By Andrew Greif, The Oregonian/OregonLive

PASADENA, Calif. — Ten takeaways from Oregon’s 31-14 loss at UCLA, its third consecutive loss and fourth in five games…

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1. Take a moment to appreciate Royce Freeman

On Saturday, Freeman ran for 160 yards against the Bruins to break LaMichael James’ UO career rushing record in the fourth quarter. Freeman's record is 5,103 yards and counting, and the senior is only the 22nd player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to eclipse the 5,000-yard plateau on the ground.

In the process, he became Oregon’s career leader in two other categories, eclipsing James for UO’s top mark in 100-yard games (Freeman now has 27) and all-purpose yards (5,897). He is the active career leader among FBS players in rushing yards, all-purpose yards, rushing touchdowns (54) and total touchdowns scored (58), even though his current four-game scoring drought is the longest of his career.

Freeman sat out half of the win against Cal in late September and still isn’t fully healthy, coach Willie Taggart said.

“Royce is a special player, he’s a special person and I appreciate Royce so much,” Taggart said. “A guy that decided to come back to school and really wanted to get this program going back in the right direction.”

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Harry How

Royce Freeman finished with 160 yards Saturday as part of his record-setting day.

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James, of course, accomplished his feats in just three seasons, and on 771 carries. Freeman has 865 carries in 47 games — but that shouldn’t take anything away from his accomplishment.

Freeman has been the rare top-flight recruit at UO to make good on his high-school hype and then some, despite playing though injuries that have slowed him at times, most notably in 2016.

“It’s a blessing,” he said. “All praise to the most high, but I was just trying to scrap and get a win.”

Among UO’s top-five career rushers, Freeman’s average of 5.9 yards per carry trails only James (6.6) and Kenjon Barner (6.2).

As center Jake Hanson, who has blocked for Freeman the past two seasons, said Saturday of the record day, “It’s one good thing you can take from this (loss). He’s a great player, that’s for sure and obviously great he got the record. I just wish he could have got it with a win.”

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2. Now, resume your concerns about the offense as a whole

A lack of a passing game again handcuffed Oregon (4-4, 1-4 Pac-12) Saturday, to the point that the loss of even a few yards during a UO possession was often a drive's de facto death knell.

Oregon converted 4 of their 15 third-down opportunities -- a slight statistical improvement from its combined performance the past two weeks -- but its limitations were obvious on third-and-long of nine yards or more, where it was just 1 of 7.

Freshman quarterback Braxton Burmeister, who completed 8 of his 15 passes for 74 yards and an interception, “played better than he had the previous two ballgames but still not where we need him to be,” Taggart said. Oregon wanted to throw downfield more than it had against Washington State and Stanford, and test UCLA’s safeties, and one sign of that was Charles Nelson’s 22-yard reception over the middle that set up a second-quarter touchdown.

From listening to Taggart discuss Burmeister’s play in the past month, it’s clear he believes Burmeister has made progress yet can still accomplish more by doing less. His interception, thrown on a deep ball on third-and-3 in the second half, was the result of Dillon Mitchell running the wrong route and Burmeister going for the deep ball regardless. And a big sack, where Burmeister was blind-sided, wasn’t the fault of left tackle Tyrell Crosby but the QB “doing a little bit more than we needed him to do,” Taggart said. “That wasn’t a pass play, it was a run play.

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Mark J. Terrill

Oregon quarterback Braxton Burmeister talks with head coach Willie Taggart during the second half.

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“… Those are the headaches that you get right now but you understand that it’s going to get better. I believe in these guys.”

Oregon was shut out for three quarters and didn’t score after halftime for the third straight game and fourth time overall this season, but actually moved the ball well to start the third quarter, with drives of at least six plays that reached the UO 49, UCLA 47 and UCLA 40 yard lines.

But a six-yard sack on Burmeister doomed the first drive of that sequence. A false start by Hanson put UO into 3rd-and-11 on the second, and led to a punt. And Burmeister threw his interception on the third.

