The Oregon Ducks collapse in their bowl game vs. TCU. (how much, schools)

[chessgeek]

Wow. I thought the TCU comeback from 31-0 down at the half would fall short, but TCU won 47-41 in the 3rd OT. I think Coach Helfridge has to have a big year in 2016 to keep his job after this collapse. Chip Kelly, despite his struggles as a pro coach, would never let that happen.

It is one thing for a team to come from behind, but Oregon did not use a timeout before their last 4th and long play in the 3rd OT. They had one to use, but chose not to do it. That is 100% on the head coach. Very surprised the commentators said nothing, too. That is inexcusable IMO. Especially with a backup QB and the problems with the snap from center they were having in the second half and OT.

I would be surprised if anyone disagrees. It was still a winning season for the Ducks, but four losses is below par for this program for sure.

[redguard57]

I'm a fan of TCU, so I was happy. Gary Patterson is a great coach and it's a testament to their program they could beat a good PAC-12 team dealing with their quarterback drama from 2 days ago. Quite a remarkable comeback from that far in the hole. I was impressed that their backup QB was as good as he was.

However, we can say that Oregon lost the game as much as, or perhaps more so, than we can say TCU won. There were a couple major problems, some out of their control. There were what, 3 major injuries that the Ducks sustained? They included the QB and the center and I think an important defensive player. Those are hard pills to swallow.

Still, I found myself surprised at a few things. 1) why did Oregon not run the ball more in the 2nd half? Given how good of a 1st half Royce Freeman had, I was amazed he didn't get the ball more in the 2nd. There were a couple times late in the game that running would have been a far better choice than passing. 2) What the heck was going on with the snaps? I understand that they lost their center, but come on, there must have been at least 6-7 plays completely botched due to low snaps, with a couple of them critical 3rd and short situations. I also felt that Oregon's time management in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter was very bad. I noticed them start several plays with 10-15 seconds left on the play clock.

In OT they came close to redeeming themselves. They played much better than they had in the entire 2nd half and I thought for most of it they'd find a way to win.

[Steve McDonald]

It should not be forgotten that in 1978 (or thereabouts), TCU was scheduled as a visiting, early-season, non-conference opponent. It was considered to be one of those guaranteed wins, to pad the season record. Schools with lower athletic budgets often are willing to accept an out-of-conference loss, while visiting a University like Oregon, to collect a big check, sometimes half a million dollars or more, plus expenses.

Well on that occasion, TCU humbled Oregon so badly, that at the beginning of the last quarter, about half the Oregon fans got up and left. That's the sort of thing you'd expect to see at Washington or UCLA, but I'd never witnessed it at Oregon before.

During the recent game, when the first half ended at 31-0, I found something else to occupy my time, as I was sure the win was secured. When I heard the news later, I could do nothing but laugh. Who else but Oregon could have engineered a loss under those circumstances? They played like the Oregon teams I knew well when I was growing-up-----almost always playing over their heads and rarely winning against substantial opponents. This recent outcome seems normal to me.

Does anyone really know how much Oregon has sunk into their athletic infrastructure during the last half-century? And what has been gained by it? How has Oregon's overall status among universities been helped by this season's final gasp? Suppose it had been spent on academic excellence and in keeping tuition lower? It's always argued that the big-spenders will put their money into sports and not academics. But if they didn't have football and basketball to draw those donations, wouldn't a lot of it still be given to fund the University's primary purpose?