The Ducks fall at home 62-20

The fans arrived in Eugene excited for a top 25 matchup between the 13^th ranked Oregon Ducks and the 18^th ranked Utah Utes. In the end the home team left disappointed as the Utes turned in it to a one sided affair after very close first quarter came to an end.

After each team put up six points in the first quarter the Ducks high powered offense we have seen over the past few seasons couldn’t get going. The Utes would score 49 of the next 56 points scored over the second and third quarters to roll to a 62-20 win on the road.

The struggles started for the Ducks early in the first quarter racking up just 54 yards on their first three drives on offense. The good news is the teams defense was able to hold the Utes to a punt on their first drive followed by back to back field goals before Byron Marshall returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards to the Utah 23 yard line and moved to the 11 yard line due to a face masking penalty that occurred on the play.

The Ducks would turn to their key offensive player Royce Freeman to find the end zone. Freeman would rush for eight yards on the first play before a ten yard holding penalty would push them back. Vernon Adams would hit Freeman on the very next play for a 13 yard touchdown. The attempt for two points would fail leading to a 6-6 tie after the first quarter.

That is where the Ducks defense would stall and the offense couldn’t find much against a solid Utes defense. The Utes would score on their next two drives racking up over 120 total yards of offense. The Ducks would cut it to 20-13 bringing the life back to the Ducks fans but the Utes would respond with their own five play 75 yard drive late in the second half to push the lead to 27-13.

Some of the offensive struggles could have been due to Adams broken index finger that kept him on the sidelines just one week earlier. The Ducks would turn to Jeff Lockie in the second quarter in hopes of finding some life on the offensive side of the ball. Lockie would struggle after his second quarter touchdown pass to Braion Addison.
The third and fourth quarters wouldn’t get any better for the Ducks as the Utes continued to move the ball down the field. The Utes would score on three consecutive drives in between a few costly turnovers including two interceptions from Lockie. The Utes final touchdown would come after the Ducks fourth turnover of the second half.

Prior to the final whistle the Ducks would take the ball 96 yards with Taylor Alie under center. Allie would complete two passes on the drive as well as add 25 yards on two runs including a 14 yard touchdown run. The Ducks would fall at home 62-20.

In the loss Royce Freeman added 77 yards on 114 carries while Lockie completed 10 of 20 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown. The Utes were led by Travis Wilson who threw for 227 yards with four passing touchdowns while adding 100 yards on the ground with one rushing touchdown.

The Ducks will look to bounce back after falling to 2-2 on the season and 0-1 in the conference. Next up will be a trip to Colorado to take on a Buffaloes team that has won three straight games after an opening loss to Hawaii. Following the trip to Colorado the Ducks return home to face Washington State..