Thank you to the Rutles for the line that went through my mind last night as Dennis Dixon's knee buckled and hit the Arizona turf.
The Arizona Wildcats overcame a typical hot Oregon start to defeat the Ducks and end the hopes of Oregon to play in the BCS national championship game. Things went extremely well on the first possession of the game as Oregon took the ball 69 yards for a touchdown, the last 39 yards coming on a run by Dixon that showed, apparently, that the knee that Dixon had hurt against Arizona State on November 3rd was fully recovered. The Ducks then intercepted a poorly thrown pass by Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama, on their second play from scrimmage, to spark its second drive. That drive ended with a first and goal at the four yard line, but a Dixon pass to reinstated wide receiver Derrick Jones was bobbled in the end zone, and a sure touchdown instead became an interception that was returned 45 yards, and three plays later the Wildcats scored on a 34 yard touchdown reception that cut the Duck lead to 8-7.
The last two minutes of Dixon's Oregon career was a typical drive that would end up in a touchdown, 65 yards on 5 plays, 32 of those yards on three running plays. Then the buckle felt around the country happened, catching the rest of the Oregon time totally off-guard and energizing the Wildcats. The Ducks managed a field goal off of that drive, but their potent offense pretty much ground to a halt, picking up just six first downs in the next three quarters of play, resulting in only two field goals, one of which was started by a Duck recovery of a Wildcat fumble deep in Arizona territory. Backup quarterback Brady Leaf tweaked his ankle in his relief role, limiting his mobility and the effectiveness of the plays that the Ducks were running.
The Wildcats scored their 31 first half points in a total of about 18 minutes, on two touchdown passes from Tuitama, plus returns on an interception and a punt, as they clearly took advantage of the shellshocked Ducks to grab a 31-14 halftime lead. A combination of better Duck defense and more conservative play calling by Arizona left a chance for the Ducks to get back in the game, but as a lengthy 17-play fourth quarter drive showed, the yards were being picked up in mostly three to eight yard chunks at a time, not exactly conducive to rallying from a three-score deficit.
The "if only" aspects could drive one crazy if one let them: IF only Jones hadn't bobbled that pass in the end zone, a 15 to 0 lead might have set a different tone for the game; IF only Kwame Agyeman hadn't fumbled the ball, on a perfectly executed fake punt, at Arizona's 22 yard line; IF only Tuitama's knee was an inch higher on the overturned fumble call. BUT, they DID happen, and the Ducks couldn't overcome all of those mistakes ( they had four turnovers lost in the game) to salvage a victory.
Still holding my head up high today, it was a lovely run this season, and it all goes to show how important Dennis Dixon was to the team, now that the news had come out today that he is done for the year with a torn ACL. His calm maturity that he showed this season after a rough ending to last year was truly one of the more gratifying things I've seen in all of my experiences. Thank you Dennis for your wonderful leadership skills, and for some of the most exciting football that this nation has seen this year; you will be missed!
ESPN RECAP
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