“We can’t make a lot of mistakes, we’re not loaded like that to make those mistakes and try to overcome them,” Taggart said. “When we have a drive going we can’t kill ourselves and in the second half we come out and run the ball really well and make mistakes and it kills us.

“… I think for us we have to play cleaner and smarter and all around. Especially guys that played a lot of football, we’ve got to make sure those guys can’t make mistakes. You understand some freshmen are going to make them but older guys have to make sure they’re doing the things they need to do. All of us, coaches as well.”

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3. Quarterback depth is dicey, but don't expect Oregon to run Burmeister any less

For the third consecutive game, Burmeister was at his best when he ran, scoring touchdowns from four and seven yards and finishing with 16 carries for 27 yards. (He also had a fourth-quarter fumble that was forced by Osa Odighizuwa, the David Douglas High School grad.)

Oregon thrust Burmeister into this starting role because of injuries to Justin Herbert and Taylor Alie on runs, but even though the depth behind the true freshman is dicey, don’t expect UO to run him any less.

Say this for Burmeister: The guy is tough. He took hit after hit Saturday and popped up every time.

“That’s not something we’re too concerned about,” Taggart said. “You saw how many guys went down today. You can’t do that in this sport. We’re out there to play ball but be smart. Learning when to throw the ball away, or when to get down when he should, and not taking unnecessary hits. We don’t want him taking unnecessary hits. … He’s a competitor but as a young guy he’s got to learn that he can’t take a lot of those hits.”

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4. Could Herbert return against Utah, next Saturday in Autzen Stadium?

Herbert, still recovering from his fractured collarbone suffered Sept. 30 against California, returned to practice in a limited capacity this week and watched from the sideline without a sling once again Saturday. There is no known firm timetable for his return, but Taggart said on Monday that Herbert desperately wants to get back on the field and could “get back quicker than we think.”

Five days later, when asked whether a return again Utah was a realistic possibility, Taggart demurred.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I hope so, he’s been drinking his milk. Threw the ball in practice and threw it pretty well but he’s got to heal. We all would love for him to be back, I know it would give us a spark but we can’t rely on that right now. We have to let him heal and not rush back.

“We don’t want to rush him back and reinjure anything. Everybody’s got to give a little more than we’re giving right now.”

After playing the Utes, Oregon travels to Washington and then takes its first bye.

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5. Another streak goes down

UCLA snapped its six-game losing streak to the Ducks Saturday, its first win in the series in a decade, and became the latest opponent to exact some revenge against UO.

Earlier this season, Oregon lost its 10-game winning streak against Arizona State. And last season, UO’s streaks of six straight wins against Colorado, seven straight wins against Cal, eight straight wins against Oregon State and 12 straight wins against Washington all came to an end, too.

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Harry How

Ugochukwu Amadi tips a pass away from Christian Pabico in the first half. Amadi played his first game at safety Saturday.

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6. Ugochukwu Amadi played safety for the first time in his life, and looked good doing it

It was while watching film of UCLA last week that coaches began tinkering with the idea of moving junior corner and nickelback Ugochukwu Amadi to safety.

Would it work? No one knew.

“Never played safety,” he said, even in high school. “Today was the first day.”

It might be an option considers moving forward. Though he was in coverage during a long gain in the second half, Amadi’s day was a positive overall, with nine tackles, including seven solo stops, a forced fumble and a pass break-up where he was in position to nab what would have been only UO’s second interception in its last five games.

"We just didn’t execute the way we needed to," Amadi said. "We just have to have short-term memory and get back in the lab."

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7. Another notable defensive performance came from linebacker La'Mar Winston

Winston, the sophomore who again started at UO’s hybrid linebacker/safety role dubbed the “Duck,” had a career-high 11 tackles, eight more than his previous high.

