Oregon Falls to Oklahoma 47-32 in 2021 Valero Alamo Bowl

The Ducks fell short in San Antonio, but the short-handed squad put up a fight against a solid Oklahoma team.

Author:
John Rustik
Publish date:
Dec 30, 2021 1:24 AM EST

After starting the season with a program-defining victory, Oregon fans watched helplessly as the remnants of a positive season disintegrated as the Ducks were crushed in the Alamo Bowl by Oklahoma 47-32.

The Ducks didn’t lead for a moment of the game and really never were threatening after trailing 6-3. The scoreline was very flattering for an Oregon team that wasn’t ever really that close to mounting a full comeback.

Due to countless injuries and players opting out of the bowl game, the Ducks’ depth was crippled to the point of having offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson play on the defensive line. Regardless of the situations that affected the depth before the game, the first half effort – or lack thereof – was humiliating as Oregon was on the receiving end of its third first half rout in its last four games.

The writing was on the wall for the Ducks as their first drive of the game was cut short because of an interception that went off the hands of receiver Dont’e Thornton and directly into the hands of defensive back Justin Broiles.

While the offense spent the entire first half in the fetal position, they did wake up and improve in the second half. Anthony Brown and the Ducks drove down the field to score four touchdowns on the first four drives of the half. One of the touchdown passes was a perfect throw to Thornton on a 66-yard streak to the end zone.

Brown ended the night 27-40 for 306 yards and added three passing touchdowns. He helped the Ducks cut the lead to just 15 in the closing frame.

The second half passing onslaught really makes you wonder what would have happened if Oregon’s offense was in sync like this the whole game, or if Oregon had taken shots down the field more often this season.

At times, the Ducks found great success on the ground. Running back Travis Dye finished the season with another strong outing, accounting for 153 yards on the ground off of 18 carries and complemented his play with an 11-yard touchdown.

Unfortunately, the Oregon defense didn’t do quite enough to mount a full comeback effort. Any time the Oregon offense would slap back at Oklahoma, the Sooners offense would come right down the field with another knockout punch.

The rushing attack for Oklahoma proved to be fatal against Oregon. As a team, the Sooners gutted the Ducks for 318 yards. Alamo Bowl MVP Kennedy Brooks had 14 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns.

The passing defense wasn’t much better. At times, the secondary for the Ducks looked lost. They constantly were sliced up by quarterback Caleb Williams who had a perfect 55-yard touchdown heave to Marvin Mims in the second quarter. Williams looked composed in the pocket for most of the game, and Oregon was unable to capitalize on its pressure throughout the game.

This loss will leave a sour taste for a while. Regardless of the countless things that went wrong for Oregon to get here, it hurts knowing that just months ago this was the No. 3 team in the country with all signs pointing toward a College Football Playoff appearance. Even though the season crumbled as it progressed, there is still tons to be excited about as the Ducks build toward a brighter future.

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