Fisher's Return Fuels Statement Game By Offensive Line
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
The Oregon football team welcomed a starting offensive lineman back but played without a starting defensive lineman Saturday at UCLA, and both had an impact on the No. 12 Ducks' 42-30 victory over the No. 18 Bruins in the Rose Bowl.
After two games without injured senior Jake Fisher, the offensive line welcomed back its left tackle Saturday. The Ducks averaged 6.3 yards per carry with four rushing touchdowns, and Marcus Mariota wasn't sacked by the Bruins, after being sacked 12 times in the two games Fisher missed.
"He made big play after big play," Mariota said. "Credit to those guys up front. They really took it upon themselves— they wanted to make a statement, and they did."
Oregon's defensive line, meanwhile, played without junior end Arik Armstead. The first-year starter left last week's loss to Arizona before halftime, and while he travelled to Los Angeles and tried to get loose on the field before the game, Armstead wasn't in pads at kickoff.
UCLA went on to rush for 6.1 yards per carry, and the Ducks struggled to contain quarterback Brett Hundley. But Oregon's defense came up with big plays at key moments, and survived the Bruins' fourth-quarter rally thanks to allowing UCLA just 10 points through three quarters.
"I feel like guys stepped up today," junior end DeForest Buckner said. "They were prepared, they did their stuff. We all knew it was a 'maybe' if Tiny (Armstead's nickname) was going to play today. I think a bunch of guys on the D line did a good job stepping up."
For the previous two weeks, it was the offensive line having to plug a hole, with Fisher on the bench along with fellow injured veterans Tyler Johnstone and Andre Yruretagoyena. True freshman Tyrell Crosby and walk-on Matt Pierson stepped in at the tackle spots, and while they played gamely, Mariota was sacked a dozen times by Washington State and Arizona.
Against UCLA, Fisher returned and played most of the game, and Pierson started at right tackle with Crosby rotating at both spots.
"It was good to just be welcomed back out here and have an opportunity to make a difference," Fisher said. "It feels good to be out there doing what I can do."
"It was really good to have him back," said senior guard Hamani Stevens, who plays on the left side with Fisher. "With Jake out there, we don't really have to talk. He knows what I'm thinking, I know what he's thinking and we're just able to put our hands on the ground and move the ball."
Indeed, Fisher's return seemed to infuse the entire line with confidence. Penalties had plagued not just the inexperienced tackles but veterans like Stevens and Hroniss Grasu the last two weeks. That wasn't the case Saturday.
Pierson went virtually unnoticed throughout the game, a good thing in the case of linemen. He's endured a trial by fire since entering the lineup but may have turned a corner Saturday.
"You really can't substitute that (experience) for anything," Pierson said. "I think the O line's really starting to mesh together well."
Afterward, the offensive line made a point of getting a group picture in the locker room, well aware of its role in Oregon's victory.
"I wouldn't say I'm the guy that picked things up," Fisher said. "All these guys are confident in what they're doing. I think we played really well today as a group, and allowed Marcus to play his game."
On defense, junior Sam Kamp stepped into Armstead's starting spot and finished with three tackles, one for lost yardage. T.J. Daniel, Tui Talia and Henry Mondeaux also rotated in at end, making two tackles apiece.
"We rotate so much, it didn't even faze me really," Kamp said. "Replacing Arik Armstead — one of the most talented, mature D linemen I've met in my life — is tough for sure. I just stepped up and did what coaches needed me to do."
Oregon's struggles to contain Hundley were most acute in the first half, when he ran for 68 yards. That included a touchdown on the Bruins' final play of the first half, which could have been a game-changer considered that UCLA was within 21-10 and receiving the second-half kickoff.
But the Ducks forced a punt to open the second half, with Kamp stopping Hundley a yard short of the first-down marker to end the drive. Linebacker Rodney Hardrick seemed to get to Hundley more often after halftime as well.
"We were doing the same stuff," Hardrick said. "I just kept doing my assignment. Nothing new, we just continued to do our job and work through it."
Oregon led 42-18 in the fourth quarter when the defensive coaches began inserting younger players. UCLA drove to another score to get within 42-24 and then recovered an onside kick, forcing Buckner and the UO starters back into the game.
An exhausted Buckner sat in front of his locker barely able to move after the game, but his efforts had helped the Ducks beat the Bruins and survive the absence of his linemate Armstead.
"I was tired," Buckner said. "You've just got to push through it sometimes."
