Kenjon (Barn Burner) Barner got things rolling in the second half with a 100 yard kick off return. Why only 100 yards? Because "The Man" won't give him the extra two yards in the endzone.[There were three parts to this amazing game. 1) The Oregon defense's goal line stand that sets the tone in the first quarter. 2) The first four minutes of the second half. And 3) sprinkled throughout the game, the constant bombardment the Duck defense put on UCLA's quarterbacks. Below is an excerpt from Ken Goe on the goal line stand with a link to the whole article.
This Oregon team is gritty. Take the goal line stand, late in the first quarter. The game was tied, but the Bruins were . . . . . moving the ball. An eight-yard completion from Kevin Prince to Chane Moline set up UCLA on the Ducks' 2, first and goal. "There is a mentality you have to take as defensive linemen on the goal line," said 6-foot-7, 268-pound defensive tackle Brandon Bair. "We're down on all-fours. We're basically crawling. We're cutting their legs, and our linebackers come over the top. If you let an offensive lineman push you at all on a goal line stand, there is no way you have a chance. They're going to run it right in." The Bruins' line had no surge. UCLA tried tailback Derrick Coleman twice, and Prince tried to sneak twice. In the end, the ball remained nearly a full yard outside the end zone. "To tell you the truth that was probably when our defense really got going," Bair said.
[From the other side, we have a very good accounting of what happened to start the second half. Here's an excerpt from the L.A. Times. Below that is a link to his complete story:
By Kurt Streeter, LA Times
October 11, 2009
October 11, 2009
An educational video should be made of the opening minutes of the second half, which UCLA entered leading by the tellingly non-dominant score of 3-0. The title: "Learn How Not to Play Football in Just a Few Slim Minutes."
Act 2: Talmedge Jackson III
Here's how it would look. Act 1: Nice and easy 100-yard Oregon runback of the second-half kickoff. Act 2: UCLA interception on its first second-half play from scrimmage, the pass lodged precisely in an Oregon defender's gut. Defender scores, untouched. Act 3: UCLA loses fumble. Act 4: Oregon receiver takes a little dump pass from his noodle-armed second-string quarterback, then strolls through a series of arm tackles -- touchdown, Ducks!
That nifty little series of stumbles took just under four minutes. Oregon suddenly led by 18. It never looked back.
Act 4: Jeff Maehl
[He goes on to thrash his poor Bruins. Yet he was never willing to admit that perhaps Oregon was every bit as good as UCLA was bad.
Oh well. Screw him as he chokes on Santa Ana winded grass fires. As for his description of Nate Costa, I will take Oregon's "noodle-armed second stringer" over UCLA's tackling dummies 1 and 2 any day.
"Noodle-armed" Nate makes very few mistakes, which is more than you can say for . . .
Tackle Dummy #1, Kevin Prince giving Kenny Rowe good practice. . . .
. . . and Tackle Dummy #2, Richard Brehaut. That's not a very good picture of him because he's being crushed.
[Oregon remains #13 and 16 in the polls. Very few teams above them lost. Next week the Ducks are bye and will take on the Huskies in Seattle October 24th.] --kb
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