Recap: Cougs beaten by last second FG in Eugene

RECAP: Washington State at Oregon

Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Ore.

Oct. 26, 2019

After beating Colorado last weekend in Pullman. Washington State hits the road again for the third time in the last four games. Autzen Stadium is the scene, place where the Cougs have won 2 games in a row. Here is a recap of what happened:

FIRST QUARTER: Oregon won the toss and elected to receive. On third-and-4, Herbert used his legs to pick up the initial first down of the game. However, Herbert was sacked on Oregon’s next third down opportunity and the Ducks punted. WSU gained possession of the ball for the first time with 11:15 left 1Q. Screen to Patmon gained 13 yards on first down. On 2nd and 8, Arconado roamed free in the middle of the field for 28 yards to the ORE 32. Next play, he caught a pass for 11 yards to the 21. Next play, Borghi stiff armed a Oregon defender to race to the 3-yard line. But back-to-back holding penalties pushed the Cougs back to the ORE 23. Fisher dropped a pass on third down, bringing out Blake Mazza for a FG attempt from 36 yards. GOOD!! Mazza is now 12-for-12 on FGA this season. SCORE: WSU 3, Oregon 0. Drive: 9 plays, 56 yards. On its second possession, Oregon moved quickly down the field with runs by Verdell for 7, 8, 8 and 6 yards along with a 17-yard pass completion. The Ducks moved inside the 30-yard line. Facing 4th-and-3 from the WSU 22, the Ducks called timeout with 3:16 left 1Q. PK Camden Lewis came for a 40-yard FG to even the score at 3-3. SCORE: WSU 3, Oregon 3. Drive: 9 plays, 53 yards. Borghi carried for 13 yards on the first play of the ensuing possession and walked gingerly off the field. He returned to the field one play later. WSU punted for the first time. Draguicevich’s punt was fair caught at the 11 with 1:27 left 1Q. First play, Verdell took the handoff, raced through a huge hole over the left side and didn’t stop running until he had reached the end zone for a 89-yard TD gallop. PAT was no good. SCORE: Oregon 9, WSU 3. Drive: 1 play, 89 yards. The quarter ended with WSU at its 35-yard line.

END OF FIRST QUARTER: Oregon 9, Washington State 3.

SECOND QUARTER: The 2Q began with WSU converting a rd-amd-5 with a swing pass to Borghi that gained 10 yards. Pass to Patmon for 18 yards to ORE 38. Two more completions and WSU was suddenly at the ORE 15. Arconado caught his 3rd pass of the night. But on 2nd down, a leaping Arconado saw the ball deflect off his hands into the arms of an Oregon defender in the end zone for a touch back, WSU’s first turnover of the night. On Oregon’s subsequent possession, Herbert made an error by beginning his slide a yard short of the first down marker. The Duck punted. On the punt, Oregon was flagged for a late hit, giving the Cougs the ball at the ORE 36. First play, Borghi bounced outside for a 16-yard gain to the Ore 20. After Borghi lost a yard, pass to Harris for 9 yds on second down to the ORE 12. Gordon was tackled 1 yard short of the first down. The WSU offense stayed on the field and Gordon hit Arconado for a short pass and he was tackled at the 2. Gordon rushed for 1 yard. But did he break the plane for a TD? Play was reviewed. Call stands. Didn’t matter. Borghi avoided a tackle and then bulled forward into the end zone for his 7th rushing TD of the season with 6:59 left 2Q. SCORE: WSU 10, Oregon 9. Drive: 7 plays, 51 yards. Verdell continued to have success running the football with consecutive rushes for 12 and 13 yards as the Ducks moved into WSU territory. On 3rd and 7, Herbert found tight end Spencer Webb for 18 yards to the WSU 22 and the first down. WSU called timeout with 4:30 left 2Q. The strategy worked as Herbert was sacked for an 11-yard loss back to the 32. Incomplete pass on 2nd and 21. On 3rd and 21, Herbert’s pass was caught and the receiver appeared to fumble. But Cougs LB Travion Brown was flagged for targeting. The call was confirmed and Brown was ejected. Offsetting penalties. Replay 3rd down. Herbert drops back. SACKED!!! 6-yard loss. Ducks punt. Touchback. Cougs get ball at 20. Gordon sacked on 1st down. On 3rd and 25 from the 5, Gordon’s pass over the middle was intercepted and returned 19 yards for a Pick-6 with 1:51 left 2Q. 2-pount conversion good. SCORE: Oregon 17, WSU 10. Harris returned the kickoff 36 yards to the 41 to give WSU great field possession late 2Q. Gordon struck quickly with a 21-yard pass to Arconado down the seam. Borghi caught swing pass for 8 yards. Next play, 2 penalties on Oregon. DPI and unsportsmanlike penalty. WSU ball at the 8. First and goal. But previous play under review to see if Patmon caught the ball. Ruling: Patmon stepped out of bounds, so he couldn’t become the first player to touch the ball. But unsportsmanlike penalty stood. WSU has ball at 15 with 55 seconds left. Pass to Bell. TOUCHDOWN!! Somehow, Bell found his way into the end zone for his 3rd receiving TD of the season. PAT Good. SCORE: WSU 17, Oregon 17. Drive: 3 plays, 59 yards. 17-yard run ended the half. We’re tied at the half. Gordon was 16-of-23 for 193 yards + 1 TD through the air in the first half. Borghi had 33 yards rushing + 43 yards receiving on 4 receptions.

