The darlings of West Coast football got knocked back to reality Saturday with a stunning 38-28 loss to
A program considered on the rise fell — and fell hard. With it went
Forget top-25 rankings. With another
It will have to improve greatly to rebuild its reputation after three consecutive victories — all at home — attracted national attention.
The team took a step backward in
Not with 5-foot-7 running back Jacquizz Rodgers making
“”We’ve got to attack people rather than try to run around them,”” said
Rodgers, who also had 82 yards on five receptions, set the tone the first time he touched the ball. He gained a career-best 61 yards on a wildcat play, then scored five plays later. Rodgers scored three times in the first half as
“”You know what plays they are going to run,”” Cardinal safety
But it wasn’t just a defensive lapse.
The Beavers also frustrated the offense, which relies on a steady diet of Gerhart’s running. By disrupting quarterback
“”We had a horribly slow start,”” said Luck, who was 12-of-30 for 226 yards and two touchdowns. “”They made us pay for that start.””
The first play from scrimmage offered a glimpse at what was to come. Luck found Owusu in front of a Beavers defender for what looked like a sure touchdown. But Owusu dropped the ball. Luck told his receiver, “”All right, let’s come back on them and do it.””
But then Luck, a redshirt freshman, overthrew open receivers time and again, missing on his first six passes.
“”I wasn’t calming down,”” he said.
But more than anything,
“”We weren’t making tackles,””
At least not enough while playing in the unfriendly precincts of
———
(c) 2009, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.).
Visit MercuryNews.com, the World Wide Web site of the
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.