Slow Start Spoils Vegas Bowl For Ducks

Saturday, December 16

Las Vegas, Nev.

12:30 PM

University of Oregon

7-6

Boise State

11-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Boise State

Oregon

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

12/16/17 | Football

Box Score

Oregon trailed by 24 points before the defense sparked a comeback effort, but the Ducks ultimately fell 38-28 to Boise State on Saturday.

By: Rob Moseley

LAS VEGAS — A slow start haunted Oregon on Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl, as Boise State jumped out to an early lead and tacked on a late touchdown to spoil the Ducks' comeback bid with a 38-28 victory before 36,432 fans in Sam Boyd Stadium.

"We're gonna have to bounce back," Mario Cristobal told the Ducks in the locker room after his first game as head coach. "We've got nine months to get that bad taste out of our mouths."

How It Happened: Oregon (7-6) trailed 24-0 before getting on the scoreboard with two defensive touchdowns in the final minute of the first half. The Ducks couldn't get any early traction offensively, as Boise State (11-3) went up 14-0 in the first quarter and led 24-0 late in the second quarter.

Oregon's defense showed no quit though. Troy Dye recovered a fumble and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the half, and 30 seconds later Tyree Robinson intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it 100 yards for a score. Arrion Springs, who had an interception in the end zone earlier in the half, had key blocks on both returns.

Boise State scored first after halftime to lead 31-14. It wasn't until there was 10:07 left in the game that Oregon's offense broke through, on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert to Brenden Schooler. But the Ducks had to punt on their next possession, and Boise State iced the game with a rushing touchdown at the 2:22 mark. Herbert added a late touchdown pass to Jaylon Redd to cap the scoring, and Boise State recovered Oregon's onside kick attempt.

Who Stood Out: Jimmie Swain led the UO defensive effort with 10 tackles, and Jalen Jelks added nine. Offensively, Herbert finished 26-of-36 for 233 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions; he was also the team's leading rusher in the absence of Royce Freeman, with 17 yards. Dillon Mitchell caught nine passes for 143 yards to lead the receivers.

What It Means: The Cristobal era got off to a slow start, but the Ducks also showed fight by staying in the game and threatening to come back in the second half.

Notable: Dye did not play in the second half, due to dehydration. Taj Griffin also was not in pads after halftime. … With Dye out and Sampson Niu also gimpy, outside linebacker Fotu T. Leiato II played most of the second half at inside linebacker. …. Defensive end Elijah George had to sit out the first half after his targeting penalty in the Civil War. … The game was officiated by a crew from the American Athletic Conference.

Up Next: The Ducks head into their first offseason under Cristobal.