Such high expectations. Maybe unrealistic expectations by the fans? Whatever it may be it all came to fruition last night in Eugene. To the common, bandwagon fan the Ducks were a championship contender with no flaws. However, to the fan that knows the game of football the Ducks have flaws and they were exposed last night.
First, the best thing about the Ducks is their quarterback Marcus Mariotta who was probably the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy going into last nights game with Arizona. Funny how things work out for people sometimes. With a few minutes left in the game last night, Mariotta had his Heisman moment right in front of him, ready to be taken. It didn't happen for him. I was sitting there watching that game and telling myself, "You will win the Heisman right here or possibly lose it right here." I think he may have lost it. More specifically, his offensive line lost it for him. A quarterback can only do so much and if his O-line is not good, he will not have a good season or game. Mariotta got sacked 7 times against Washington State and I am certain that the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Wildcats saw that and decided lets get after him. The Wildcats got after the Marcus Mariotta last night.
Mariotta never got real comfortable in the pocket last night. He was sacked, hurried, knocked down so much last night that I never really saw him set his feet and really step into throws. He had a few passes that went far down field, but the Wildcat defense was not really letting them get many yards after the catch.
The incredible thing about the Wildcat defense was that they were only using a three man front to pressure Mariotta. The offensive line was a patch work offensive line. The Ducks do have injuries to the line and even had a true freshman on the line. Even with this three man front you would expect an offensive line to be able to stop a three man front, but they couldn't. The front seven for the Wildcats got to Mariotta time after time. That made the comfort level for him very questionable as the game progressed.
Another aspect that has been discussed is the quality of officiating last night by the Pac-12 referees. When hasn't the quality of officiating been questioned about a football. In any game there are missed calls or calls that raise the eyebrows of people in the stands or on the couch at home. Last night was no different. I see Duck fans posting on different blogs that their National Championship hopes were gone because a Duck player took a bow. Well, if you look at the rule book, taunting or showboating is one of those rules that seems to get called some nights and not on other nights. It got called last night after the Ducks sacked Anu Solomon and the Ducks Tony Washington decided he wanted to take a bow after completing the sack. He took the bow near mid field. The penalty flag comes flying out and the crowd erupts in anger and disbelief, however, Tony Washington can not blur that line between what is celebration and what is taunting. Washington forced the referees hand and that is not a hand you want to force. The call was made, it was a correct call. Did the Duck defensive end lose his focus for a second? Yes, he did, and it cost the Ducks dearly.
The season is not for the Ducks at all. They need to win out and that will be tough especially with a road game at UCLA, a home game with Stanford, and who knows what happens with the Civil War game at Oregon State. They certainly have their work cut out for them. They need to fix their offensive line issues which means players need to get healthy. Marcus Mariotta can only do so much. He is only one player and football is the ultimate team game, so it takes a team to win. The Ducks don't have a team playing together right now and that needs to change if they want to have any chance at being in the playoff at the end of the year.
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