Winston, a Central Catholic High School graduate, also had a sack of Josh Rosen. The appeal of the “Duck” position is its flexibility defending both the run or pass, but has been used more against pass-heavy opponents. When Utah arrives Saturday in Autzen Stadium with its new, wide-open spread passing attack — highlighted by former UO receiver Darren Carrington — look for Winston to play another big role.

Afterward, he tried his best to stay relentlessly upbeat despite a third consecutive loss.

“It’s easy to give in, especially away games,” Winston said. “Fans are cheering, the atmosphere, it’s dimmed down on our sideline. I try to keep some joy and uplift our teammates because I understand they don’t have anybody to really lean on right now because everything seems like it’s snowballing downhill. I try to keep the positivity every time I get a chance.”

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8. Without Jake Pisarcik, UO switched things up on the offensive line

With starting right guard Jake Pisarcik (concussion) staying in Eugene, Oregon used redshirt freshman Jacob Capra to fill his spot for the first half. Capra false-started in the red zone on UO’s second and final touchdown of the half and by the third quarter Calvin Throckmorton, UO’s starter at right tackle, was shifted over to guard. In Aiello’s place, UO played Brady Aiello at right tackle.

“I thought we did a good job handling that adversity but like I said, at the end of the day we just didn’t do a good enough job as a whole unit,” Hanson said. “You can definitely see progress in this game but at the end of the day we were shut out three quarters. It’s great we were able to tie it back down 14. It’s still tough but you can look at some good things you did.”

A very good sign was the return of left tackle Tyrell Crosby, however. Like Pisarcik, he left UO’s loss to Stanford one week ago with concussion symptoms but was solid throughout Saturday’s game.

Oregon rushed for 246 yards and Burmeister was sacked four times.

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9. Progress: Fewer penalties

Oregon drew just a season-low three penalties after entering Saturday averaging 10. In fact, in a role reversal, it was UO that benefited from someone else's flags for a change, as UCLA’s costly penalties extended scoring drives.

“I was proud of our guys of playing a cleaner ballgame and not having all the penalties that we’ve had,” Taggart said. “We’ve been working really hard to correct it and that part we did.”

Now the challenge is keeping the flags to a minimum two weeks in a row. It's struggled to be consistent in this regard all season. After UO opened the season with back-to-back 12-penalty games, it drew just four flags against Wyoming in mid-September and the effort rightly received similarly encouraging reactions. One week, later, at Arizona State, UO was called for 14 flags. UO, obviously, does not want its progress against UCLA to be wiped out against Utah.

UO remains the FBS leader in total penalties (74) and yards from them (678) but improved one spot in its per-game average. It now ranks 127th nationally (9.3), ahead of UCF and South Florida.

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Mark J. Terrill

Oregon head coach Willie Taggart looks on from the sideline during the second half. UO is 4-4 with four games remaining.

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10. Will Oregon make a bowl? The Ducks aren't worrying themselves with that right now

At 4-4, with four games left against Utah, Washington, suddenly resurgent Arizona and Oregon State, Oregon needs two more wins to reach bowl eligibility.

It’s natural to wonder if the postseason is in UO’s cards. Fans are eyeing prices for plane tickets to Phoenix and Las Vegas, just in case. While UO’s rough play since beginning Pac-12 play would suggest pessimism, the wild card is of course how Oregon will play upon Herbert’s expected return.

How badly does Oregon need a win? “Really bad,” said Hanson, the center.

But in a cramped space under the Rose Bowl grandstands, you didn’t hear Ducks players or coaches say they were thinking of the big picture. Instead, they lamented the small errors that kept them from playing like they expect while reinforcing their belief that a breakthrough is coming.

“You know you’re not too far away but you also understand the situation, you’re playing with a lot of young guys in some key areas,” Taggart said. “You know one thing, negative thinking is not going to make it better. You’ve got to work. We still have some ballgames to play and we have to stay positive and get back to work and find a way to win.”

