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Saturday, September 9, 2023

Ducks pull away from Texas Tech in a gritty team win on the road, 38-30

 


After falling behind 27-18 with 6:16 to go in the third quarter, the Ducks outscored Texas Tech 20-3 in the fourth quarter to pull away with a resilient, nail-biting victory at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas Saturday night.

Oregon suffered a little in the Texas heat, but in the end it was the Red Raiders that wilted.  After Tyler Shough hit 6-5 wide receiver Jerand Bradley for the nine-point lead, Bo Nix and the Ducks went patiently to work, driving 75 yards in 17 plays, converting three times on third down, including a 13-yard keeper by Nix on third and 11 from the Oregon 48.

Bucky Irving punched it in on first and goal from the three with this determined run.

On the very next series came one of the critical sequences of the game. Facing 4th and two on their own 33 TTU coach Joey McGuire elected to go for it. They chose another keeper by Shough running into the middle of the line but he was met at there by Brandon Dorlus and thrown back for a turnover on downs.

It was Dorlus' only official tackle of the game but he provided pressure throughout, recovering a strip/sack/fumble caused by Jamal Hill in the first half. 

With great starting position at the Tech 33, Nix hit four short passes before missing on third and two at the five. Fourth and two, coach Dan Lanning opted for the field goal, Camden Lewis drilling his second of the game to put Oregon ahead 28-27.

Shough and the Raiders answered with a drive that reached the Oregon 20 before Popo Aumavae broke through for a sack on 2nd and 9. After the former Duck QB threw incomplete on third and 15, pressured out of the pocket and unable to set his feet, the hosts' Gino Garcia hit a 45-yard field goal.

Texas Tech led 30-28 with 5:13 to play. Starting at their own 20 Nix hit his brother Tez Johnson for 14, connected with tight end Patrick Herbert for 21. A late hit out of bounds got the visitors down to the TTU 26, then runs by Noah Whittington and Jordan James produced a first down at the Tech 14.

On third and three from the TTU seven, new offensive coordinator Will Stein called a shovel pass left that hadn't worked since early in the game, and Jordan James was thrown for a 4-yard loss.

From the left hashmark, after a timeout and a delay of game penalty, Camden Lewis calmly hit his third field goal of the game, good from 34 yards for a 31-30 lead with a minute to play.

Timely defensive plays sealed the win. Shough tried to rally his team, completing passes for 17 and 5 yards, but on second and five from his own 47 he rolled left with Brandon Dorlus in his face. Dorlus blasted him in the chest as he threw, and the pass settled into the arms of Jeffrey Bassa, who steamed 45 yards for a Pick Six and a 38-30 lead.

Bryan Addison preserved the victory with an interception at the goal line as time ran out.

In the post game press conference Dan Lanning said, "A lot of teams would have lost their cool when things weren’t going well and our guys kept their composure throughout the game. They were calm and composed, they had a plan for adversity and then went out there and executed when it mattered.”

It was a ragged and improbable win with Oregon committing 14 penalties for 124 yards. The offense sputtered for most of the third quarter as the Ducks were outscored 14-0. They had to rely on checkdowns, dumpoffs and timely Nix scrambles to fuel the comeback.

Defensively, Tosh Lupoi's unit surrendered 456 yards and 6.3 yards per play, but they redeemed themselves with big plays, including four sacks, three interceptions, a fumble recovery and a turnover on downs. Texas Tech converted 8-13 on third downs and broke loose for chunk plays of 58, 35, 34, 22, 31 and 31 yards. Credit the Ducks with a great rally to win it, but it was not what you'd call solid, not objectively. Massive improvement is necessary to compete for a conference title.

In the first half Oregon built an 18-13 lead as Nix tossed a 72-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to Troy Franklin, later adding a 13-yard score on third and goal from the 13, Nix to Tez Johnson on a shallow crossing route.


 

Posted by Dale Bliss at 5:30 AM

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