No.2 Oregon Upset By Arizona, Again
03 Oct, 2014
Oregon’s star quarterback, Marcus Mariota lingered on the field late Thursday night following his team’s 31-24 loss to Arizona, shaking hands with the Wildcats after they upset the heavily favored Ducks for the second consecutive season.
Later, he shouldered the blame for a loss that left No. 2 Oregon with a tough hill to climb if it wants an invite to college football’s first postseason playoff.
And he credited the unranked Wildcats, who were 24-point underdogs.
“They’re undefeated,” he said. “It’s obviously a testament to our conference. If you’re not prepared each week, if you’re not ready to play, you’ll lose.”
Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost told reporters after the game that Mariota was not 100 percent after he was sacked seven times in the Ducks’ 38-31 victory at Washington State in their previous game Sept. 20.
True freshman Nick Wilson ran for two touchdowns and caught a scoring pass from quarterback Anu Solomon to help the Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) open the season with five straight victories for the first time since 1998.
Terris Jones-Grigsby plowed into the end zone from a yard out for the tiebreaking touchdown with 2:54 left, and Arizona held on after sacking Mariota and recovering his fumble.
With his team trailing 24-14 going into the final quarter, Oregon’s Matt Wogan made a 21-yard field goal. Mariota then hit Keanon Lowe with a 9-yard scoring pass to tie it with 8:21 left.
With Arizona driving downfield, the Ducks (4-1, 1-1) sacked Solomon on third-and-8, but Tony Washington was called for unsportsmanlike conduct to give the Wildcats a first down.
A pass interference call got Arizona closer for Jones-Grigsby’s go-ahead touchdown. And on Oregon’s ensuing series, Mariota was sacked by Scooby Wright, who stripped the ball from the Heisman Trophy hopeful and recovered it himself.
“It was a good play by him, honestly,” Mariota said.
Arizona then gained a clinching first down on the ground and ran out the clock, silencing Autzen Stadium’s 100th straight sellout crowd.
AP
Image AP Steve Dykes
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