Second-Half Woes Follow Ducks to Pasadena in 31-14 Loss to UCLA

Even before Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert went down with a fractured collarbone in the Ducks’ Week 5 win against Cal, Oregon has struggled to score the ball in the second half. The same was true on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. After the UCLA Bruins (4-3, 2-2 Pac-12) scored the first 14 points of the battle, the Ducks (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12) tied the score just before halftime with two Braxton Burmeister touchdown runs. The second half belonged to the Bruins, though, as UCLA shutout Oregon in quarters three and four and scored 17 unanswered to win 31-14. The Ducks’ passing game was improved in Saturday, but Oregon was still held under 100 yards passing for the second-consecutive week. In addition to Burmeister’s two scrambles for touchdowns, Royce Freeman passed LaMichael James to become Oregon’s all-time leading rusher with back-to-back long runs in the fourth quarter. Freeman, who finished with 160 yards on 29 carries, is also now alone at second all-time in career rushing yards in Pac-12 history. The loss is the Ducks’ third in a row and fourth in five Pac-12 games. After starting the season 3-0, Oregon is back to .500 at 4-4. Full postgame coverage is available below, including stories and interviews.

POSTGAME STORIES

Ducks’ Offense More Methodical, Less Explosive in Third Straight Loss (by Alex Castle)

Oregon’s Defense Unable to Carry Ducks in Loss to UCLA (by Austin Cracraft)

POSTGAME INTERVIEWS

Head Coach Willie Taggart

Running Back Royce Freeman

Wide Receiver Charles Nelson

Linebacker La’Mar Winston

Offensive Lineman Calvin Throckmorton

Offensive Lineman Jake Hanson