Primates off its back, Oregon continues to evolve
EUGENE, Ore. — In the closing moments of a blowout, the Oregon Duck mascot mugged for cameras, for some reason wearing a "Golden Ticket" shirt that was, yeah, a reference to Willie Wonka. Meanwhile, the Ducks' actual golden ticket stood a few feet away, waiting patiently for the final gun.
When it was over — Oregon 45, Stanford 16, and a very significant hurdle cleared — Marcus Mariota did a couple of TV interviews, and then, accompanied by a determined security guard, he headed for the locker room.
If the personal protection was unnecessary, it was understandable.
Oregon came up with an emphatic answer Saturday to the Stanford problem, which had bedeviled its postseason plans in each of the last two seasons. This team is flawed — but this season, what team isn't? Each of the current contenders for the College Football Playoff has its own set of issues that could derail everything. The Ducks don't play a whole lot of defense most nights — though in the second half, they clamped down pretty good on the Cardinal. But they've got an array of very talented offensive weapons.
Mostly, they've got Mariota.
They beat Stanford in large part because he's healthy — unlike a year ago, when a knee injury took away his mobility. They've got a chance to keep winning, right into the playoff, because of the junior quarterback.
"When he's 100 percent, he's the best player in the country," Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost said. "I don't think it's even close."
Mariota totaled 343 yards — two touchdown passes, two TD runs, maybe a half-dozen wow moments — and led the Ducks on 75-yard touchdown drives on each of their first three possessions to set an important tone en route to a significant victory.
"Was there ever an actual monkey on my back?" Ducks coach Mark Helfrich asked. "A primate? Was there?"
There was not. But there was something. And Helfrich and several players acknowledged the significance in snapping a two-year losing streak, even as he said it was actually "an Oregon problem."
"To get this was huge," Mariota said. "It will build a lot of momentum for the rest of the year."
A year ago, the Ducks fell behind early, which allowed Stanford to deploy its ball-control offense to full effect. This time, the Cardinal was playing catch-up from the very start, and couldn't keep up. This Stanford team (5-4, 3-3 Pac-12) is not like its immediate predecessors. It still plays tough defense. Missing, though, is the smash-mouth mode that overpowered opponents. There's no workhorse back, and the offensive line hasn't approached dominant.
It was telling, midway through the second quarter, when Stanford faced fourth-and-2 at the Oregon 24. Trailing 21-6, there was no question the Cardinal would go for it. But instead of lining up with all of those extra offensive linemen and tight ends, Stanford lined up in shotgun. Kevin Hogan's pass was tipped and incomplete.
But this Oregon team (8-1, 5-1), ranked No. 5 in the initial College Football Playoff Top 25, might not be like those other Oregon teams, either. The Ducks are better than they've been.
"I haven't seen everybody, but they're really, really good," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "You could say in the last couple of years, we've been evenly matched. … In this one they were the better team. There are really not a lot of weaknesses on this team. … They're a very good football team."
It starts with more playmakers than in recent years. Freshman running back Royce Freeman and sophomore Thomas Tyner are good enough that a guy who rushed for 1,000 yards last seaosn is now being used mostly as a receiver; Byron Marshall presents matchup problems in the new role, and he's only one of several dangerous options at receiver.
And there's Mariota, who makes it all go.
"I've thought he's the best player in the nation the last three years," Shaw said. "I don't care what the stats say. When you watch him play, there's nothing he can't do."
And when he's playing, there might not be much Oregon can't do. If the Ducks are different than last year, they're also different than they were, say, a month ago, when they lost to Arizona at Autzen Stadium. It's too simplistic to say left tackle Jake Fisher's return changed everything — but that's a big part of it. A porous offensive line has tightened up. The running game has cranked back up (267 yards against Stanford). Mariota isn't taking as many hits.
"With that loss, we grew," Mariota said. "There's a lot of maturity. Guys decided our backs were to the wall with some of our goals this year. We just started fighting through it. Hats off to the guys in the locker room."
Searching for something not to like? Against Stanford, Mariota threw another interception — the second in as many weeks, his second of the season. In the first half, he overthrew a couple of open receivers in the end zone. And if you're really reaching, there's the concern, levied recently by an anonymous NFL scout to Sports Illustrated, of whether Mariota might be, uh, too nice. So, is he?
"That's people's opinions," Mariota answered, politely. "I can't control that. When it's all said and done, I believe that my teammates will know who I am and play for me — and that's all you can do."
After the game ended, Mariota did those on-field TV interviews, one after the other. And then, with the security guy steering, he raced for the tunnel — but pulled up short.
Max Sloan, 9, presented him a football and a pen. Along with his father Steve, Max had traveled from Dallas to see his favorite team. Afterward, they'd somehow found their way onto the field. And now they were in the path of the star quarterback.
Mariota bent over, smiled, and signed the ball — and then headed to the locker room.
Is Mariota too nice? Dumb question. But most nights, against most opponents, the Ducks' golden ticket is just too good.
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