Pac-12 Notebook: No easy fix for Ducks defense

You look at Utah’s 62-20 win at Oregon and you don’t know where to begin. Does college football’s most shocking score of the season have more to say about the Utes or the Ducks?

Let’s start with the train wreck.

Oregon has had double-digit victories in each of the past seven seasons, has twice played in the national championship game in the past five years and has carried the flag for the Pac-10/12 in the post-Pete Carroll era at USC.

But nothing lasts forever, and the Ducks, in times of trouble, can no longer turn to Heisman-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota and say, “Go fix this.” He isn’t the only key piece missing from last season’s team, of course, but it’s the most obvious.

Ailing graduate transfer Vernon Adams (playing with a finger injury) was pulled in the first half, Jeff Lockie was ineffective, and the Ducks finished up with Taylor Alie in garbage time. The Oregon quarterbacks combined to complete 14-of-30 passes for 178 yards, with two interceptions and five sacks.

That would be bad enough, but a revamped secondary can’t stop anyone, giving up five touchdown passes to the Utes.

“It is 100 percent true we are not the same team we were,” said Oregon offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone. “Those guys moved and guys stepped up. We have the tools to be the team we always have been, but we just didn’t really step up tonight. There is a lot of things we can learn.”

The 42-point loss was Oregon’s worst since losing to Arizona State 59-14 on Oct. 11, 2003. The Ducks hadn’t given up that many points since yielding 63 to Nebraska 30 years ago. The 62 points marked the most ever by an opponent at Autzen Stadium.

Oregon’s chase for a repeat spot in the College Football Playoff is over before October. As for writing off their Pac-12 North chances, let’s not get carried away. Oregon’s next three games are at Colorado, vs. Washington State, at Washington.

There is time for the Ducks to right the ship while seeing if Stanford and Cal can maintain their winning ways in the North.

Utah, meanwhile, thrived with the return of quarterback Travis Wilson from a sprained shoulder. He passed for 227 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 100 yards and a score.

“It felt amazing,” he said. “It’s a great win for this program and a great step for this offense. To put that many points on a team like Oregon is unheard of.”

The 4-0 Utes can enjoy it for a while. Utah is off this week.

ARIZONA (3-1, 0-1)

Game: UCLA 56, Arizona 30. The Wildcats got back All-American linebacker Scooby Wright, who played the majority of the game, but his return didn’t spark the defense. UCLA took advantage of three first-half turnovers and rolled to a 42-14 halftime lead before coasting through the second half. The damage was done when Arizona allowed 329 yards in the first half — yielding touchdowns on six of seven possessions. Arizona QB Anu Solomon was knocked out of the game in the second quarter because of an apparent head injury, but coach Rich Rodriguez didn’t have an update after the game.

Takeaway: Arizona had the national stage all day, starting with having ESPN’s College GameDay program on campus as the sun was rising and finishing with a prime-time game on ABC. And then the Wildcats took a header off that stage. The offense, even with backup Jerrard Randall in the game, moved the ball well, but turned the ball over too many times and squandered red-zone chances. The defense failed in its primary vision — stop RB Paul Perkins and the run game — which meant it had no chance to achieve its secondary mission of pressuring QB Josh Rosen.

Next: at Stanford, Oct. 3.

ARIZONA STATE (2-2, 0-1)

Game: USC 42, Arizona State 14. The Sun Devils had 185 yards rushing but could not overcome their four turnovers and two missed field goal attempts in the first half as they fell behind 35-0 at the break. USC scored twice in the final 25 seconds of the half, both scores coming after ASU lost fumbles, including a 94-yard return with 25 seconds left after QB Mike Bercovici mishandled s snap on a play from the USC 1-yard line. De’Chavon Hayes fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his 4-yard line. Bercovici was 23-of-44 for 272 yards with an interception.

Takeaway: Arizona State lost only four fumbles last season but already has fumbled 13 times in four games, losing seven. Perhaps much of what ails the offense can be cured by simply holding on to the ball and letting sophomore RB Demario Richard (131 rushing yards) do his thing. Even so, the Sun Devils really miss the talents of now-NFL WR Jaelen Strong on the outside and Bercovici hasn’t recaptured the magic he showed as an injury replacement last season. With a game at UCLA coming up, it looks like ASU’s problems are going to get worse before they have a chance to get better.

