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Duck Hunters: Arizona knocks off No. 2 Oregon

Oct 3, 2014 - 7:34 AM Eugene, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Terris Jones-Grigsby's late go-ahead touchdown run led the Arizona Wildcats to a 31-24 victory over the No. 2 Oregon Ducks, who were hurt by costly penalties and an untimely turnover down the stretch.

Arizona used four third-down conversions and a big penalty on the deciding drive. Anu Solomon threw to Jones-Grigsby on his right for a 28-yard completion down to Oregon's 23-yard line. After an intentional grounding penalty made it 3rd-and-20, Jones-Grigsby powered through the middle for a 24- yard gain. Solomon was sacked on third-and-goal by Tony Washington, whose over-the-top celebration drew a costly flag.

After a defensive pass interference penalty, Jones-Grigsby dove into the end zone from a yard out for a 31-24 game.

The Ducks (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) moved quickly down the field on consecutive first down catches from Dwayne Stanford, but Scooby Wright III ripped the ball out of Marcus Mariota's hands, and the Wildcats took over at the Ducks' 34 with 2:11 remaining.

"I was just trying to get after the quarterback and make a play," Wright said. "When I finally realized I had the ball in my hands, I was already running towards the sideline."

Arizona (5-0, 2-0) ran out the rest of the clock to seal the win.

Solomon finished 20-for-31 for 287 yards with a touchdown and interception, and Jones Grigsby had 210 all-purpose yards for the Wildcats, who won their first game on the road against a ranked team since upsetting USC on Dec. 5, 2009.

Nick Wilson ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries while also finding the end zone on a 34-yard catch.

Mariota threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-32 passing and also caught a TD pass from Royce Freeman, who ran for 85 yards on 19 totes. Devon Allen and Keanon Lowe both caught touchdown passes in the loss.

"First and foremost, we have to give them credit. They played really well," Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. "We weren't smart enough. We had a lot of uncharacteristic errors tonight from the communication and penalty standpoint. There's a lot that we have to rectify."

After a quiet first half, Arizona took a 10-7 lead early in the second. Wilson ran 26 yards to the Wildcats' 46 on the first play. Caleyb Jones made catches of 14 and 13 yards before a pass interference penalty set up Wilson's 3-yard TD scamper.

Freeman ran for 13 yards and Byron Marshall's 23-yard grab placed the Ducks at Arizona's 28. After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called on Arizona, Mariota found Allen at the left corner of the end zone for a 6-yard score and a 14-10 lead.

Solomon passed to a wide-open Jones-Grigsby, who raced down the right sideline to the Oregon 3 for a 54-yard pickup. The Ducks committed a costly pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-goal, which extended the drive and allowed Wilson to power into the end zone for an Arizona lead.

After Oregon went three-and-out, Arizona worked the ball into Ducks territory on Tyrell Johnson's 17-yard catch. Two plays later, Solomon hit an uncovered Wilson, who ran down the left side and ran over a defender en route to a 34- yard touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 24-14 advantage.

The Ducks, however, responded with a field goal on the next drive. Mariota's 34-yard pass over the middle to Stanford placed Oregon at the Wildcats' 2 to set up Matt Wogan's 21-yard field goal early in the fourth.

Mariota was sacked on 3rd-and-7 at Arizona's 37, but connected with Allen for a 28-yard pass and a fresh set of downs. Lowe hauled in a 9-yard pass two plays later for a 24-24 contest with 8:21 to go.

On Oregon's opening drive, Arizona took over on downs after Mariota was stuffed on 4th-and-3 at the Wildcats' 31 and went in front with Casey Skowron's 28-yard field goal.

Oregon went ahead less than a minute into the second quarter. Freeman ran 10 yards to place the Ducks at Arizona's 26. On the very next play, Mariota pitched the ball to Freeman, who rolled out to his right and aired out a 26- yard touchdown pass to Mariota down the left sideline for a 7-3 score.

Both teams fumbled in their opponents' territory late in the first half. Dan Pettinato sacked Mariota at the Wildcats' 35, forcing the ball loose for Parker Zellers to recover.

On the ensuing drive, Solomon had his pass knocked down at the line. He caught the deflection and took it up the middle for a 21 yard drive into Oregon territory.

Jones-Grigsby kept the drive alive with a with a 2-yard pickup on 4th-and-1 and ran for 12 yards to the Oregon 6 before fumbling on a botched handoff at the 10 with 21 seconds left in the first half.

Game Notes

Mariota did not turn the ball over the first four games of the season ... Arizona's last 5-0 start was in 1998 ... Mariota has thrown for a touchdown in his 31st straight game, which is second-longest in the nation behind Marshall's Rakeem Cato (36) ... Mariota recorded his second career receiving score ... The Wildcats outgained the Ducks, 495-446.