Another year, another collapse in the State of Arizona for Oregon Football. This time the stakes were higher. Coming into the matchup #6 Oregon was on a nine-game winning streak and in serious contention for the College Football Playoff. After tonight, those hopes are dead, losing 31-28 to Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium. Prior to the game, all signs were pointing to Oregon: a senior quarterback vs a true freshman, a team who has won nine in a row vs a team who hasn’t had a lead since October 12th, and a 14½ point line. Those were simply signs, Oregon was outplayed on nearly every basis and the 31-28 scoreline is generous in the grand scheme of it all.

From the beginning it simply seemed out of sync for Oregon on offense, Johnny Johnson couldn’t put his finger on it but described the first three quarters as a funk. Oregon scored early via a Cyrus Habibi-Likio five-yard touchdown, after that they didn’t put points up until the fourth quarter. Oregon’s senior quarterback, Justin Herbert, certainly had a night that would make scouts worried. Herbert, who had thrown three interceptions all season, threw a pick on back-to-back drives setting up Jayden Daniels and the ASU offense close to the red zone on each of them. Alternatively, Oregon’s running game was often humming but when Offensive Coordinator Marcus Arroyo tried to find balance by implementing the passing game it never seemed to click. A rare positive in tonight’s contest for the Ducks was receiver Johnny Johnson who had a career night, finishing with 207 yards and two touchdowns. Oregon finished the contest with 458 total yards, skewed by the fact that nearly a third of those came on the final drive when the result was all but official.

Oregon’s defense certainly didn’t perform to what Oregon fans have seen in the recent past. Just last week Oregon held Arizona to 6 points, but tonight Jayden Daniels looked like the quarterback that should be taken in the first round of the NFL draft. To put context to how mediocre Oregon’s defense was tonight: this was the most yards they have given up since 2016 against Stanford, the most passing yards since 2015 versus Washington State, and allowed Jayden Daniels to throw for his career-high. Oregon leads the nation with 17 interceptions, but tonight they had none of those, instead, they gave up countless big plays. The three passing touchdowns that Daniels had tossed went for 57,26, and 81 yards, by far the two longest scores Oregon has allowed this campaign.

The ultimate goal of making the College Football Playoff is over for Oregon. Losing to a 5-5 team when you are favored by two touchdowns is a bad remedy for positivity but Oregon still has meaningful games to compete in. The Ducks have the Civil War matchup Saturday, then migrate south to Santa Clara to take on Utah in the PAC-12 Championship, with a Rose Bowl possibility still a glimmer of hope for Oregon Football.

Big Plays Haunt Oregon’s Secondary in Tempe (By: Adam Susman)

Head Coach Mario Cristobal

Justin Herbert

Johnny Johnson III

Troy Dye

Cyrus Habibi-Likio