At first glance: Ducks have some serious reloading to do

Duck tight end Johnny Mundt dropped a fourth-down pass in the Oregon State end zone with 41 seconds on the clock and the Ducks down 34-24, and that was that. The first Beaver win in their last nine tries of the annual Civil War battle in Corvallis.

But Mundt should not take it too hard, this defeat was a team deal. Partly on the offense’s departure from the premises after scoring 10 points in the third quarter and the rest on the painful collapse, for yet another time, by the defense.

As a result, after Saturday night, the Ducks will be getting their mail delivered to the conference cellar and it will be addressed to the worst team in the Northern Division of the Pac-12.

This loss may have reminded Duck fans of many Civil War losses to the Beavers back in the day. The black and orange rolled over the hapless Duck defensive unit as the game wore on, running up 310 yards rushing to only 171 for Oregon — the leading run team in the conference. Of the last 27 plays of the game (which included three touchdowns), the Beavers ran the ball 25 times. The defense will deservedly take some post-game heat, but this defeat started with the offense.

After a first-drive stop in the third quarter to set up Oregon’s offense with the go-ahead touchdown, 21-14, the defense stopped the Beavers again on their second drive. The stage was set for the Ducks to begin OSU’s death knell, marching down to the Beaver 14-yard line on a run by Tony Brooks-James. It was then that senior Cameron Hunt, who should know better, got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for pile driving an OSU defender who was on his back, after the whistle, right in front of the referee.

Instead of a first down in juicy field position on the 14-yard line with the offense rolling, the ball was put back to the 29, a break that seemed to energize Oregon State and the crowd, and the ball died there. And you could see this coming as Hunt had been warned about mixing it up after the whistle before — a foolish, ego penalty that brought Oregon’s momentum to a halt.

Although the Ducks were able to kick a field goal, that was the last bit of offense Oregon would show. At the same time, the Beavers’ offense came alive. Methodically, play after play, the Beavers were primarily carried on the bull-shoulders of Ryan Nall, who scored four touchdowns on 155 yards rushing, most of that gained after a Duck defender dared get in his way to stop him.

It was terrible. The rain and wind then came and the Beavers’ offense got stronger and stronger as the Ducks’ defense withered in a puddle. All surrounded by delirious Beaver fans who had waited a long time for this rival game to turn around.