Next: at UCLA, Oct. 3

CAL (4-0, 1-0)

Game: Cal 30, Washington 24. The Bears won their Pac-12 opener as junior QB Jared Goff completed 24-of-40 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Cal built a 27-7 lead early in the second half and then had to hold off a Washington rally, which included a 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown that made the score 27-21. The teams exchanged field goals after that, and Cal sealed the win with S Damariay Drew’s interception with 2:04 to go.

Takeaway: Cal is a nice story. Goff is a future high first round pick in the NFL Draft. The Bears moved into the AP poll at No. 24, their first ranking since 2010. They should be able to keep momentum going this Saturday with a home game against Washington State (a rematch of Cal’s 60-59 shootout win last season in Pullman), but the tale will be told by the ensuing four-game stretch: at Utah, at UCLA, vs. USC, at Oregon.

Next: vs. Washington State, Oct. 3

COLORADO (3-1, 0-0)

Game: Colorado 48, Nicholls State 0. The Buffs took advantage of playing a lower-division foe, rolling to 636 yards of offense and the easy win. QB Sefo Liufau passed for 227 yards and one touchdown. Starting RB Michael Adkins II was out because of a leg injury, but the Buffs still ran for 358 yards, getting triple-digit days from RB Phillip Lindsay (113) and RB Donovan Lee (103), who had been moved from receiver earlier in the week. Colorado, which lost its opener at Hawaii, has won three consecutive games for the first time since September 2009.

Takeaway: There’s not much to be learned from this game, which did otherwise provide a cool moment when sophomore WR Jay MacIntyre — that’s coach Mike MacIntyre’s son — scored on a 38-yard play on his first college catch. He also had a 31-yard punt return and could take over those duties to lessen the workload of WR Nelson Spruce. “He is one of the hardest workers on our team and I really appreciate that,” Liufau said. “It showed on the field today. I am happy for him and I expect him to do it consistently now.”

Next: vs. Oregon, Oct. 3

OREGON (2-2, 0-1)

Game: Utah 62, Oregon 20. Ducks QB Vernon Adams returned after missing one game due to a broken finger, but he was benched in the second quarter after going 2-for-7 for 26 yards. He was far from the only problem. Utah scored late in the first half to take a 27-13 lead and scored again on the first drive of the second half … and the rout was on. That’s what usually happens at Autzen Stadium, just not to the home team. Backup QB Jeff Lockie was just 10-of-20 with two interceptions.

Takeaway: The defense hasn’t stopped anyone all season — the Ducks are 110th nationally in total defense (474.8 yards per game) and 117th nationally in scoring defense (40.8 points per game). While there is hope that the quarterback position will get healthier and the offense can find a semblance of its typical production, the fixes aren’t as clear on defense. Oregon’s fall to earth could be a bigger crash than anyone saw coming.

Next: at Colorado, Oct. 3

OREGON STATE (2-2, 0-1)

Game: Stanford 42, Oregon State 24. The Beavers hung around with a more powerful and veteran Stanford team, pulling within 35-24 early in the fourth quarter when true freshman quarterback Seth Collins threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Villamin. Any momentum from that didn’t last long, as Stanford’s next offensive play featured a 65-yard touchdown run from RB Barry Sanders, and that was that. Collins completed 20-of-36 passes for 275 yards and one touchdown.

Takeaway: Collins is the future. His advanced running skills are easy to see and he’ll continue to get better in the passing game. “For a freshman quarterback, I don’t know what more you could ask for,” coach Gary Andersen said after the Stanford game. “He runs it, he throws it, he’s made pretty good decisions. He again threw the deep ball unbelievably well. He’s getting smarter each week, so he is a vicious weapon as a true freshman quarterback to be doing what he’s doing. I think he’s playing at a very high level and I think he’s growing up.”