HALFTIME: Washington State 17, Oregon 17.

THIRD QUARTER: Bad snap on 1st play of 3Q. 2nd and 25 from the 11. Cougs punted. FC at ORE 35. 3rd and 9, Herbert rifled throw to WR for 1st down at ORE 47. Holding on Ducks. Verdell continued to get the ball, rushing for 6 yards on 2 carries. 3rd and 7. He caught a 16-yard pass for the first down. Timeout with 8:28 left 3Q just before Oregon faced 3rd and 8 from WSU 22. Completion for 11 yards to the WSU 11. First down. Three plays later, Verdell rushed for the TD to give the Ducks the lead. Powered through the middle. PAT good. SCORE: ORE 24, WSU 17. Borghi ran for 10 yards on 2nd down to give the Cougs a 1st down. 10th touch of the game. 11-yard pass to Bell moved the ball to midfield. The Cougs continued to steadily move the ball, getting to the ORE 6. On 3rd and goal, Gordon’s pass into the end zone was incomplete. Blake Mazza came on for a chip shot 24 yards field goal with 2:40 left 3Q. SCORE: Oregon 24, WSU 20. Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards. First play on Oregon’s next possession, Verdell for 17 yards on 1st down to put him close to 200 yards rushing. Verdell for 35 yards to the WSU 16. Verdell now has over 200 yards rushing. Quarter ended with Oregon at WSU 7. Verdell has 223 yards rushing on 17 carries. Overall, Oregon has 255 rushing yards.

END THIRD QUARTER: Oregon 24, Washington State 20.

FOURTH QUARTER: Oregon tried to run the ball into the end zone but were unsuccessful on first and second downs. Verdell came on and powered through the middle for the TD. It took a second effort to get into the end zone and make it a 2-score game with 13:20 left. SCORE: Oregon 31, WSU 20. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards. Two pass completions and a late hit penalty on the Ducks moved the ball to the ORE 43. One 2nd and 9, Gordon threw for 23 yards to Harris to the ORE 19. Two plays later, Gordon made an outstanding touch throw to Arconado down the seam for the TD. WSU converted the 2-pt conversion to make it a field goal game with 11 minutes left. SCORE: ORE 31, WSU 28. Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards. Ducks got good field position on the kickoff return, starting at the 36. On 3rd and 11, Herbert connected with a receiver for 17 yards to the WSU 48. Big conversion for the Ducks. Verdell shook off a would-be tackle and raced 28 yards to the WSU 20 to push his game total to 253 yards rushing. On 3rd and 2, another first down running the football for the Ducks. 1st and goal. False start penalty. Ducks drained the clock on every play. Pass into the end zone. Incomplete! On third down, another incomplete in the back of the end zone. Oregon had to settle for a 30-yard FG with 6:29 left 4Q. SCORE: ORE 34, WSU 28. Drive: 12 plays, 52 yards. Taking over at it 30 with the chance to potentially win the game with a TD. Three straight incompletions brought up 4th and 10. Cougs punted. Big 3 and out forced by Dicks D. Ducks now have chance to make it a 2-score game with 5:56 left. Oregon starts at its 37. Loss of 1 on 1st down. Swing pass to Verdell produced 27 yards to the WSU 37. On 3rd and 6, Verdell couldn’t catch a screen pass that would have likely picked up the first down. Punt out of bounds at 10. 3:06 left. Arconado for 5 yards, Winston for 10 yards. Ball at 25. Pass interference on Ducks! First down at 40. Gordon to Tay Martin and he’s off to the races!! Tackled at the ORE 12. On 4th and 3, Gordon calmly hot Arconado for the TD!!! PAT GOOD!! Cougs lead 35-34. SCORE: WSU 35, ORE 34. Drive: 8 plays, 90 yards. Kickoff return to the ORE 39. Ducks have 2 timeouts. 3 straight completions move the ball to the WSU 33. Cougs call final timeout with 34 seconds left. Tunnel screen for 26 yards to WSU 9. Verdell for 3 yards to the WSU 6. Timeout Ducks with 14 seconds left. Herbert centered the ball for a 26-yard FG with 2 seconds left. The kick was good. Ducks win on last second FG, 37-35. Final drive was 7 plays, 53 yards.

FINAL SCORE: Oregon 37, Washington State 35.