QUICKIE RECAP
When Liberty from Conference USA was announced as Oregon’s opponent for the VRBO Fiesta Bowl there was a national skepticism as to the incredible mismatch between a Power 5 team and Group of 5 team.
And as it turned out, that national skepticism was well founded as No. 8 Oregon ( 12-2 ) pounded the No. 23 Flames ( 13-1 ) 45-6 in a lopsided victory that was led on the arm of Bo Nix who tossed 5 touchdown passes and ended his Oregon career as the all-time single-season touchdown passer with 45.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Liberty began the game with the ball and the initial momentum after taking their opening possession 6 plays and 75 yards to score the game’s first touchdown giving the Flames an early 6-0 lead after the PAT failed. QB Kaidon Salter tossed a nice 17-yard score to receiver Bentley Hanshaw who was open in the back of the end zone.
That single score was the only highlight Liberty fans would see for the remainder of the game.
Oregon QB Bo Nix would go on to throw five touchdown passes to five different receivers to secure the win and his place in Oregon history.
Not only did Nix end the game as Oregon’s all-time single-season touchdown passer ( 45 ), but he also ended his final season as college football’s most prolific passer completing 77% of his passes giving him the national record in completion percentage.
Down 6-0, Oregon would get on the board with a 37-yard Camden Lewis field goal at the 9:11 mark of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter Nix and the Ducks would find the end zone for the first time when Nix found receiver Gary Bryant Jr on a 2-yard touchdown giving Oregon a 10-6 lead.
Five and a half minutes later Nix navigated a 10 play – 75 yard drive that ended with his second touchdown pass – this one a two yarder to tight end Terrance Ferguson extending the Ducks lead to 17-6 at the 7:13 mark of the second quarter.
On the next possession, Liberty would go three and out giving the Ducks the ball back with 6:19 to play before the half.
Nix and the Ducks drove 95 yards in just 5 plays which ended with a 3-yard flip pass to TE Kenyon Sadiq who scored his first touchdown of the season.
The Ducks led 24-6 with 3:50 to play in the first half off of Nix’s third touchdown pass of the game.
Moments later the Oregon defense came up big when safety Steve Stephens IV intercepted Flame QB Kaidon Salter at the Oregon 32-yard line. It was the 12th interception of the season for the Ducks defense and Stephens’ 2nd of the year.
Nix and the Oregon offense took advantage of the turnover.
Nix used 5 plays to drive 68 yards and ended the drive with a 17-yard hookup with receiver Traeshon Holden giving Oregon a commanding 31-6 lead going into the halftime break.
It was Nix’s 4th TD pass of the first half and 44th of the season.
In the second half, the Ducks opened the third quarter with the ball and again it didn’t take long to find the end zone.
Moments into their opening drive offensive coordinator Will Stein went into his bag of tricks and dialed up a flea flicker that ended with Nix finding Tez Johnson for a 24-yard score giving Oregon a 38-6 lead at the 11:11 mark.
It was Nix’s 5th scoring pass of the game and would end up being the final touchdown pass of his illustrious career in Eugene.
The Ducks would go on to score another touchdown in the fourth quarter – a 1-yard rush up the middle by Bucky Irving to propel Oregon to a 45-6 win.
It was Oregon’s sixth Fiesta Bowl win and it also gave the Ducks their 12th win in a single season since 2019 and for the sixth time in Oregon history.
FINAL SCORE; Oregon 45, Liberty 6
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
This MVP performance and award designation was probably the easiest of the season.
Bo Nix completed 28 of 35 passes for 363 yards and 5 touchdowns. Nix not only set Oregon’s all-time single-season record for touchdown passes thrown with 45, he also set the single-season pass completion percentage record at 77%.
DAN LANNING QUOTE; “This game was about unfinished business. We said we’re writing the last chapter to our book, and we had the pen. And I thought our guys wrote a phenomenal chapter.”
The Oregon Ducks showed class and football skills while not running up the score on Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl. It was a decisive win and needed to be no more. The Oregon players and coaches gave respect to the game, the skills of the Oregon team, the quality of the PAC -12 football conference and the promising vision for all future UO Duck teams and their coaches in building community leadership for young and old.