Next: at Arizona, Oct. 10

SOUTHERN CAL (3-1, 1-1)

Game: USC 42, Arizona State 14. The Trojans bounced back nicely from their home loss to Stanford by routing the Sun Devils in what was expected to be a close game. QB Cody Kessler threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns, four of which came in a decisive first half. USC led 35-0 at the break after scoring two touchdowns in the final 25 seconds of the half. The first of those late scores came on a 94-yard fumble return by S Chris Hawkins, and then USC recovered a fumbled kickoff and found the end zone on a 10-yard pass to WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Takeaway: Perhaps the Trojans can’t be trusted to avoid another stumble like they had against Stanford. But the talent is still ample, and USC has the goods to run the table. A game at Notre Dame on Oct. 17 looms large before challenging conference contests vs. Utah, at Cal, vs. Arizona, at Oregon and vs. UCLA. “The key is to take this game and then build on it,” coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We didn’t play our best a week ago, but that game’s not going to define us. What we do moving forward is going to define us.”

Next: at Washington, Oct. 8

STANFORD (3-1, 2-0)

Game: Stanford 42, Oregon State 24. The Cardinal won its third straight game following a 16-6 loss to open the season at Northwestern. That’s encouraging, and so is this: Stanford has scored at least 31 points in all three victories. Against Oregon State, the Cardinal led 21-17 at halftime and then outscored the Beavers 14-0 in the third quarter. RB Christian McCaffrey ran for 206 yards on 30 carries; backup RB Barry Sanders went for 97 yards and two scores on only seven rushes. He ripped off a 65-yard run early in the fourth quarter for the final score.

Takeaway: Sophomore RB Christian McCaffrey is developing as an elite versatile threat, right on schedule. He has had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games, and he posted 303 all-purpose yards vs. Oregon State on 34 touches, including a reception and three returns. “What else can you say about Christian McCaffrey,” said coach David Shaw. “He’s physical, he’s tough running between the tackles. He’s fast and explosive and ready to make the big plays.”

Next: vs. Arizona, Oct. 3

UCLA (4-0, 1-0)

Game: UCLA 56, Arizona 30. QB Josh Rosen hardly seemed to break a sweat in his first Pac-12 road game, as he completed 19-of-28 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. RB Paul Perkins rushed for three touchdowns, all in the first half, as the ninth-ranked Bruins dominated before the break, taking a 42-14 lead at intermission. Rosen added an 8-yard rushing touchdown in the second half. Much credit needs to go to the offensive line, which opened holes and kept pressure off Rosen, a big reason why UCLA was able to convert 11-of-15 third-down chances.

Takeaway: Rosen, a true freshman, might have his ups and downs, but he is one cool customer who can make all the throws. If the Arizona game was supposed to be some kind of test, then give him an “A” and move him on to graduate studies. “I don’t think he’s been a freshman since he got here,” Perkins said. “He’s just taken the reins of this offense.” Rosen scrambled nicely when he had to, not panicking as he might have when he threw three first half interceptions a week earlier vs. BYU. “That’s one of the things I keep saying is impressive about him — his ability to move from one play to the next and diagnose what happened and learn from it and move on,” said coach Jim Mora.

Next: vs. Arizona State, Oct. 3

UTAH (4-0, 1-0)

Game: Utah 62, Oregon 20. Anyone see this coming? QB Travis Wilson returned from a shoulder injury to complete 18-of-30 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns, and he also ran for 100 yards in the stunning upset. RB Devontae Booker rushed for 98 yards on 22 carries. While others might have been anticipating an Oregon comeback after Utah took a 27-13 halftime lead, the Utes started piling on with a Wilson 2-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the second half. Utah moved to No. 10 in the AP poll with the win.

Takeaway: The Utes have two victories that rank among the best in the nation — the opening win over Michigan and then the almost unprecedented blowout of Oregon. “All week we knew that we could beat them” WR Kenneth Scott said in the Deseret News. “We had the confidence in ourselves that we had the firepower to match up with them and we just got the job done.” We knew Utah had power; firepower (other than Booker) was much more of a question. But freshman Britain Covey has provided a nice option at receiver and at punt returner, adding some needed explosiveness to what now looks like a well-rounded team.

Next: vs. Cal, Oct. 10

WASHINGTON (2-2, 0-1)

Game: Cal 30, Washington 24. The Huskies battled back from a 27-7 deficit early in the second half, but ended up with a chance to win at the end. RB Chico McClatcher scored on a 2-yard run, and CB Sidney Jones scored on a 70-yard fumble return to make it 27-21. From there, the teams traded field goals, but the Huskies’ final chance ended with QB Jake Browning throwing an interception with about two minutes left. Browning was 17-of-28 for 152 yards with two interceptions.

