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PULLMAN, Wash. – The last pass of a frustrating evening for Justin Herbert was postponed and the president of the University of Oregon, Michael Schill, jumped on one foot, grinned, then pivoted on the Ducks' field side and went to the exit.
Boosters Phil Knight and Ken O Neil were also heading to the corner exit. Washington State was about to kneel and finish its 34-20 ambush against Oregon on Saturday. The police sirens were already lamenting just beyond the gates of Martin Stadium. The Cougar students, many of whom have been standing since 4:45 pm for the game day festivities, have stepped forward, ready to start resizing the guardrail in the end zone and punctuate the madness.
The forces of order have prepared. The security of the stadium is positioned. Even the WSU's cheerleaders turned around and started jogging. They had the devil.
The Oregon Ducks did not do it.
They had to swim by leaping, screaming, celebrating the pumas. And I hope that they now know this: the Ducks do not have a problem anymore at Stanford. They have a problem with Wazzu. As in, that is four consecutive losses from Oregon to the WSU.
The Ducks players got lost in the post-game crowd on the pitch. The assistants also crossed the mass. Three enthusiastic fans of the WSU ran to the tunnel that the Ducks were trying to cross, pushed through a row of stadium guards and continued shouting "OERE ANARON FELD?!? Or? Feld ?! They were looking for the Ducks' power and conditioning coach. One of them was holding a giant sign with the picture of Feld on it.
It was printed with the words: "Would you even lift BRO?"
Blame Lee Corso. Blame Game Day. Blame the officials. Blame hangover from a big victory over Washington. But before doing that, blame the Oregon Ducks.
They stink for two full trimesters.
Only blame the Ducks for their shocking and awful performance in the first period. Blame them also for their bad performance. Blame the wounds too. The absence of the injured left tackle from Oregon, Penei Sewell, was screaming and sowed confusion.
Blame these things and also know that while Oregon staff members were chasing players out of the madness, a lot was going on.
The Ducks' defensive back, Brady Breeze, and linebacker Keith Sims escaped together to face the WSU fans. When both players reached the security line security set up by Pullman police, Breeze said, "Stop!"
He put his hand on Sims's epaulets, forced him to turn around and look back. The glowing dashboard. The screaming mass of Cougars fans. The WSU players are dancing around the pitch, hugging each other as Oregon had done a week earlier.
"I want to remember it," Breeze said.
I hope they do it all.
Because playing football in the Pac 12 conference is a ruthless business. Make mistakes, suffer from the hangover of a big win, start believing your headlines and you are brought to your account. Next step for the Ducks: Arizona. Then there is Chip Kelly and UCLA. Then, Utah, the USS and the Civil War. Oregon, 5-2, must avoid getting caught up in the conference rush.
Coach Mario Cristobal said after the match: "We just did not move the sticks", trying to explain the first half. He blamed the bad execution. He said that it was obvious, for some inexplicable reason, that his ducks "were just not ready to play".
I saw Cristobal a few hours earlier, I shot. He spent the pre-match with a whistle in his mouth, working with the offensive and defensive lineman. The Ducks trained in double-teams and tied a face-to-face with more contacts than I could see during a pre-game routine in Oregon. Ready to play? They certainly looked like that. Cristobal did it too. He shouted and made gestures. His players were in a hurry. I've been struck by the contrast of energy during this warming period.
Because the opposing coach Mike Leach went for a walk after warming up. It seemed like he was out for a Saturday afternoon walk. Then, when the match began, his team wandered through the stadium, racking up yards and a 27-0 lead at intermission.
At half-time, the local sideline reporter asked Leach how to explain the offending behavior of the Cougars.
He said, "The routine is playing."
She continued, "And the defense?"
"More games of routine."
Leach was not difficult. He was succinct. This is true. The Cougars performed in the first half as if they were performing a simple 7-on-7 strike. Oregon fumbled around, blowing into the covers, missing tackles, watching the Cougars' fans get drunk.
There was no catchy speech at half-time. No meeting reserved for players. No real change in the game call.
Cristobal said: "It was not like there had been a miraculous change of game plan."
Oregon has just performed better. But let's face it. When you score 20 unanswered points in the second half and find that you are still down with a touchdown, you have done so much harm that you probably do not deserve to win.
Washington State has put in place a powerful offensive program, led by a football scholar. His defense tilts and shifts, and wreaks havoc, especially against an offensive line against a key starter. The Cougars were the best team, rested, playing in a busy stadium, against an opponent who watched and played emotionally distracted for two or three quarters.
The Rose Bowl representatives left the game in the third quarter. If someone asks, he will say that he came to attend a hearing in Washington State. The scouts of the NFL stayed until the end. If someone asks, they will probably say that they were looking to see what Herbert would do, with multiple scores, with 33,000 fans shouting for his spleen. They left when this last pass was rejected too.
But I watched Oregon until the end. I bet you did it too. I even watched them after the end, swimming in the madness, trying to figure out how to never end up there again. Because to miss such a lesson would be a travesty.
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