The Arizona football team played the No.13 University of Oregon at Arizona Stadium for their family weekend game. This was a highly anticipated game for both teams, as each team was coming off impressive wins last week. Arizona looked to build off the historic game quarterback Jayden de Laura had last week against the University of Colorado Boulder.
The Ducks (5-1) came into the game as the third seed in the Pac-12 and would leave the game in that same position. Arizona (3-3) was coming into this game after a very impressive showing against Colorado last week and was looking to move up the standings themselves.
However, their play on the field displayed complete unpreparedness for the Ducks. Jayden de Laura would throw for 241 yards with 1 touchdown completing 54% of his passes on the night. This performance was one of the worst of the season so far for the Wildcat quarterback.
This is De Laura’s third single-touchdown game of the season, and the Wildcats are 1-2 in these games. Arizona would also give up 580 total yards to the Ducks, and their three turnovers and lack of converting in the red zone were their downfalls in this game.
Arizona won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the first possession. They methodically went down the field picking up 37 yards from a completion to wide receiver Jacob Cowing, nine more yards by Cowing to get into Oregon’s red zone, and then a holding penalty from the Ducks would follow. The drive was capped off by a 38-yard kick by kicker Tyler Loop to put the Wildcats up 3-0.
Oregon would quickly respond. To start, quarterback Bo Nix would pick up 10 yards on a catch by tight end Moliki Matavao. Then, running back Noah Whittington would explode for a long rush of 55 yards for an Oregon touchdown, with the Ducks taking the lead 7-3.
The next drive would be halted quickly after a pass intended for wide receiver Dorian Singer was broken up by defensive back Trikweze Bridges. Once the Ducks got the ball, their offense would continue to roll as Nix completed a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Kris Hutson, getting the Ducks in Arizona’s red zone. Then Nix would run a quarterback keeper for a 2-yard touchdown, putting the Ducks up 14-3 after a good field goal attempt.
The following drive, Arizona continued to struggle offensively as they would face two loss-of-yardage plays on the drive, resulting in an inevitable punt once again.
Oregon simply kept on rolling. Nix would deliver a strike for 30 yards to wide receiver Chase Cota, then followed it up with an 18-yard pass to Hutson. The drive would be capped off by a Matavao rushing touchdown as Oregon led 21-3, and there was still time in the first half.
Arizona knew that this was the point in the game where things could get out of hand, especially because Oregon was receiving the ball coming out of the half. Understanding this, De Laura and head coach Jedd Fisch did what they did and executed a scoring drive. It began with an 8-yard completion to Cowing, then running back DJ Williams would get loose after breaking several tackles for a 52- yard rushing touchdown.
Unfortunately, Oregon’s offense was on automatic tonight and, with the time they had left on the clock, Nix would execute another scoring drive of his own. It started with a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Troy Franklin, then a 6-yard completion to wide receiver Seven McGee. Then, running back Jordan James would rush on three plays in a row until the Ducks got into the end zone, going up 28-10.
There was still some time left on the clock and Arizona looked to get more points before halftime. Running back Jonah Coleman would get loose for a 43-yard rush, getting the Wildcats into the field goal range. Arizona would go into halftime with a score of 13-28 against Oregon.
Coming out of halftime, Oregon’s offensive would continue rolling and Arizona’s defense did not have any answer whatsoever for the Ducks. Nix would start with a 17-yard completion to running back Bucky Irving, a quarterback-keeper for 11 yards, and a rush by running back Noah Whittington for 12 yards. Then, to cap off the drive, Nix ran another quarterback-keeper for the touchdown. Oregon was now up 35-13.
One of the stories of the night was about turnovers. This next drive would have a De Laura interception, which gave Oregon great field position at the Arizona 39-yard line. The Ducks’ offense would continue rolling, as Nix completed a 6-yard pass to Whittington and a 10-yard pass to McGee. Irving would cap off the drive with a rushing touchdown of 23 yards. Now, Oregon was up 42-13.
Then, on the next drive, Arizona continued with the mistakes as De Laura would be sacked for a 29-yard-loss and fumble the ball, once again giving Oregon great field position.
As they had done all night, the Ducks would take advantage of this. Nix would complete a 6-yard pass to McGee, and then run a quarterback-keeper for the 25-yard touchdown to put the lead at an insurmountable 49-13.
Arizona would look to finally get some points on the board themselves, as their next drive would start after a 33-yard return from Jacob Cowing.
Oregon would run the ball for the majority of the fourth to run the clock, but Arizona would go on one final drive to close the gap a little bit in this game.
De Laura would complete a 7-yard pass to wide receiver Anthony Simpson, an 11-yard pass to Cowing, and cap off this drive with an 11-yard pass for a touchdown to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan to finish the game with a final score of 22-49.
Up next for Arizona football is the University of Washington next Saturday, Oct. 15, in Seattle, Wash.
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