Story: Oregon Football Survives Again on the Final Drive against UCLA

Written Story: Ryan Milano

The Ducks survived a late comeback effort by UCLA to pull off a 34-31 win in Pasadena. Oregon upped the blood pressure for the third consecutive game on Saturday but were able to fend off Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Bruins.

The Ducks started out the gate sluggish, falling behind 14-0 early to UCLA, but the Ducks proved resilient. Oregon punched back with a 34-3 run sparked by four Travis Dye rushing touchdowns and punctuated by a 43-yard Anthony Brown touchdown scamper.

The Bruins weren’t done throwing punches on their own. UCLA came back with a vengeance in the 4th Quarter. Two 4th quarter interceptions by Jay Shaw and Jordan Genmark Heath paved the way for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Brittain Brown to find paydirt on the ground and set up a final drive for the Bruins down 34-31 with three minutes remaining on the clock.

On the final drive, UCLA started to move the ball downfield, but on first down, Kayvon Thibodeaux crashed into Thompson-Robinson on a play that left both shaken up. Thibodeaux would remain in the game, but UCLA’s quarterback would not. The backup, Ethan Garbers, came in for the remainder of the final drive, but couldn’t get it done for UCLA. Garbers threw an interception to DJ James with 48 seconds left, which effectively ended the game 34-31.

Offensively, Oregon was led by their Quarterback, Anthony Brown. Brown threw for a season-high 296 yards, with a 74% completion percentage, but gave away two costly interceptions. Travis Dye was a goal-line hero as well, punching in 4 TDs

Defensively, the Ducks had two huge bright spots. Kayvon Thibodeaux was a game changer. Thibodeaux ended the game with 2 sacks, 9 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble off the edge. Thibodeaux was the punisher, but DJ James was the finisher. James came up with 2 huge interceptions in order to seal the win for Oregon.

The Ducks advance to 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. Oregon will be back at Autzen Stadium next Saturday to face off against the Colorado Buffaloes at 12:30 PM.

Audio Stories

Anthony Brown Proves Doubters Wrong in 34-31 Victory over UCLA (by Sean MacPherson)