It took over a year, 12 full games and 353 passing attempts, but Marcus Mariota finally threw an interception against Arizona on Saturday.
It took a dropped pass and an incredible effort by Arizona’s Shaquille Richardson too.
The dual-threat redshirt sophomore is a Heisman frontrunner and has been nearly flawless for the high-flying Oregon offense this year. He is considered a top-flight NFL prospect, but this INT put the Ducks in a hole early.
Mariota dropped back on first-and-10 for his first passing attempt of the day. He looked left and found an open Bralon Addison near the sideline.
The ball, thrown accurately, popped off Addison’s body and was headed out of bounds, but Richardson followed the ball out of bounds, and in mid-air, caught the deflection and tossed it to teammate Scooby Wright, who secured the interception in-bounds. Wright then returned the ball 14 yards, giving the Wildcats great field position early in the ballgame.
The interception led to a Ka’Deem Carey touchdown run and Arizona went on to win 42-16.
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