QUICKIE RECAP
The narrative this week going into the ASU game in Tempe was the Ducks had a history of struggling in the desert and couldn’t win in the month of November.
That may have been the past, but on this Saturday afternoon, Dan Lanning took his Ducks into Tempe and simply throttled his good friend and former offensive Coordinator Kenny Dillingham beating Arizona State 49-13.
Oregon used a record-setting six first-half touchdown passes by Bo Nix to blow out the Sun Devils and push their record to 10-1 overall and 7-1 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It began just like the Ducks like.
Fast.
In the first eight minutes of the game, the Ducks grabbed a quick 14-0 lead on the arm of Bo Nix.
After the Oregon defense held ASU on their first possession of the game, Nix went to work and drove the Ducks 75 yards in 9 plays and grabbed the early lead7-0 with a 23-yard touchdown to TE Patrick Herbert.
After the Sun Devils missed a 43-yard field goal on their next possession, Nix again used his arm to find the end zone on a beautiful 49-yard swing pass to Herbert who scored his second touchdown of the afternoon. Oregon led 14-0 at the 6:53 mark of the first quarter.
The Oregon defense would hold again and force the Sun Devils to punt from their own side of the field.
Nix and his high-octane offense went to work again and drove 67 yards in 8 plays to find the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin giving the Ducks a 21-0 lead which they’d take into the break.
At the 9:40 mark of the second quarter, Oregon got the ball back and once again went to work on the undermanned Sun Devils. Nix drove the Ducks offense 65 yards in 10 plays and scored on a beautiful 45-yard tear drop touchdown pass to Franklin who caught his second scoring pass of the game giving the Ducks a 28-0 lead.
And it got worse for the Sun Devils.
Just two minutes later at the 7:22 mark of the second, Nix tossed a 71-yard touchdown to Gary Bryant Jr who caught the ball on a short out pattern but weaved his way through the ASU defense breaking several tackles to find the end zone extending the Ducks lead to 35-0.
With just over a minute to go before the break, the Oregon defense came up big when they intercepted part-time QB Cam Skattebo on the Duck 2-yard line.
But even the long field didn’t deter Nix and his offense.
In less than 60 seconds, Nix navigated the Ducks 98 yards in 7 plays to once again find the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Tez Johnson. It was Nix’s sixth touchdown pass of the game and gave Oregon a commanding 42-0 lead at the break.
In the second half, ASU went on to score just 10 points – mostly in garbage time. The Sun Devils kicked a 38-yard field goal midway through the 3rd quarter and put a touchdown on the board in the 4th quarter on a Melqual Stovall 15-yard run.
Oregon would also add another touchdown – this one on a 19-yard touchdown pass by backup Ty Thompson who found TE Casey Kelly down the sideline.
FINAL SCORE; Oregon 49, Arizona State 10
GAME NOTES / STAT’S
With 128 receiving yards in the first half, Troy Franklin is now the Oregon single-season record holder with 1,221 yards. He has also set an Oregon single-season record with his seventh 100-yard receiving game, and he is tied for No. 5 with 68 receptions. Franklin has also tied the UO single-season record with his 12th receiving TD of 2023.
Bo Nix completed 24-of-29 passes for 404 yards 6 touchdowns. Nix tied the UO single-game record with 6 TD passes, becoming the eighth Duck to reach that mark. Nix now has 35 touchdown passes on the season.
Oregon placekicker Camden Lewis is now the Oregon all-time scoring leader with 386 career points, passing Royce Freeman with (384).
BEST QUOTES
In his postgame press conference when Dan Lanning was asked about facing Oregon State next week at home in Autzen Stadium, Lanning said “This game’s our Super Bowl”.
Bo Nix on Patrick Herbert; “Everything he does for our team, everything he does for the program, what obviously his family has meant to the Oregon family, I think it’s only right that he’s a captain and goes out there and has two touchdowns.”
Dan Lanning on the environment; “I felt like it was Eugene South down here today. Our fans were absolutely incredible. I saw so much green in the stands, it fired me up. Glad we were able to put together a great performance for them.”
UP NEXT
In the last game of the regular season, Oregon returns home next Friday, November 24th to take on the No. 11 Oregon State Beavers in Autzen Stadium.
Because of conference realignment, this will be the last time Oregon and Oregon State face each other in the storied history of the Civil War.
The game will be nationally televised on Fox TV and is scheduled to kick off at 5:30 PM PST.