Leading up to the game this past week, Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning said he wanted more explosion plays.
His wish was granted and then some as the Ducks dominated No. 12 BYU 41-20 in front of over 54,000 fans inside Autzen Stadium.
Quarterback Bo Nix had his best game as a Duch by scoring five times, including three touchdowns on the ground. He used an offensive line that pushed the Cougars back all day long and showed why they might be the best line in the Pac-12.
On the whole, Oregon rushed for 212 yards and averaged almost five yards a carry.
It was running back-by-committee once again with Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington carrying most of the load. Irving was just three yards short of the century mark.
After BYU was held off the scoreboard on its first possession, the Ducks marched 64 yards in just four plays to take the early 7-0 lead. The drive ended with the first of Nix’s three trips to the end zone.
Oregon was then up 10-0 before BYU finally scored a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. But the Ducks answered immediately with another Nix two-yard plunge.
It was the best of halves for the Cougars as they suffered from some questionable play calls, a missed fourth-down conversion and a missed field goal. It was kicker Jake Oldroyd’s third straight missed field goal attempt dating back to last week.
With the momentum clearly on the Duck sideline, Oregon was able to go 79 yards in just over five minutes in 13 plays and ended the drive with a 15-yard scoring reception by tight end Terrance Ferguson. The drive also included a gutsy fourth-and-1 call where tailback Jordan James went through a BYU linebacker for the first down.
It was 24-7 at halftime and the Ducks received the kickoff to begin the second half. If BYU was in trouble then, the game might have been put on ice after the Ducks took that kickoff and scored in nine plays and 75 yards. Once again it was Nix, but this time it took him six yards to run for a touchdown and Oregon had a commanding 31-7 lead.
Three minutes later, Nix found Ferguson once again for a nine-yard score and the rout was on at 38-7.
BYU was then able to somewhat get back into the game when the Duck coaching staff decided to sit Nix for a bit and play Ty Thompson. His first pass was a lateral, losing 26 yards and it never got better for the redshirt freshman.
Oregon was forced to punt for the first time and the Cougars turned it into their second touchdown to make it 31-14. Thompson was then picked off as his pass went off the hands of Dont’e Thornton, setting up a short field for the visitors.
BYU scored another touchdown and even though the two-point conversion was no good, it was suddenly 38-20 and perhaps a little more closer than it should have been.
Oregon put Nix back into the game and was about to sustain an eight-minute drive and Camden Lewis added a chip shot of a field goal, a 25-yarder to account for the final score.
The Ducks will now head into the Palouse and Pac-12 play next week with a trip to Washington State to face an undefeated Cougar team. It’s scheduled for a 1 pm kick on Fox.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS