Ducks Drop Heartbreaker To Auburn

Saturday, August 31

Arlington, Texas

4:30 PM

University of Oregon

0-1

Auburn

1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oregon

Auburn

Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto

08/31/19 | Football

Box Score FINAL STATS - #16 Auburn 27, #11 Oregon 21 Postgame Notes

Oregon led much of the game but the Tigers scored a late go-ahead touchdown to win Saturday in Texas, 27-21.

By: Rob Moseley

ARLINGTON, Texas — "The most important thing I need to ask you," Mario Cristobal said to his No. 11 Oregon football team after Saturday's 27-21 heartbreaker against No. 16 Auburn, "is, can't I count on you?"

The answer came quickly, and from every corner of the UO locker room inside AT&T Stadium: "Yessir."

Cristobal continued: "Because stuff like this either rips you apart, or it brings you together."

It was that kind of loss for the Ducks in their 2019 season opener. Oregon shot out of the gates, scoring on its opening possession, the seven-point lead bigger than any margin the Ducks enjoyed in their loss to the Tigers in the 2011 BCS Championship game. Despite some critical miscues, Oregon led at halftime, and extended the margin to 21-6 in the third quarter.

And then Auburn came back. All the way back.

Clinging to a 21-20 lead late in the game, Oregon was stuffed on a fourth-and-one play. A few minutes later, following punts by each team, it was Auburn facing a fourth down. Freshman quarterback Bo Nix tucked it and ran; when officials brought out the chains to measure, it was a first down, by perhaps three inches.

Six plays later, Auburn was at the 26-yard line, with 16 seconds left on the clock and no timeouts. The Tigers couldn't afford a run play that kept the clock moving. They took a shot at the end zone. The pass from Nix to Seth Williams was caught, for the go-ahead touchdown.

"I'm proud of the effort, the toughness, the resiliency of our guys," Cristobal said in his postgame press conference. "Certainly there were a few moments we'd like to have back."

The seesawing outcomes and emotions for the Oregon faithful began from the outset. The Ducks drove to an opening touchdown by CJ Verdell, a one-yard run through Auburn's NFL-ready defensive line that backed up Cristobal's goal of building a program that could stack up physically with anyone in the country.

Minutes the later Oregon was in position to go up 14-0, but freshman receiver Bryan Addison couldn't handle a fastball from quarterback Justin Herbert in the back of the end zone. The ensuing field-goal attempt was no good.

"We had a lot of opportunities to execute," Herbert said. "And we didn't do what we wanted to."

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The Ducks did get another touchdown in the first quarter, on a jump ball from Herbert won by Spencer Webb. The converted tight end was helping round out an Oregon receiving corps depleted by injuries. In the second quarter, though, Jevon Holland's 81-yard punt return was squandered when Herbert and Verdell muffed an exchange in the backfield, and Auburn returned the resulting fumble down to its 3-yard line.

That resiliency Cristobal spoke of was on display from the Oregon defense throughout the night, particularly after that sequence. The Ducks held Auburn to a field goal, and took a 14-6 lead into halftime. Then, early in the third quarter, Darrian Felix made it 21-6 on a rushing touchdown. Oregon was in the driver's seat.

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Again, though, the Ducks were met with adversity. Auburn finally found the end zone, closing within 21-13 late in the third quarter. From there both defenses buckled down, until the Tigers scored again early in the fourth quarter. A two-point attempt to tie the game was spoiled by a false start penalty. Auburn settled for a kicked PAT. It was a one-point game, 21-20.

That was the score during Oregon's most frustrating moments of the game. The Ducks drove into Auburn territory. On third-and-five, Herbert completed a pass to Jacob Breeland, who was tackled a yard short of the line. Herbert appeared to bang knees with a defender on the play, and had to be helped from the field. That meant he had to sit out a play.

The Ducks inserted backup quarterback Tyler Shough, then called timeout. Herbert retook the field, then Shough ran out to replace him. Again, Oregon called timeout, its last of the game. This time, with Shough behind center, they called another run for Verdell. He was stopped short.

Auburn went three-and-out, but Oregon punted it back to the Tigers with 2:14 to play. Nix moved the chains on his fourth-down run, just barely. Then he threw the game-winning touchdown pass.

This will be a gut-check week for the Ducks, as they look to bounce back in their home opener against Nevada, which posted its own last-second win, over Purdue. Back in the locker room, a few minutes after Saturday's game ended, Cristobal again asked his team a question.

"Can we count on each other?"

"Yessir."

"Can we be a good football team?"

"Yessir."

Can we be a great football team?"

"Yessir."

The Ducks' first step of the 2019 was a painful one. But their goals are still in front of them.

As hard as that might have been to see in the waning hours of Saturday night.