Oregon's Many Flaws Turn Fatal Once Again Against Arizona

We knew the Oregon Ducks had flaws; however, those flaws turned fatal on Thursday night against the Arizona Wildcats. Again. 

Oregon’s flaws were not only exposed tonight, they were as vivid and bright as their neon pink uniforms.

For the second year in a row, the Wildcats defeated the Ducks, this time by the score of 31-24. While the Ducks held a 7-3 lead at halftime—one they were gifted as Arizona fumbled right before half inside the Ducks 10-yard line—Arizona was in control for most of the game.

It was obvious that this version of the Ducks had seriously flaws that were likely bound to cost them a game at some point this season. The young and inexperienced offensive line had faltered significantly against Washington State. Oregon’s defense was ranked No. 119 against the pass and No. 95 in total defense. The Ducks almost ranked No. 88 in penalties committed, averaging 7.7 per game this season.

But against Arizona? Again? It happened. The Ducks flaws finally caught up to them and now leave them with a 4-1 record and may have potentially cost them a shot at the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Let’s begin with Oregon’s offensive line, which had come under serious fire after a disastrous performance against Washington State 12 days ago in Pullman. While the Ducks offensive line “improved” by only allowing five sacks of Mariota Thursday, as opposed to seven against the Cougars, the group was still downright putrid. There’s no way around it.

Oregon’s offense really couldn’t get anything going until their backs were against the wall late in the third quarter. The reason was because the offensive line simply couldn’t stop Arizona’s pass rush from getting in the backfield and disrupting Mariota and the running backs.

STEVE DYKES/Associated Press

The Ducks offensive line, while young, is talented. However, they’ve yet to live up to their potential—especially tonight. While Mariota still managed to pass for 276 yards and two touchdowns, he was never really comfortable in the pocket, and the Ducks were unable to establish a rhythm at any point during the game.

Oregon’s running game also suffered due to the subpar play of the offensive line. On the night, the Ducks rushed the ball 41 times for 144 yards, an average of 3.5 yards per carry.

Without a rhythm and running game, the Ducks offense was handed to Mariota, who was essentially forced to try to win the game by himself. It wasn’t enough.

With the Ducks down by seven and less than two minutes to play, Mariota attempted a comeback that, if successful, would have vaulted him once again to the top of the Heisman race. However, Oregon’s offensive line let him down again.

After completing two consecutive passes to wide receiver Dwayne Stanford, Mariota stepped up in the pocket trying to find a man downfield; however, this time he was sacked and stripped by Arizona’s Scooby Wright.

Wright recovered in Ducks territory, and the game was over. While Mariota is partially to blame for being somewhat careless with the ball in that situation, Oregon’s offensive line broke down again and didn’t give Mariota the requisite time to dazzle us again.

The offensive line deserves part of the blame, but Oregon’s defense and penalties also significantly contributed to the Ducks' latest collapse.

Oregon’s defense, which has struggled mightily against the pass this season, faltered against the run tonight. That’s not to say that Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon didn’t play well; he did. But it was really Arizona’s running game that led the charge.

Arizona ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns en route to the victory. Freshman running back Nick Wilson scored three touchdowns, two of which came on the ground, and gained 126 total yards. However, he wasn’t Arizona’s best running back. Senior Terris Jones-Grigsby gained 210 total yards against the Ducks—115 rushing, 95 receiving—and scored a touchdown.

Jones-Grigsby played well, but it was really Oregon’s defense that beat themselves. The Ducks continually gave Arizona chances to score after putting the Arizona offense in difficult situations. The best example of this came late in the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 24, after Ducks linebacker Rodney Hardrick sacked Solomon for a 10-yard loss, forcing the Wildcats to gain 20 yards in order to convert the third down.

Instead of throwing the ball, Arizona’s offense ran a delayed handoff to Jones-Grigsby. There wasn’t a single Duck in sight. Jones-Grigsby went 24 yards untouched up the middle of the field to score a first down. The Wildcats would go on to score the game-winning touchdown four plays later. However, they were only granted that opportunity because of Oregon’s final fatal flaw: penalties.

On the night, the Ducks committed 10 penalties for 78 yards. Moreover, the Ducks committed mindless penalties over and over again at the worst possible moment. Oregon’s offensive line drew its fair share of penalties and is, again, partially to blame. But Oregon’s biggest penalties came defensively on back-to-back plays on Arizona’s game-winning drive.

After Jones-Grigsby’s 24-yard run to set up 1st-and-goal, the Ducks defense stepped up and seemed to have forced Arizona into kicking a field goal after a third-down sack by linebacker Tony Washington. It was not to be.

Following the play, Washington was headed to the sideline and decided to break out a celebration—a bow towards the Oregon sideline. Washington subsequently drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which resulted in a penalty that gave Arizona an automatic first down from their own 4-yard line. On the very next play, cornerback Troy Hill drew a flag for pass interference on Arizona wide receiver Cayleb Jones.

Two plays later, Jones-Grigsby lunged into the end zone. Arizona would never relinquish the lead again.

The Ducks, quite obviously, were the more talented team on the field on Thursday night in Eugene. However, their fatal flaws finally caught up to them, and they may have cost the Ducks a shot at a national title.

Tonight’s loss could have been avoided. The Ducks simply shot themselves in the foot one too many times and couldn’t recover.

The real question is, did we see the end of an era in Oregon? It may be too soon to tell, but there are serious questions about the mental toughness of the Ducks football team and the aptitude of their coaching staff.

It’s getting hot in Eugene right now for all of the wrong reasons.

Jason Gold is Bleacher Report’s lead Oregon writer. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33..