UA defense pounded by Oregon in loss
If they’re going to pull off an upset or two during this gauntlet of games against ranked opponents, the Arizona Wildcats will have to play better defense.
That side of the ball struggled in a major way for the second time in three weeks Saturday.
Arizona surrendered 580 yards in a 49-22 loss to No. 12 Oregon at Arizona Stadium. The Ducks won a game in Tucson for the first time since 2011. Oregon (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) has won five in a row this season following an opening loss to Georgia.
The outcome resembled Arizona’s visit to Cal on Sept. 24. The Golden Bears piled up 599 yards — including 354 on the ground — and 49 points. The Ducks rushed for 306 yards, the third time in four games the Wildcats have surrendered 283 or more.
The Oregon game was Arizona’s first of five in a row against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. Next week’s opponent, Washington, might fall out of the rankings after being upset at Arizona State earlier in the day. The Huskies still will be favored.
The Wildcats (3-3, 1-2) were hoping to replicate what went down in Tempe on a crisp fall night in Tucson. So were their fans. The announced attendance was 50,800 – Arizona’s first home sellout since 2015.
It seemed like a possibility when the Wildcats drove inside the 10 on the opening possession. Then they fumbled.
The defense rose to the occasion on the next drive, forcing a punt. Oregon wouldn’t punt again until 1:41 remained in the third quarter. In between, the Ducks scored touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions.
Bo Nix completed 20 of 25 passes for 265 yards, at one point hitting on 14 throws in a row. He also ran for 70 yards. The transfer from Auburn had a pair of rushing touchdowns in the third quarter as Oregon expanded its lead from 28-13 to 49-13.
Meanwhile, the UA offense was plagued by mistakes. Arizona turned the ball over three times. Passes that Jayden de Laura completed last week in a record-setting performance against Colorado sailed over receivers’ heads or bounced off the Arizona Stadium turf. De Laura completed 24 of 42 passes for 241 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Wildcats had their way with the Buffaloes. Oregon sits at the opposite end of the Pac-12 spectrum. If the Ducks aren’t the best team in the conference, they’re at least in the discussion.
The ease with which Oregon dispatched Arizona showed just how far the Wildcats have to go to match the league’s elite programs. Arizona is unquestionably improved in Year 2 under Jedd Fisch; the Wildcats already have won more games than they did last season. But they clearly need more playmakers on defense.
Arizona was in position to take a 7-0 lead but fumbled that precious opportunity away. On first-and-goal from the 7 on the opening drive, the Wildcats attempted a jet sweep to Jacob Cowing. But Cowing couldn’t hang onto the ball.
DJ Johnson recovered it at the 11.
The UA defense held, and Arizona took a 3-0 lead on Tyler Loop’s 38-yard field goal. At that point, Oregon had run just five plays and possessed the ball for only 2 minutes, 12 seconds.
The Ducks then went to work, exploiting the biggest mismatch in the game — their rushing attack vs. the Wildcats’ run defense.
Noah Whittington’s 55-yard touchdown run gave Oregon a 7-3 lead. He did not appear to be touched as he raced through the Arizona defense.
The Wildcats had great field position, at their 43, on the next possession thanks to Anthony Simpson’s careerbest 39-yard kickoff return. But they managed only one first down before having to punt.
The Ducks needed just seven plays to go 90 yards. Nix’s 39-yard pass to Kris Hutson — a play-action bomb to the post set up by the ground attack — moved the ball to the 2. Nix ran it in from there to make it 14-3 with 12:01 left in the half.
Arizona again made only one first down on its next possession, and Oregon again had no trouble moving the ball down the field. The Ducks’ nineplay, 86-yard drive ended with a 3-yard TD run by tight end Moliki Matavao.
The Wildcats caught a break late in the second quarter. Oregon’s Dontae Manning was ejected for targeting, giving Arizona a first down at its 48. On the next play, DJ Williams burst through a hole and raced down the right sideline for a 52-yard touchdown to make it 2110.
That was as close as the Wildcats would get. The Ducks scored their fourth touchdown in as many possessions to make it 28-10. This time it was Jordan James plunging in from the 1 with 34 seconds to go in the first half.