Ducks Overcome All Hurdles On Way to Pac-12 Championship
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Only a few minutes remained in Oregon's 51-13 Pac-12 championship game victory over Arizona on Friday night, and the UO defense had just come off the Levi's Stadium field after yet another dominant series.
On the sideline, the outside linebackers huddled together. Their position coach, Erik Chinander, is up in the press box during games, so junior Tyson Coleman took a chance to address the group.
"You guys are awesome," Coleman said, standing and facing the seated players who had just been in the game. "I love you guys. You're my family. You're my brothers. We're Pac-12 champions!"
So much factored into Oregon's run to the school's first conference title in three years — the steady hand of head coach Mark Helfrich, the brilliance of Heisman Trophy favorite Marcus Mariota, the development of a shutdown defense. But the brotherhood Coleman expressed helped the Ducks endure a rash of injuries, a regular-season loss to the Wildcats that might have derailed lesser teams, and everything else a college football season could throw at them.
"You're not champions because it's etched in some piece of metal," Helfrich told the Ducks in their locker room as they celebrated with the Pac-12 championship trophy. "You're champions because you guys kept believing in our process."
No group epitomized that attitude more than the UO offensive line. With Matt Pierson making his first career start at guard Friday, the Ducks used their eighth different lineup on the line in 13 games this season. They played another game without center Hroniss Grasu, after missing all-American left tackle Tyler Johnstone, tackle Jake Fisher and junior Andre Yruretagoyena for all or parts of the season as well — absences that played a significant role in Oregon's loss to Arizona in October.
The line wasn't perfect Friday night — by halftime, all five starters had committed at least one of the Ducks' 10 penalties to that point in the game. But the offensive line buckled down, gave Mariota time to complete 10-of-10 passes in the third quarter and brought home the title.
"I've never been prouder of a group of guys," UO offensive line coach Steve Greatwood said. "Even tonight, Fisher's got cramps, he's in here for an IV and we're plugging guys in. Just unbelievable toughness from these guys. They don't blink.
"I love that about this group. I thought it had a chance to be a special group by the way they worked and trained in the offseason. But I can't believe their fortitude."
Based on Oregon's projected lineup coming into the season, only two of 11 starters were in their projected spots Friday night — Mariota and right guard Cameron Hunt. Yet the Ducks put up 617 yards of offense. "I feel like a lot of that (October) loss was blamed on us, and we didn't do as good a job as we should have," Hunt said. "It felt great to give up zero sacks, rush for 150 or 200 yards (actually 301). It was just a team win."
Oregon's defense persevered through the 2014 regular season as well, adjusting to the change at defensive coordinator from Nick Aliotti to Don Pellum. The Ducks took a few lumps in the early going, missing tackles and struggling on third-and-long.
But a renewed approach — a willingness to practice with more intensity and to address tackling problems by being more physical Monday through Friday — helped the UO defense keep improving all the way through the season and into Friday night.
Just as Oregon's injury ravaged offense was in the spotlight following the regular-season loss to Arizona, so too was outside linebacker Tony Washington. It was his celebration penalty following a sack that extended the Wildcats' game-winning touchdown drive that night in Autzen Stadium.
How sweet, then, to see Washington finish with two tackles for loss — including a sack — on Friday in the title game. Even if he didn't admit to taking any extra satisfaction. "Last game happened months ago," Washington said. "We weren't thinking about that. It was a whole new opportunity to go out and win, and we got that championship. That's all I care about."
It's that sort of focus that sustained the Ducks all season, through injuries and the sting of defeat and everything else. That focus resulted in one of the most magical seasons in school history — with the potential to be the most magical outright, as Mariota's Heisman candidacy builds momentum, and Oregon turns its attention to the College Football Playoff.
In the locker room Friday night, alumnus and booster Phil Knight briefly addressed the team to tell the Ducks how much their success meant to him personally. "And the ride continues," Knight said in concluding his remarks. "And I'll be with you every step of the way."
