No. 1 Ducks Score 34 In Second Half En Route To 48-29 Win Over No. 20 Arizona

For the second time on Friday, we’re seeing an undefeated team getting a run for its money. It’s halftime at Autzen Stadium, and the No. 20 Arizona Wildcats lead the Oregon Ducks, 19-14.

Arizona quarterback Nick Foles has found receiver Juron Criner for two touchdown passes, including an 85-yard strike made possible when Criner made a spectacular fake to free himself from the Oregon secondary. Foles already has 231 yards through the air. In the final seconds of the first half, the Wildcats added another three points with a chip-shot field goal from Alex Zendejas.

On Friday night, the No. 1 Oregon Ducks hosted No. 20 Arizona, and the Wildcats offense is looking good early against the top-ranked team in the nation. After the first 15 minutes of play, Arizona leads, 14-7.

Both of Arizona’s passes are courtesy of quarterback Nick Foles and Juron Criner. The second was spectacular, as Criner badly faked out his man to find open field and run to the end zone, uncontested, for an 85-yard touchdown reception.

Oregon, as is its wont, has produced some fireworks of its own. Quarterback Darron Thomas found David Paulson for a 38-yard touchdown pass, and star running back LaMachael James already have 72 yards thanks to a 37-yard gallup.

Oregon is looking to remain undefeated for the year. Meanwhile, their Pac-10 rival, Arizona, is fighting to improve to 8-3.

Follow this StoryStream for game updates. And for more on these teams, check out our Oregon blog, Addicted to Quack, and our Arizona blog, Arizona Desert Swarm.

Mike Stoops’ Wildcats can certainly make things interesting if they were to pull off the upset against Oregon. The team was idle this past weekend and certainly needed the break following back-to-back losses to Stanford (42-17) and USC (24-21). The loss to the Trojans dropped Arizona to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in league play.

Chip Kelly has his sights on a national title shot, but to do so, the Ducks will need to win two more games, starting this week with Arizona. Oregon also sat idle last weekend, coming off its closest game to date, a 15-13 victory at California. With the win, the Ducks moved to 10-0 on the season and 7-0 in conference play. The team is a game up on Stanford in the standings with a key victory over the Cardinal in hand. With a win over Arizona, the team will at the very least earn a trip to Pasadena for this year’s Rose Bowl. The Ducks will close things out with its annual rivalry game against Oregon State next weekend.