The last three quarters were a thing of beauty and the Ducks will definitely take it.
That’s kind of how it’s been throughout the season.
Start slow, but roar back to win!
Oregon was able to pull things together after a rough start and outscored Washington 26-7 the rest of the way for the 10-point victory up on Montlake.
The victory continues the Ducks’ absolute dominance over their rivals to the north as Oregon has now won 15 of its last 17 over the Huskies.
With the win, the No. 4 ( CFP ) team in the country is now 8-1 overall and 5-1 in Pac-12 action. The Huskies are now 4-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
With the weather playing a major factor, both teams were forced to be a bit more conservative on offense than they wanted to, but Oregon took advantage of the elements much better than Washington did.
Travis Dye had another incredible performance with his 28 carries and 211 yards with a touchdown. As a team, Oregon outgained the Huskies on the ground 329-55 yards.
( POST GAME ) RB TRAVIS DYE TALKS WIN OVER WASHINGTON
Washington couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game as Anthony Brown was picked off on Oregon’s first possession of the game. The Huskies started their first possession on the Oregon 6-yard line. Two plays later, Sean McGrew punched it in for the touchdown and the Dawgs led 7-0.
Oregon answered with a 46-yard field goal from Camden Lewis to make it 7-3. It was Lewis’ career-long and it was into a stiff wind. But later in the quarter, Dye was tackled in the end zone for a safety and Washington had a 9-3 lead.
After that, something clicked for the Ducks because they dominated the Huskies the rest of the way.
Brown led a 7-play, 76-yard drive for a touchdown when he found Devon Williams for a 31-yard strike to make it 10-9 Ducks. Although Oregon hadn’t played well for the first 23 minutes of the contest, they did take the lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
But they were up just one at halftime. Oregon began the second half perfectly with a 6-play, 70-yard touchdown drive with Brown’s two-yard touchdown run to make it 17-9.
Again, it was just a one-possession lead, but considering the weather and Washington’s offense being woeful even in the best of conditions, it seemed like a bigger advantage.
The game was truly out of reach for Washington when the Ducks made it 24-9 with Dye’s 19-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Huskies did manage to score with 11 minutes left, Oregon’s defense held the Dawgs down.
Coupled with the Ducks’ running ability and ability to use the clock. Oregon was able to hold on.
Even when they were down 24-16, the Huskies did have the ball with just two minutes left.
It was fourth down, but Washington head coach Jimmy Lake decided to punt the ball although they had just two timeouts left. That strategy led to a bad snap on the punt that went out of the end zone for the safety and accounted for the final score.
Now the Ducks will turn their attention to Washington State that is scheduled to come to Autzen next week, Nov. 16 for a 7:30 p.m. PT kickoff on ESPN.
( POST GAME ) MARIO CRISTOBAL DISCUSSES WIN OVER WASHINGTON