EUGENE, Ore. — It was reading like a familiar script.
Like a horror film, you were afraid how Saturday would end for the Oregon Ducks.
Here came the big monster, this time wearing Michigan State green, with the physical power to turn Mighty Oregon into cowering ducklings.
Oregon was being pummeled. Its running game was atrocious. Marcus Mariota was running for his life and possibly out of his role as Heisman favorite. This was Stanford, LSU and Auburn all over again.
Then the plot shifted.
The bloodied Ducks got back up.
Saturday’s 46-27 win over the seventh-ranked Spartans was not impressive because of how dominant the Ducks were in the second half.
It was that it came after they spent much of the second quarter getting shovelfuls of dirt tossed on them. Thirteen rushing yards at halftime is usually a death sentence for Oregon’s hopes of winning.
The moment Oregon’s gnarled hand shot up through the ground was with six minutes to play in the third quarter.
Facing third and 10 while trailing 27-18, Mariota eluded a vicious pass rush in a way coach Mark Helfrich could only chalk up to “genetics.” He shoveled the ball to Royce Freeman, who gained 17 yards, a first down, and a new lease of life for his team.
Suddenly, the Ducks had a pulse. From then on, it was a Michigan State massacre.
Oregon ended the game by scoring 28 unanswered points.
Its defense started playing like it embraced the villain role.
On a hot evening, they made life hell for the Spartans as a smoky haze from nearby forest fires settled in.
“People throw those ‘soft’ words at us all the time,” Oregon defensive end Arik Armstead said. “But we turned them into a passing team by stopping the run. … I don’t know if those questions are answered, but I think we did a good job.”
Mariota didn’t cement himself as the odds-on Heisman favorite Saturday. But he had enough moments to strengthen his résumé. “Resiliency” is an attribute he can now highlight.
Mariota got better the more Michigan State blitzed. With an offensive line that was further depleted by right tackle Andre Yruretagoyena’s injury early in the third, having to scramble seemed to bring Mariota out of his shell offensively.
Mariota extended the drive on which Oregon retook the lead with an 11-yard scramble on third and nine.
Now having to account for a mobile quarterback unleashed, Michigan State’s secondary couldn’t blanket receivers Keanon Lowe and Devon Allen, who each caught a long touchdown pass in the third quarter.
“Things kind of just happened,” Mariota said. “I can’t really explain it. They did bring a lot of pressure, and that tends to open up zones when they do that.”
Saturday’s win could be a turning point in the Helfrich era.
Oregon fans, instead of longing for what they had under Chip Kelly, might now appreciate the new identity Helfrich is molding in his second season — that of a team which can win a physical dogfight. That of a team which can take a punch or two and jab right back.
That’s a script Oregon wouldn’t mind reading.
