Well, this game, with the amount of injuries on both teams, unfolded about as I had expected, a punt-filled extravaganza as the defenses keyed on the other teams shaky offense.
The final statistical numbers are staggering, in absolute reverse from the near-record numbers that Oregon had put up earlier in the year: 12 first downs, 41 yards net rushing, 105 yards passing (for 146 yards total in the game, there had been quarters earlier in the year where Oregon had surpassed that total), 12 punts (22 in the game). The Ducks had four turnovers for the game, which led to the first three field goals for the Bruins, one in each quarter.
The Ducks defense played very well, limiting the Bruins to 216 yards of total offense for the game, but UCLA took slight control of the game when quarterback Ben Olson returned from injury to pace the UCLA offense (hey, at least he completed a pass, in contrast to starter Osaar Rasshan, a fourth-string walk on who normally plays wide receiver, who went 0 for 7).
The Ducks incredible run of bad luck to injuries took a turn for the worse when starter Brady Leaf tweaked his right ankle (the one he didn't hurt last week against Arizona) toward the end of the first quarter, not to return to the game. This left the Ducks with their fourth and fifth string quarterbacks to finish the game, and even that looked shaky for a series when Cody Kempt got the wind knocked out of him and Justin Roper was forced into action. Patrick Chung was also victim to an injury, as was linebacker Casey Matthews, himself filling in for John Bacon. The turf toe that Jonathan Stewart had seemed to affect him a bit as well, but with the inexperience that the Ducks were showing in the passing game, the Bruins could well afford to stack the line and limit the damage that the Oregon running game could produce.
This scenario reminds me a bit of 1988, when Bill Musgrave took a hit and broke his collarbone against Arizona State, and the Ducks lost their last five games to finish the season at 6-6. The loss of Musgrave was a critical aspect of the Duck offense back then, but at least Oregon managed to score some points after he went down; the lengthy drive that Leaf led them on in the fourth quarter last week has been the high point offensively since Dennis Dixon went down for the season.
The OFFENSIVE numbers.
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