Taggart was most encouraged by Oregon's play in the second quarter. The defense, having allowed back-to-back touchdown drives in the first quarter, allowed just 20 total yards on UCLA's next two drives, which gave UO the ball back as it mounted two scoring drives, itself.

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“Honestly,” said Charles Nelson,” we’ve handled it pretty well even though we haven’t come out with a win.” He said it’s because “guys don’t like losing” and “the culture of this team has definitely changed a lot. This coaching staff is different. We’re just making a lot of mistakes. It’s our first time with them, their first time with us and a lot of injuries and we can’t use that as an excuse.”

Due to the early kickoff in Pasadena, Oregon was able to return to Eugene by Saturday evening, giving its preparation for Utah a jump start. By 1 a.m. — 12 hours after kickoff — defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was tweeting that he’d already watched the film of the loss.

Players expressed a need to “flush” the loss and move on to the Utes, but how difficult is that, really, when the program has now lost four of its last five after a 3-0 start?

“Obviously, the plane ride back is going to suck,” Hanson said. “And tomorrow is going to suck at practice but you just got to flush it out of your system and go into next week and hold your head high. I feel like Sundays, when you first get to the facility, it’s still kind of gloomy, but you have to get back to work because the week is so short you have to move on.”

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Harry How

Dillon Mitchell had three catches for 15 yards.

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QUICK HITS

— Darrian Felix fumbled. Then, in a critical moment, he atoned.

Felix, the true freshman running back whose debut came against Cal on Sept. 30, played his largest role yet Saturday as Tony Brooks-James stayed in Eugene due to concussion symptoms. In addition to absorbing Brooks-James’ carries, Felix also took his place returning kickoffs.

Five plays into its first drive, Felix motioned out of the slot and took the handoff from Burmeister before ripping upfield for 13 yards. But he fumbled on a hit by Jaleel Wadood, and given a short field UCLA turned that mistake into a touchdown on its ensuing drive.

But just as Oregon fought back from an early 14-0 hole, Felix atoned for his early mistake with a key run during a second-quarter scoring drive.

With Oregon trailing 14-7 in the final two minutes of the first half and inside UCLA’s red zone, a false start by Capra left UO facing third-and-10 from the Bruins 14. Felix answered with a 10-yard run around the left side, and likely would have scored if he hadn’t been tripped with one man to beat.

The first down set up Burmeister’s four-yard run that tied the game at 14.

“Our guys showed when they were down 14 we still could move the ball down the field and make plays,” Taggart said. “They fought.”

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— Pac-12 teams are allowed to travel a maximum of 70 players to conference road games but UO took 64.

Along with Pisarcik and Brooks-James, among those missing the trip were defensive lineman Scott Pagano and linebacker Jonah Moi, two of the team’s better players at stopping the run and getting to the quarterback. Inside linebacker Sampson Niu, who burned his redshirt earlier this month, was suspended for a violation of team rules, according to UO, and another inside linebacker, Blake Rugraff, still is not healthy enough to travel after being injured against Cal.

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-- Through eight games, the latest FBS statistics rankings place UO:

- 5th in total touchdowns (38

- 8th in sacks (3.25 per game)

- 19th in turnovers gained (15)

- 19th in rushing average (244.7)

- 20th in yards per rush allowed (3.3)

- 21st in rushes of 20-plus yards (16)

- 23rd in third-down defense (30.4 percent of conversions allowed)

- 33rd in points scored per game (34.9)

- 39th, in a tie, in yards per passing attempt allowed (6.6)

- 48th in passing efficiency

- 80th in third-down conversions on the road (35.8 percent)

- 87th in third-down conversions overall (36.8 percent)

- 92nd in points allowed per game (30.4)

- 93rd in interceptions thrown (8)

- 94th in first downs defense (161 overall)

- 118th in turnovers lost (17)

- 118th in red zone defense (92.9 percent of opponent red zone trips result in points)

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-- Interesting stat via UO's sports information department: Until Oregon's first touchdown against UCLA, it hadn't scored during a second quarter since Sept. 23, in its game at Arizona State.

