Defense Comes Through When It Matters As Ducks Top Cougs
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State's attitude toward Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu spoke volumes about why the one-win Cougars were able to hang with the No. 2 Ducks on Saturday in Martin Stadium.
WSU quarterback Connor Halliday repeatedly threw at the UO all-American and projected first-round NFL draft pick. That sort of brazen disregard for the Ducks' reputation served Washington State well as the Cougars compiled 499 yards of offense to take Oregon down to the wire in the Ducks' 38-31 victory on Saturday night.
"Every year they've thrown at me," said Ekpre-Olomu, the defender on two of Halliday's four touchdown passes. "This was definitely not my night. They got me."
Halliday completed 43-of-63 passes for 436 yards, some 200 fewer than he had a week earlier in setting the Pac-12 passing yardage record. Oregon's pass rushers lamented not getting more pressure on Halliday, but the one sack the Ducks did get was a game-changer.
On fourth down in Oregon territory late in the game, with the Ducks up a touchdown and WSU looking to tie it, UO outside linebacker Tony Washington crashed into the pocket and brought down Halliday to end the possession. Washington said true freshman outside linebacker Justin Hollins had encouraged him to use a power move against the WSU right tackle, and it worked.
"We hadn't had a sack all game, so I was really ready to go," said Washington, whose sack followed a critical third-down pass breakup by Dior Mathis. "It was the last shot of the game, so I had to try to do something else."
The UO defensive front also came through in the third quarter, after Oregon had missed a field goal that would have broken a 21-21 halftime tie. The Cougars were on the march when UO defensive end DeForest Buckner tracked down a back who had received a short pass, forcing a fumble recovered by Arik Armstead.
Just over two minutes later, Marcus Mariota connected with Pharaoh Brown on a touchdown that gave the Ducks a lead.
"The whole philosophy was, I've just got to make a play," Buckner said. "You're one of the main players on the defense, you've got to make a play. I was just glad I was in the right place at the right time, chasing down that screen."
Asked for an overall assessment, Buckner said that "a win's a win. It was ugly, but I think we did a great job as a unit sticking together."
The Cougars went against tendency a bit, running the ball their first two plays of the game, and finishing with 17 rushing plays (including the one sack). As usual, though, they put most of the game on the right arm of Halliday, whose connection in the second half with River Cracraft — for five receptions and 66 yards — gave the Ducks trouble.
WSU's only touchdown of the second half tied the game at 31-31, as Oregon's secondary suffered a lapse in communication and Cracraft hauled in a TD pass. Ekpre-Olomu said that sort of miscommunication, as well as pick plays the Cougars ran over the course of the night, conspired to hurt the UO defense.
UO defensive coordinator Don Pellum said Halliday did a good job recognizing the times Oregon brought more than its base pass rush, getting rid of the ball particularly quickly on those occasions. The Ducks blitzed seven at one point in the first quarter, and Halliday threw his first touchdown pass of the game on the play.
"He's a good quarterback," Buckner added. "He can get the ball out quick. He's a gunslinger. He just trusted his receivers, that they would be in the right spot, and he had a good night tonight. Obviously we won, so we did a little better toward the end."
