QUICKIE RECAP
The question all week leading up to this game against Washington State was whether Oregon would have the mental capacity to bounce back after their disappointing loss to the Huskies last week in Seattle.
The easy answer was yes.
That said, the Ducks faced another extremely skilled quarterback in Cam Ward, and Ward exploited the Ducks defense with his ability to run and throw.
After the Cougars scored 13 points in the first half, the Oregon defense came together in the second half and limited Ward to just 9 points in the second half.
The Ducks on the other hand scored 21 points in the final 30 minutes of play utilizing the rushing and receiving talent of RB Bucky Irving who scored two rushing touchdowns and one receiving score to lead No. 9 Oregon to a 38-22 win over the Cougars.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The final score may not have shown it, but the 38-22 win over the Cougars wasn’t as easy as it may have appeared.
Washington State QB Cam Ward had another brilliant outing completing 34 of 48 passes for a career record of 438 yards and 1 touchdown.
Yes, Oregon struggled in the secondary giving up a ton of yardage, however, that yardage gained didn’t turn into points.
After each team traded field goals in the 1st quarter it was the Cougars who would find the endzone first when Ward led WSU on a 7 play – 97 yard drive that ended with a 4-yard rushing touchdown by RB Nakia Williams to give the Coug’s a 10-3 lead at the 9:22 mark of the second.
Three and a half minutes later the Ducks would bounce back with a score of their own – a Bucky Irving 2-yard touchdown to tie the score at 10.
Three minutes later and with WSU driving the Oregon defense stiffened and stopped the Cougars on a 4th and 3 from the Ducks 39-yard line handing the ball back to the Ducks on a turnover on downs.
And Nix would take advantage of the Ducks defensive stand when he led his offense on a 4 play – 61-yard drive that ended with his own 2-yard run into the endzone extending the Ducks lead to 17-10 with less than a minute to play in the first half.
After trading possessions early in the third, Nix would again lead the Ducks on a 53-yard drive that ended with a 42-yard touchdown reception from Nix to Irving to give Oregon a 24-13 lead.
The Ducks would yield a 50-yard field goal to Dean Janikowski midway through the third to tighten the Oregon lead to 24-16.
Two minutes later and on the ensuing drive, Oregon receiver Tez Johnson grabbed a 19-yard reception from Nix to the WSU 43-yard line. On the very next play Irving found daylight up the middle and scampered 43 yards for the touchdown giving Oregon a 31-16 lead with 3:56 to play in the third.
In the fourth quarter, both the Ducks and Cougars would trade touchdowns that led to the final score of 38-22 Oregon.
Nix went on to throw his second touchdown of the game – a 17-yard back shoulder toss to Tez Johnson who caught his 4th scoring pass of the season.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
While Nix threw for 293 yards completing 18 of 25 attempts and 2 scores, the most valuable players of the game were runningbacks Bucky Irving and Jordan James who each tallied more than 100 yards on the ground.
Irving carried the ball 15 times for 129 yards and 2 TD’s, while James carried the ball 13 times for 103 yards. It was the Ducks rushing attack that caused the most significant damage keeping the Cougars defense off-balance throughout the game. Oregon went on to average nearly 8 yards per play on the ground.
The Ducks rushed for a total of 248 yards and passed for 293.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS