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Special teams, defense fail Ariz.

Matt Heistand Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior defensive tackle Joe Tafoya (left) comes into the play to help senior free safety Greg Payne hit Oregon's senior running back Reuben Droughns. Droughns was hit often Saturday night, but that was because he carried the ball 45 times for 202 yards and two touchdowns in Oregon's 44-41 victory.

While most people will probably focus on Mark McDonald's missed field goal with two seconds left as being the deciding factor in Saturday night's 44-41 loss to Oregon, his teammates aren't about to lay the blame solely on him.

"We had 110 chances to make a play, and you can't let it all fall down on the foot of Mark McDonald," junior defensive tackle Joe Tafoya said. "We thought we had them from the get-go. We had a couple guys injured, (but) they came out and did exactly what we thought they were going to do. We pretty much didn't adjust up front.

"You can't blame it on one thing alone. It was a team effort, and we lost as a team. It was a very emotional loss, it knocks us out of the Rose Bowl race."

As Tafoya said, it wasn't just one thing that killed Arizona, it was several things.

Special teams play was a major weakness for the Wildcats, as they wound up giving up 288 yards in punt and kickoff returns.

Oregon's average starting field position for its 19 possessions was its own 43-yard line. That explains how the Ducks, despite having only 435 yards of total offense to Arizona's 552, kept things close.

"That's a big deal, especially in college football," UA freshman wide receiver Bobby Wade said. "Field position is definitely something that can determine the game."

Oregon's longest scoring drive of the night was 68 yards.

The Ducks also had an easy time running the ball behind senior Reuben Droughns, who pounded out 202 yards on 45 carries and two touchdowns.

"We knew that if we ran Reuben (that much) we would have a good chance," Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. "We thought that we have to use him to counteract their movement and speed. If you don't get a running game going, then they are really going to get after you and we did not want our quarterbacks to get hit too much."

Tafoya said Droughns "was probably the biggest factor of the game."

"He's a tough runner, he has good vision, he sees the whole field," Tafoya said. "When they put the ball in his hands anything can happen. They (were) just running that zone play and he was getting a lot of cutback and their offensive line was pushing us on our backs and he would find the hole."

Droughns, playing with severely bruised ribs, made up for missing last year's 38-3 loss to Arizona when he was out with a broken leg.

"It felt really good to play again and be involved in the win," Droughns said. "I didn't expect to play this much tonight, but I'll certainly take it. I had to grin and bear it with the rib injury and go out and play like a warrior. I had to lay it on the line and continue to be an example for the underclassmen."

To formally bury the Wildcats, throw in five penalties for a loss of 50 yards in the first quarter alone, an Oregon safety caused when UA junior quarterback Ortege Jenkins threw a lateral behind senior running back Trung Canidate on the game's first play, a missed extra point by McDonald in the third quarter and two successful two-point conversions by the Ducks.