With the Game on the Line, Jeffrey Bassa Fires Up the Oregon Defense

Saturday night, with the score tied at 34-34 and 4:33 to play, senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa gather the defense around him before they took the field.

The Oregon offense had just stalled after an illegal shift penalty and two incomplete passes. They'd managed one first down on a pass to Terrance Ferguson over the middle but that was it. Ross James punted 48 yards to the Boise 22.

"FINISH! FINISH! FINISH!" Bassa pounded one hand into the other. "Everything you've got left in the tank! Right now for this moment! I need everybody to dial in! DEFENSE: KEEP PLAYING BALL MAN!"

Oregon's in-house documentary filmmaker caught the moment as part of his latest installment of "Ducks Versus Them," the cinematic recap of Boise State at Oregon.

Bassa and the defense took the field. On first down the Broncos handed the ball to the ever-dangerous Ashton Jeanty and the Ducks held him to a four-yard gain. On second down a pass fell incomplete, broken up by linebacker Bryce Boettcher. On third, Brandon Johnson broke up another pass, the 16th pass breakup by the Oregon defense over the season's first two games, most in the nation. Three and out.

After a BSU punt, Dillon Gabriel and the offense marched 61 yards in 11 plays, working the clock down to two seconds. New kicker Atticus Sappington calmly nailed a 25-yard field goal for the win.

Nothing builds a team like surviving adversity together. While this year's Oregon Ducks have flirted with disaster, they've also succeeded in mastering it over their 2-0 start.