QUICKIE RECAP
It was billed as the Pac-12 Game of All-Time.
And it certainly lived up to its billing in front of a sold-out crowd of 61,195 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The No. 5 ranked Ducks allowed the No. 3 Huskies to take a 20-3 lead at the half, but came storming back in the second half scoring three consecutive touchdowns to take the lead at 24-20 late in the 3rd.
But the Ducks simply couldn’t stop UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr who led UW on two consecutive touchdown drives in the second half to retake the lead.
Oregon scored again late in the fourth to make it close but again the Huskies offense executed down the stretch and ran out the clock and won the final Pac-12 football championship 34-31
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Oregon won the coin toss and deferred, the No. 3 ranked Huskies offense started first….and started fast. UW QB Michael Penix went right to work and drove the Huskies down the field in 15 plays but couldn’t find the endzone. The Oregon defense held and forced UW to kick a 38 yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Ducks couldn’t find their offensive footing and went three and out on three consecutive incomplete passes by Bo Nix.
With 7:09 on the clock in the 1st quarter, the Ducks punted and UW took advantage. Return man Germie Bernard returned the punt to midfield setting the Huskies up with excellent field position.
And it didn’t take long for Penix to find the endzone.
Penix drove the remaining length of the field in 6 plays ending the drive with a Dillon Johnson 5 yard touchdown off left tackle to give the Huskies a quick 10-0 lead with 3:46 left on the clock in the 1st quarter.
Again the Oregon offense couldn’t move the ball and again punted after a 3 and out.
In the second quarter, and after holding Washington on a 3rd and 6, Oregon would once again get the ball and finally picked up their first 1st down at the 14:05 mark.
But again, the Ducks couldn’t find any rhythm or momentum from the offense and failed on a 3rd and 3 from the Washington 18-yard line and were forced to attempt a 36-yard field goal which Camden Lewis connected on.
It was 10-3 Washington.
From there the wheels kind of fell off for the Ducks.
Penix and his Huskies went on to score another 10 points to take a 20-3 lead into the halftime break. The Huskies scored on an 8-yard TD pass from Dillon Johnson to Germie Bernard at the 6:48 mark of the 2nd and then kicked a 37-yard field goal with 99 seconds remaining in the first half.
Oregon was 0 of 4 on third downs in the first half and simply couldn’t find any forward momentum when it counted.
In the 3rd quarter the Ducks began their comeback and they certainly made it exciting.
On their first offensive possession of the 3rd quarter, Nix navigated a 15-play 75 yard drive that was helped in part on a key 4th down reception by Troy Franklin and then a huge wheel route catch to Tez Johnson to get the ball to the UW 15.
On a 4th and goal from the 2-yard line Nix found TE Terrance Ferguson for a 2 yard score to pull the Ducks to within ten at 20-10 at the 9:39 mark.
After Nix and Penix traded interceptions midway through the quarter, the Oregon defense began to find its footing and put pressure on Penix.
On a 4th and 2 from the Oregon 28 Duck safety Nikko Reed came around the left end and sacked Penix for a loss of 10 yards giving the ball back to Oregon at their own 38-yard line.
And this time Nix took advantage.
On the next possession, Nix scrambled 44 yards putting the ball at the UW 15.
Two plays later RB Jordan James ran 6 yards off tackle for the touchdown to give Oregon their first lead of the game at 24-20 causing mayhem among Duck fans in Allegiant Stadium.
But the lead was short lived.
In the fourth quarter, Penix once again executed a tremendous 12-play 75 yard drive that ended with a Dillon Johnson 1 yard run pushing the Huskies back into the lead at 27-24 with 12:23 left in the game.
On the next Oregon possession at the nine and a half mark the drive stalled and the Ducks were forced to punt.
Penix and the Huskies once again took advantage.
Penix drove UW 82 yards in 12 plays and ended the drive with a 2 yard pass to Quentin Moore once again giving UW a 10 point lead at 34-24 with 2:44 left in the game.
But Nix and the Ducks weren’t done.
It only took the Oregon offense :46 seconds to find the endzone when Nix hit WR Traeshon Holden on a 63 yard pass and score to once again pull the Ducks to within three points at 34-31.
It was Nix’s third touchdown pass of the game but that’s as close as it would get.
With two first downs Washington was able to run out the clock and give themselves the Pac-12 Championship winning 34-31.
FINAL SCORE; Washington 34, Oregon 31
GAME-CHANGING PLAY
The key play came in the second half at the 7:22 mark of the third when the Ducks defense came up huge when nickelback Tysheem Johnson intercepted Michael Penix at the Oregon 41 yard line swinging momentum back in favor of Oregon. However, on the very next play, Nix gave the ball right back to the Huskies forgoing good field position and another opportunity to score points.
That single swing could have really put additional pressure on UW.
TEAM NOTES & STATS
Bo Nix ended the night completing 21 of 34 passes for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns. His completion percentage for the game was just 62%.
Oregon / UW
| Total Yds | 363 | 481 |
| Pass Yds | 239 | 324 |
| Rush Yds | 124 | 157 |