Oregon Football struggles in the first half and falls to Washington State 34-20.
The Washington State Cougars had time to prepare for Oregon Football and it showed on the field from the first play on Saturday night in Pullman. The Ducks had no answers early going down 27-0 in the first half. The mistakes were evident early and the Cougars do what good teams do They capitalized on Oregon’s mistakes. Mike Leach picked up his fourth straight win over Oregon and at the same time took control of the Pac-12 North.
Oregon Quarterback Justin Herbert did not look like himself forcing an early Washington Safety in the end zone after several fumbled snaps from Center Jake Hanson to start the game. That was just the start of the disaster. The first half came to a close with a great play in the end zone. Herbert threw a pass on the numbers to Wide Receiver Dillon Mitchell. Mitchell bobbled the pass, dropping it in the end zone. It would have given the Ducks some momentum heading into the second half.
The team that came out in the second half was a different one that started the game. The third quarter saw Oregon Football go on a run that nearly brought the team back. The Ducks put up 17 points in the third quarter and found themselves down 10 with fifteen minutes left in the game.
It was the first half that cost Oregon the game. In the first quarter, when the hurries and sacks on Justin Herbert were accounted for, the Oregon Football team mustered just one yard of Offense. One. (Did I mention Mike Leach had time to prepare his team for the Ducks?)
In the end, it was a 34-20 loss to Washington State and with a now tight battle in the Pac-12 North and a win over the Washington Huskies last weekend, Oregon could still find a way to win the Division. WSU still has to face Stanford AND Washington before the end of the season, but Oregon has also run out of Pac-12 North opponents. Three of the next four opponents for Oregon are Pac-12 South opponents including Arizona, UCLA, and Arizona State.
Oregon finishes the regular season in Corvallis against Oregon State. The Ducks have their second straight road game this week visiting Arizona Saturday for a 7:30 pm Pacific Time kickoff on ESPN.