'Dogs fall short against Ducks
Despite
16 penalties for 155 yards, 'Dogs keep it close but lose to Oregon 34-37
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Tim
Bobosky / The Oregon Daily Emerald
Paul Pinegar
can’t escape from the grasp of Oregon’s Patrick Chung
and his teammates. In Saturday’s game Pinegar completed 33
of 43 attempts, including three touchdown passes, for a career-high
418 yards. |
By Scott Adams
The Oregon Daily Emerald
The pre-game hype may have been
appropriate for Saturday night’s game in Eugene between No. 23 Fresno
State (1-1) and Oregon (3-0), but not even college football analysts could
have predicted the game would be as explosive and tense as it was.
Quarterbacks Paul Pinegar of Fresno State and Kellen Clemens of Oregon
both surpassed the 300-yard mark in passing yards, but it was Clemens
and the Ducks who came away the victors from the 37-34 shootout.
“Fresno State is pretty darn good,” Clemens said. “We
did what we had to do against them. We played sound offensively and the
defense made plays.”
Cornerback Aaron Gipson led the charge on defense, intercepting Pinegar
in the second quarter.
Gipson’s third pick of the season boosted the Ducks’ confidence
after they surrendered 17 early points to the Bulldogs.
“We spotted them 17, but stayed consistent,” Gipson said.
“We made stops and plays when we had to.”
On its first offensive play from scrimmage, Fresno State went for the
jugular as Pinegar connected with junior wideout Paul Williams for 43
yards, silencing the sellout crowd of 58,201 at Autzen Stadium. It was
Williams’ longest of five receptions totaling 122 yards.
Although Williams outdueled Gipson on the play, he did not shake the four-year
starter’s confidence.
“I don’t get rattled, it’s as simple as that,”
Gipson said. “It was a rude awakening for me and I knew I had to
step it up out there.”
Pinegar’s three touchdown passes helped the Bulldogs keep pace with
the Ducks. Fresno State ran an ample amount of play action and threw deep
often, challenging Oregon’s cornerbacks, who found themselves in
one-on-one situations regularly.
“(Oregon) definitely likes to match on the outside,” Pinegar
said. “We thought we would have the ability to have big plays throwing
the ball.”
Fresno State’s running game was also executed well. Senior tailback
Wendell Mathis churned out 70 yards against the Ducks and rushed for a
first-quarter touchdown from three yards out to put the Bulldogs up by
10. Pinegar’s first touchdown pass followed one quarter later giving
Fresno State a comfortable 17 point lead. That’s when the Oregon
offense found its rhythm.
The Ducks struck back on their ensuing possession when Clemens found senior
wide receiver Demetrius Williams for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Whitehead’s 42-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter was
perhaps the biggest play of the game. Whitehead bounced off of a slew
of would-be tacklers before cutting back across the field and crossing
the goaline.
“It felt good running out of the I (formation) again,” Whitehead
said. “We knew we had to get in the endzone and I took what they
gave me.”
Penalties proved critical in the game for both sides. The Bulldogs’
155 penalty yards surrendered were a blessing for the Ducks and an un-doing
for head coach Pat Hill and Fresno State.
“I don’t believe we’re an undisciplined team,”
Hill said. “I just can’t swallow 16 penalties, but obviously
if the penalties are called, they must have been.”
The loss was tough for Hill and his formerly undefeated team. In recent
history, Fresno State has often won games played on the road at hostile
stadiums.
“We came up short,” Hill said. “Give Oregon a lot of
credit, it is a tough place to play. We have a good football team. We
just have to move forward. It was a tough loss. We’ll recover. This
is a good football team.”
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