The defense again couldn't close. The simplest of things -- a center snap -- was suddenly a high-wire act. The Oregon Ducks back-up quarterback was put in an impossible position by a coaching staff that must have known it had already failed miserably as it trotted out Jeff Lockie while it wished the Alamo Bowl wouldn't slip through its fingers on Saturday night.

After, here was "Everybody wants to point a finger at one person. Point it at me. Blame me. I'm 100 percent good with that," from Ducks coach Mark Helfrich. It's become Helfrich's act in the wake of a terrible loss this season. Personally, I didn't need to hear it. Doubt you did, either. He's the head coach. Of course Helfrich gets the blame. That's how it works, coach.

Failed to close out games.

Failed to develop a quarterback.

Failed just the same.

Light up the back-up quarterback's social media accounts with slams if you wish, but the line of failures season certainly doesn't fall on Lockie. It's on Helfrich, who when you think about it, pulled off a near miracle by importing Vernon Adams and winning nine games in a season that could have easily been a total flop.

After seeing Adams play one game this season, it was obvious how thin the Ducks season felt. I wrote after the opening game that the biggest issue wasn't improving the defense, but protecting the only guy in the building that could make it not matter. Which brings us to the only question that matters now that Adams is out of eligibility and another fifth-year senior (Dakota Prukop) is set to transfer in -- how in the world has Helfrich failed to develop a quarterback of his own?

It's what really sent the Alamo Bowl spinning. Flashback -- August, 2015: Marcus Mariota is gone to the NFL. Oregon has Adams, Lockie, Morgan Mahalak, Travis Jonsen and Taylor Alie taking reps at the quarterback position. It's such an apparent log-jam that the Ducks coaches decide to move Ty Griffin from quarterback to defensive back.



We now understand that was a panic move on defense.



Mahalak is later called "not operationally as good as the other guys," by Helfrich. Jonsen, who arrived from high school early in the spring to learn the Ducks' offense, is red-shirted after what Helfrich called a "medical procedure." Alie is a walk-on, who gets beat out by Lockie for the back-up position. Adams finally shows up and after what feels like a couple of minutes of practice, is named the UO starter.



With Adams out, Lockie was the best Oregon had. Don't blame Lockie. Blame the program that dumped him in high seas without proof of buoyancy or a life preserver. It troubled me from the beginning of this season. A college football program that relies so heavily on the quarterback position, one coming off a national title appearance and a Heisman-trophy winning quarterback, had no encore planned.



I asked former Ducks coach Rich Brooks what he thought happened with Oregon's quarterback position. Did they miss on recruits? Did they fail to develop players? Did they miss on Chip Kelly recruit Jake Rodrigues in the 2012 class or fail to develop him? What about Damion Hobbs in 2013? Given that Mariota came back for a junior season and bought the Ducks more time, how in the world did they not have a line of competent heirs ready and in place?



"It's like not like they haven't recruited players who are four-star guys," Brooks said.

In October, before the Oregon won the Prukop Sweepstakes, the Ducks requested transcripts on a junior college quarterback. By November, UO had a commitment from high school star Ryan Kelley, the prize of its 2017 class. Also, four-star high school recruit Terry Wilson flipped his commitment from Nebraska to Oregon, signed a financial aid agreement and will also be ready for spring practice. There's the return of Jonsen, too. And Justin Herbert, a three-star quarterback from Sheldon High School, verbally committed to signing with the Ducks.

Will they all show up? If they do, will they develop?

We can all plainly see that Oregon's innovation has been duplicated by others. We can all see the college football uniforms aren't that different, sideline to sideline, anymore. The Taj-like football facilities may be gorgeous, but everyone's wearing gorgeous these days. The rest of college football has done what the sport does -- closed the gap -- just like that. Which is only to say that the margins have become thin for the coaching staff. Also, Oregon football as you knew it, doesn't exist. The possible great evolution of what it now might become is what's paramount.

It's Helfrich's job to recruit the best players he can get, develop them in the best manner, then scheme and prepare for the opposition. It was apparent by the start of overtime against TCU that Oregon had not only blown a 31-point lead, but was now somehow in over its head.

That's not on Lockie. That's on Helfrich. And the slow slide toward mediocrity has to stop.

The cries for Helfrich's head are premature. He won nine games with a lousy defense no back-up quarterback. (Again, his own doing.) But the accountability is a good reminder, too. This is on him. All the way. Totally. Completely. The head football coach is paid handsomely and has a contract that includes the use of automobiles and a membership to the Eugene Country Club. Not because everyone wants the football coach to drive a nice car and be a scratch golfer. But because when an Alamo Bowl is slipping away, and the starting quarterback is in street clothes, it's the head football coaches job to have a solution ready.

Gary Patterson had one ready.

Helfrich didn't.

Saturday was that simple.

--- @JohnCanzanoBFT