Oregon’s hopes take a knee
TUCSON, Ariz. – Without being touched, Dennis Dixon collapsed, and then Oregon did.
It’s hard to imagine the Heisman Trophy and a national title bid being lost on second-and-7 at the Arizona 15, with 6:01 left in the first quarter, but that’s the way the Ducks’ season went down Thursday night in front of 50,387 at Arizona Stadium.
Dixon, Oregon’s star senior quarterback, injured his left knee while making an early-game cut. He did not return, and the extent of the injury wasn’t immediately known.
Dixon fell without being hit, and then Arizona hit back hard.
For the fourth straight November, underdog Arizona shocked a ranked opponent. This time it was No. 2 Oregon, and this time the score was 34-24.
“My foot got planted in the ground and my knee went the other way,” Dixon said of his injury in an interview with ESPN toward the end of the game.
One minute Oregon was leading 8-7, with Dixon taking off on breathtaking dashes toward what appeared to be a breakout performance on national television.
The next minute momentum had turned upside down, with Dixon on the bench and his knee wrapped with ice – another twisted moment in a twisted season.
Dixon said he would undergo tests today, and he hadn’t considered that his college career might be over.
“If that’s the case, it’s going to be hard to swallow that,” said Dixon, who was consoled on the bench by his father, Dennis Dixon Sr. “You’ve got to play your heart out, because you never know when you’re going to get that last play.”
Oregon (8-2, 5-2 Pac-10) became the fifth No. 2 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll to lose this season, following USC, California, South Florida and Boston College. Arizona (5-6, 4-4) won its third straight game.
Antoine Cason returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown and an interception 42 yards for another score as the Wildcats shook up the national title race on a cool night in the desert. If Kansas beats Iowa State at home on Saturday, the Jayhawks probably will supplant Oregon at No. 2 behind Louisiana State in the Bowl Championship Series standings.
Oregon trailed 31-11 before mounting a Dixon-less comeback with backup quarterback Brady Leaf. Oregon cut the lead to 31-24 with 7:53 left and then thought it recovered an Arizona fumble at the Ducks’ 35 with 4:33 left, but an instant-replay review reversed the call on field.
Jason Bondzio then kicked a 46-yard field goal with 3:20 left to give Arizona a 10-point lead.
Dixon had been brilliant until his injury, scoring on a 39-yard touchdown run on Oregon’s first possession.
On Oregon’s second possession, what ended up being Dixon’s fourth interception of the year should have been his 21st touchdown pass. But the ball bounced off receiver Derrick Jones’ chest into the arms of Arizona defender Nate Ness, who returned it 45 yards.
Arizona ended up scoring to make it 8-7 before Dixon quickly drove his team back down to the 15. There, while trying to run left out of the shotgun formation, he dropped to the field and clutched his left knee.
Arkansas St. 31, North Texas 27: Brandon Thompkins caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Corey Leonard with 2 seconds left to lift the Indians (5-6, 3-4 Sun Belt) over the Mean Green (1-9, 1-5) at Jonesboro, Ark.