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YOUR TAKEAWAYS

I asked readers to pass along their own takeaways from the game. Here is a selection of the responses:

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Not on coaches. Team is lacking the depth that only a couple recruiting cycles can fix. Will take a couple of years. Herbert is that good. — Sean Tamashiro (@SeanTamashiro) October 22, 2017

Defense has kept us in game till 4th most of time just offense not helping at all without Herbert — Steven Miller (@DatDudeSteve728) October 22, 2017

Anyone who thought more than 6 or 7 wins was delusional, and that was before Herbert got hurt. This year is painful, but future is bright — Duane (@duanepedersen) October 22, 2017

Another poor second half performance by the offense. Lethal Simpicity? How about Toothless Predictability? — Mark Pilkenton (@DuxFan23) October 22, 2017

Coaches have to be taken to task, b/c they are paid big $ to have kids ready & they aren't. Duck fans are impatient when it comes to QBs. — King-T (@Saltlick11) October 22, 2017

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3 draw plays on 3rd and 10 (1 was 3rd and 13) is no recipe for victory. w/o UCLA penalties team had nothing in the 2nd half. — Bill Trinen (@trintran) October 22, 2017

I’m wondering if the team will have enough healthy players to take the field by the CW. Also, concerned about offensive adjustments @ half. — RJM (@RJM_Engage_Lead) October 22, 2017

Oregon is in rebuild mode and it will take time. Gotta be patient with the changes that have taken place. Still think program is moving ⬆️ — Zachary Miller (@zachmiller) October 22, 2017

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Play calling is ..... suspect ... not able to game plan for when players are injured .I expected 6 wins and I’m not sure OREGON will get 5 — Mark Byrd (@ORIGINALBYRDMAN) October 22, 2017

Learned that Herbert better win team MVP at the end of this season. Offense is stale/inept without him — Taylor Orton (@T_Orton1) October 22, 2017

If Justin plays we have a chance without him are chances are slim...need the other team to make mistakes...hopefully he is back this week — iR1PC1TY (@wake2wake73) October 22, 2017

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Still completely believe in Taggart — Pete Ferryman (@PeteFerryman) October 22, 2017

Shades of a couple years ago when there was no adequate option at QB. Defense is now suffering because of lack of possession by the offense. — Rocklan Williams (@Rockmon5055) October 22, 2017

Worry about our ability to adjust at half-time. Young team will be a force next season. — Steve Chiovaro (@SteveChiovaro) October 22, 2017

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The first 3 games were fools gold against bad teams. Lost to ASU with Herbert. Hard to know if their record would be different with Herbert. — Ty of House Wilson (@_LifeOfTy_) October 22, 2017

No disrespect to #BraxtonBurmeister, I think it's past time to play #TaylorAlie. He is capable of running a more complete offense. — Gary Conkling (@GaryConkling) October 22, 2017

Just not very good. — Peter Insidya (@JohnnysBananas7) October 22, 2017

This team is nowhere near being competitive in conference play without Justin. — Dan Tracy (@dtracy2001) October 22, 2017

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Not enough pressure & turnovers from D, vital to get a legitimate backup QB- evident there isn't one on roster, Oline continues good play — Josh Roth (@Josh_G_Roth) October 22, 2017

Change playcalling all you want, doesn't matter if the QB can't execute the most basic reads — duckincamas (@ppilot212) October 22, 2017

It's hard to know how good the team really is when it's playing with tfreshman at QB. Hoping we finish strong in last 2 games for 6-6 — Bryan Ledbury (@b_led) October 22, 2017

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Harry How

Soso Jamabo of the UCLA Bruins is pushed by Andre James from behind as he scores a touchdown for a 7-0 lead.

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MORE COVERAGE

Oregon's progress is fleeting in a 31-14 loss

Canzano: Royce Freeman deserves better

Goe: The Utah game might be winnable

Canzano: Debating Freeman versus James