As football sequences go, this was the Battle of Waterloo, the Hindenberg crash and the Titanic sinking all rolled into one.
Oregon redshirt freshman kick returner Kenjon Barner landed the first blow against UCLA, a 100-yard kick return on the first play of the third quarter.
Next, on the Bruins’ first play from scrimmage of the second half, Ducks cornerback Talmadge Jackson III jumped a Kevin Prince pass and returned the interception 32 yards for the touchdown.
Then, less than four minutes later, Oregon wideout Jeff Maehl broke a handful of tackles on his way to a 20-yard touchdown reception.
All told, the Ducks scored 21 points in a four-minute span to open the second half en route to a 24-10 win over UCLA on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl.
Head coach Rick Neuheisel was left nearly speechless – no small task for the man – only managing, “It was a flurry.”
Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince had a little more to say.
“It all happened so fast,” said Prince, who was pulled in the fourth quarter after returning to game action for the first time since Week 2. “I was just thinking about T.V. viewers who left the room for a second, and all of a sudden it’s 21-3. How does that happen? It’s unheard of.”
Funny thing is – well, funny for Oregon – the Bruins didn’t think things could get much worse than a first-quarter sequence that saw the team fail to score on four straight plays from within the 2-yard line, then allow Duck running back LaMichael James to break several tackles in a 49-yard run from the Oregon 1-yard line.
UCLA’s inability to score from the precipice of the end zone had the team reeling after the game.
“We’re just letting plays slip away from us,” senior wide receiver Terrence Austin said. “When we need to make that first down, we drop a ball or we miss a read or miss a drop. That stuff adds up. We had the game in control, but we let it slip away.”
After the Ducks went on their four-minute outburst, the Bruins could not regain that control.
UCLA responded to the 21-point swing with drives of three, four and three plays, respectively, gaining a total of 20 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Akeem Ayers offset the offensive utility with a scoring play of his own, an interception of Oregon quarterback Nate Costa in the Ducks’ end zone, but the Bruins continued to struggle.
After holding onto the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the first half, UCLA had possession for just more than five minutes in the third quarter.
“We show flashes of everyone making plays, we just have to capitalize on them,” sophomore wide receiver Taylor Embree said. “We drive the ball, and we show so many of those flashes – our motto isn’t about one big play – but every once in a while, we need it. But we still have to focus on those little plays.”
Against the Ducks, the Bruins lacked long and short.
With redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Franklin sidelined for the second half with a left ankle sprain, UCLA’s corps of backups – junior Christian Ramirez, sophomore Derrick Coleman and freshman Damien Thigpen – managed just 28 yards on 10 rushes.
Meanwhile, Oregon ran up and down the field on the Bruins.
James gained 152 yards on 20 carries, including the 49-yard gain at the goal line. Barner added 50 yards on four carries, including a 48-yard run.
Neither long gain was a backbreaker – James’ burst leading to zero points, Barner’s setting up a 33-yard field goal – but both were crucial in the momentum of the game.
“There were spots where we were doing great, but there were spots when we did terrible,” sophomore safety Tony Dye said. “We probably could have won the game if we didn’t give up some of the plays we gave up.”