Eugene, Ore. — Despite taking a five-point lead into halftime, the Arizona Wildcats were unable to over come the No. 1 Oregon Ducks in a 48-29 loss in Eugene, Ore., on Friday night.

“”I thought we had an opportunity,”” said Arizona head coach Mike Stoops. “”We were in a good position at halftime. Just too many mistakes in the second half.””

The No. 21 Wildcats had a 19-14 lead over the Oregon (11-0, 8-0 Pacific 10 Conference) but gave up 20 points in the third quarter — including an 85-yard rushing touchdown and a 99-yard touchdown drive — wear down the Arizona defense.

Although Arizona (7-4, 4-4) gave up the big play, an 85-yard rush from Josh Huff, the Wildcats trailed by just one point after the failed two-point conversion.

During Oregon’s next possession, the Wildcats forced the Ducks to attempt a 42-yard field goal, which kicker Rob Beard missed. However, Ricky Elmore was called offside, and gave Oregon new life.

“”The field goal attempt we jumped offside and they missed was big,”” said safety Adam Hall. “”It was a big thing.””

Ducks’ quarterback Darron Thomas ran for a 20-yard touchdown to cap off the 99-yard drive.  He would finish with four total to his credit on the night.

Any momentum the Wildcats had coming out of the halftime break was gone.

Oregon running back LaMichael James ran for 126 yards and two scores in the contest.

“”We definitely played hard, but we didn’t execute in critical times and that you can’t be happy about,”” co-defensive coordinator Tim Kish said.

Arizona Quarterback Nick Foles has 448 passing yards and three touchdowns, two of which were wide-open strikes to Juron Criner and David Roberts. Criner’s first two catches of the game combined for 93 yards and two touchdowns.

With the win, Oregon locked up at least a share of the Pac-10 Championship.

The Wildcats will take on ASU on Thursday in their final Pac-10 game of the year.

Check back to dailywildcat.com for full recap and analysis on Monday.