Takeaway: The Huskies don’t have much margin of error, so the five turnovers (three by Browning, including a fumble) were killers in a game that Washington could have won. The defense came up big with a goal-line stand and the fumble return for a score, but Browning, a true freshman, wasn’t sharp in his Pac-12 debut. He’ll have time to work on it before an even tougher game at USC on Thursday, Oct. 8.

Next: at USC, Oct. 8

WASHINGTON STATE (2-1, 0-0)

Game: Bye

Next: at Cal, Oct. 3

NOTES, QUOTES

–UCLA is now down three really good players on defense — DT Eddie Vanderdoes, CB Fabian Moreau and LB Myles Jack are all out for the season. Jack, an All-American, suffered a meniscus injury in practice last Wednesday. Coach Jim Mora, whose team beat up on Arizona 56-30 on Saturday night, was unhappy that the defense gave up 468 yards, although most of those were fairly meaningless.

“Nothing impressed me,” Mora said, especially upset that the Bruins gave up 353 yards on the ground. “We all have to do a better job. For a team to be able to run the ball on us like that, that is inconceivable to me. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Thing is, Arizona didn’t have much of a passing threat after QB Anu Solomon left the game with an injury in the second quarter.

–ASU senior WR D.J. Foster became the fourth player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 career yards rushing and receiving. The last to reach those milestones was Texas Tech’s Taurean Henderson in 2005. Foster had six catches for 67 yards in the loss to USC on Saturday night.

–Utah pulled off a brilliant fake punt return against Oregon, with a decoy punt catcher drawing the coverage to the left side of the field, while Boobie Hobbs actually fielded the ball near the right sideline. Getting a block or not, he was off pretty easily for a 69-yard score.

–Colorado WR Nelson Spruce had five catches for 80 yards in the win over Nicholls State, which was enough production to push him to the school receiving record. He eclipsed the school record of 2,558 receiving yards, which had been set by Michael Westbrook from 1991 to 1994. Spruce is up to 2,570 yards. Said Spruce: “It’s cool to see all that hard work pay off.”

–Arizona All-American linebacker Scooby Wright returned from a knee injury suffered in the opener against UTSA. He played nearly the entire game, making seven tackles, although he was far from an impact player. “He made some plays,” said coach Rich Rodriguez. “It’s still his first game and he’s still working himself back into shape. One thing that happens when you’re injured and coming back, you may be coming back healthy and ready to go, but you’re not in game shape.”

QUOTE TO NOTE: “I want to yell, but I’d be out of line right now. It feels good. I feel like we finally came together as a team because we love one another and we’re playing hard.” — Utah LB Gionni Paul, after the stunning 62-20 win at Oregon.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

FIVE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM WEEK 4 IN THE PAC-12:

1. Go with the road team. Not only did all five road teams win in Pac-12 games last week, they did so by a combined 120 points with the shocker being Utah’s demolition of Oregon in Autzen Stadium. It’s a competitive league in which home field might not be the advantage you think it is.

2. Having Adoree’ Jackson play more on offense is a great idea. USC’s starting cornerback was used more on offense Saturday against Arizona State. Jackson had three catches for 131 yards, including a tackle-shredding 80-yard touchdown. “We just wanted to get the guy the ball,” coach Steve Sarkisian said. “At the end of the day, it was just really positive to have him involved in the offense, where he is a threat.”

3. UCLA RB Paul Perkins really is underrated. He was the Pac-12 rushing champ last season but didn’t make either first or second-team all-conference. He’s faster than he looks, plays bigger than he looks, and it’s nearly incomprehensible that he gained only 85 yards on 24 carries vs. Arizona, because the Wildcats never corralled him with their initial effort.

4. Tucson showed up, Arizona not so much. ESPN officials raved about the fan turnout for Friday’s College Football Live from the UA campus, and then for the showcase GameDay program, which started at 6 a.m. local time. ESPN might be hesitant for a return any time soon, though, after the Wildcats didn’t provide any drama in a blowout loss to UCLA.

5. UCLA coach Jim Mora owns Arizona. Mora and Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez came into the Pac-12 at the same time, and Mora has gone 4-0 against RichRod. UCLA has outscored the Wildcats 170-73 during that winning streak, including a 66-10 win in 2012 and Saturday’s 56-30 thumping.