Alridge's efforts can't counter miscues.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

Houston's Anthony Alridge more than lived up to his nickname on Saturday.

The 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior tailback, who is affectionately known as `Quick' by Cougar fans, scorched the Oregon defense for 325 all-purpose yards - including touchdowns covering 86 and 60 yards - in a 48-27 loss at Autzen Stadium.

Alridge was satisfied with those numbers, but he was also quick to take the blame for the frustrating defeat.

Although he rushed for 205 yards on 22 carries, caught three passes for 88 yards and returned one kickoff for 32 yards, it was another number - two lost fumbles - that stood out in his mind.

`I put the loss on my shoulders,' Alridge said. `Being a fifth-year senior, you can't make two fumbles, so the loss is on me. ... I had some big plays, but the turnovers outweighed the big plays.'

Alridge, of course, wasn't alone in making costly mistakes for the Cougars.

Houston, which hopes to repeat as Conference USA champions this season, finished the game with four turnovers and one blocked punt, compared with zero turnovers for the Ducks, although the Cougars did have one pass interception for a touchdown called back due to a penalty.

In the end, Houston couldn't overcome all of the miscues.

`We certainly did what we talked about not doing for a month,' Cougar coach Art Briles said. `And that was having self-inflicted wounds. You can't come in here against an inspired team that's out to prove a point and help them out ... you can't have a punt blocked, and you can't turn the ball over three times in the red zone and expect to come away with a win against anybody.'

Oregon led 7-0 when Alridge lost the ball at the end of a 21-yard run to the Oregon 17-yard line. The ball was knocked loose by Jerome Boyd and recovered by Jairus Byrd. On Houston's next possession, another scoring opportunity was wasted when starting quarterback Blake Joseph had a pass picked off by a diving Byrd at the UO 14.

And then it got downright ugly for the Cougars.

On first down at their own 20, Alridge lost the ball when it was poked out of his grasp from behind by David Faaeteete, and pounced on by Will Tukuafu at the 10. Back-to-back offside penalties put the ball at the 3, and the Ducks scored on the next play for a 14-0 edge.

Despite the early hole, Houston refused to back off with a spread attack that outgained the Ducks in total yards (545 to 473), generated more first downs (30-22) and resulted in a greater time of possession (32:50 to 27:10).

But the Cougars could never take the lead.

The turning point came late in the third period. With the score tied at 20-all, Houston faced a third-and-goal from the UO 10, only to watch in disbelief as quarterback Case Keenum, who stepped in for Joseph midway through the first half, was intercepted in the end zone by Patrick Chung.

`As a quarterback, sometimes I wish I had a little string on the ball, and I could pull 'em back,' said Keenum, a redshirt freshman, who threw for 179 yards in his collegiate debut. `That was one of those deals where I was trying to force it. We had a great chance inside the red zone and came away with no points. That's definitely one I would like back.'

Oregon responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive for a 27-20 lead, and moments later, Chung blocked a punt that the Ducks recovered at the Houston 6. It only took one play to boost the margin to 34-20.

Alridge briefly made things uncomfortable for the UO faithful with an 86-yard touchdown on a screen pass on Houston's ensuing drive, but Oregon's offense couldn't be stopped at this point, and the Ducks were well on their way to the victory.

`It's all about the learning curve,' Alridge said. `This was a hostile place, and the fans were real loud, but I know we're going to bounce back.'