Written and Audio Story: Ryan Milano

The Iowa State Cyclones got the best of the Oregon Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl, defeating them 34-17. It was a sloppy game for Oregon from start to finish. The Ducks started the game with Tyler Shough under center but used backup Quarterback Anthony Brown as a short-yardage QB for the first two drives. Brown scored the Ducks first touchdown of the game as the backup and earned himself a full drive later in the half, taking his team 98 yards to score and tie the game up at 14. That was the last time Oregon would have an opportunity to tie the game.

The turnover party would ensue and wouldn’t let up for the rest of the game. It started with a Travis Dye fumble in the 2nd quarter, which gave Iowa State the ball inside the Oregon red zone. That was followed by an Iowa State pooch kickoff that was not fielded cleanly by the Ducks and recovered by ISU. Despite the two first-half blunders, Oregon reached halftime within striking distance down 28-17. However, the problems weren’t fixed in the 2nd half. A muffed punt by Mykael Wright, an Anthony Brown fumble, and a Tyler Shough interception brought up the giveaway total to five, and Oregon never had a chance.

If the turnovers weren’t enough, the Quarterback controversy that had been brewing since the Pac-12 Championship game got even murkier. Shough looked like the guy until Oregon took over on their own 2-yard line, and Anthony Brown led a 98 yard TD drive. Brown held the reigns of the offense until midway through the 3rd quarter when he fumbled the ball. After the fumble, Mario Cristobal would continuously interchange Shough and Brown with seemingly little rhyme or reason. The result, two quarterbacks with lacking confidence and inconsistent playing time. A recipe for disaster. The Ducks finish off the 2020 football season on a low note and can only look forward to 2021.

Audio Story