeman to Marcus Mariota.
(EUGENE, Ore. ) — An offensive line still adjusting to injuries, a receiving corps that missed multiple signals in the first half, a quarterback who lost two fumbles – and all of them pointing fingers at themselves Thursday following No. 2 Oregon’s 31-24 loss to Arizona in Autzen Stadium.
The Ducks managed only seven points in the first half – on a throwback pass from Royce Freeman to Marcus Mariota – and couldn’t muster a late comeback after Arizona’s offense got rolling in the third quarter. Oregon didn’t have a 100-yard rusher, for the fifth straight game, and Mariota was a very solid 20-of-32 for 276 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked five times and lost two fumbles, the second with 2:11 to play and the Ducks trying to drive to a game-tying touchdown.
“It’s tough,” Mariota said. “We left a lot of points on the board. Two turnovers by me was tough. That’s a lot of points we could have scored.”
For the second straight game, the Ducks started an offensive line that included true freshman Tyrell Crosby and walk-on Matt Pierson at the tackles; injured senior Jake Fisher was not in pads. As at Washington State two weeks earlier, the unit seemed to jell as the game wore on, but Oregon struggled to run the ball and keep Mariota out of trouble early on.
And like at WSU, some of the veterans on the O line suffered breakdowns too. Senior center Hroniss Grasu was whistled for a false start – he said Arizona was mimicking Oregon’s cadence – and also called twice for holding.
“We’ve got to rally the troops, and it starts with me,” Grasu said. “It starts with the offensive line, and I’ve got to get these guys going.”
Mariota started the game 2-of-7 passing, and twice in the first half dramatically overthrew receivers who cut off their routes. Afterward, the Ducks said receivers had missed signals prior to the plays.
“It was just mistakes,” senior Keanon Lowe said. “Nothing different; we didn’t do anything extravagant or anything. We try not to let them happen during any game, but a couple games ago we had a couple communication mistakes, (at WSU) we were good and today we had a couple.
“We just left a lot of plays out there. And those turn into points. Whether it was the receivers, or the offensive line, the backs, our unit as a whole just left a lot of plays out there.”
UO coach Mark Helfrich said accountability for the defeat starts at the top.
“I thought we played hard,” Helfrich said. “We came out ready to play, but we weren’t communicating well and that’s on me.”
Helfrich scheduled treatment and meetings for the team Friday. Then, the Ducks will pivot to their next game, at UCLA on Oct. 11.
“We left a lot of plays out on the field, and that’s what’s bothering me the most right now,” Grasu said. “But we’ve got to get ready to go play UCLA.”
Source: goducks.com
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