3 takeaways from Oregon's near-flawless win over Oregon State
Oregon left no doubt. The sixth-ranked Ducks never trailed, going wire-to-wire for a 31-7 win over the 16th-ranked Oregon State Beavers Friday night to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Oregon gets its rematch with No. 4 Washington.
One win away.
The Ducks agonized over last season’s loss to Oregon State for 12 months.
Teams get into a rivalry game and there can be a tendency to minimize the “extra” that comes with it. Coaches say it’s just another game. Players say they’re treating it like a normal week because that’s what everyone preaches in the meetings.
Not the Ducks. Coach Dan Lanning kicked the week off by saying the game was the Ducks’ Super Bowl. Players put last year’s fourth quarter on a loop in the locker room. Brandon Dorlus even said he came back for the 2023 season to right a wrong and beat the Beavs. Oregon wanted this football game.
And so the Ducks (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) went out and took it by the throat.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
A nearly-flawless offensive day
Oregon State didn’t get to touch the football until there were just six minutes and 17 seconds left in the first quarter. Oregon’s opening drive went 88 yards in 15 plays and took nearly nine minutes off the clock.
Oregon just pounded the football, and you felt like it was a direct response to the way last year’s game ended.
The Ducks converted a third-and-9 for 16 yards and a fourth-and-1 on a Bo Nix keeper, and then Bucky Irving took a pass 14 yards for six points. This was the day for the Ducks, in a nutshell. Whatever Oregon wanted to do, it did.
Play fast? Touchdown. Bleed the clock? Touchdown.
Behind an outstanding day from Nix, Oregon was not stopped on offense. The Ducks scored touchdowns on their first two drives. After the nine-minute crawl, the Ducks punished Oregon State for a turnover on downs near midfield with an eight-play scoring drive.
It scored in 40 seconds right before the end of the first half. The first two possessions of the second half both ended with points.
The Ducks only had three real drives all day that failed to produce points. They missed a field goal on one of them. A holding penalty stalled another. Oregon State had no answers for Nix and Co.
Nix finished with 367 yards and two touchdowns through the air, completing 33 of his 40 passes. He added another 31 rushing yards and a third score on the ground. He found Tez Johnson 10 times for 127 yards. He found Troy Franklin nine times for 128 yards and a score — including a 41-yard dazzler at the end of the first half.
Bucky Irving was limited to just 41 rushing yards, but he had 23 yards in the pass game and a touchdown. Jordan James added 43 yards and a score on seven rushing attempts.
Oregon averaged 7 yards a play on first downs. It didn’t turn the football over. It dominated time of possession. That’ll do.
Defense dictates the terms
Starting cornerback Jahlil Florence missed the game and was spotted on crutches on the sideline throughout. That forced Dontae Manning into an expanded role.
There were some warts, but there were some real highlights as well. He batted down a ball in the first half after smothering his man in coverage. In the fourth quarter, he forced the first and only turnover of the night in the endzone.
PICKED OFF
Have a night, @oregonfootball 💪 pic.twitter.com/A1xOSi6quL
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 25, 2023
Oregon forced Oregon State to play outside of itself. The Ducks turned the Beavers into a pass-first operation.
Damien Martinez was held to 38 rushing yards on 13 carries. Deshaun Fenwick got just one rushing attempt for 3 yards. As a team, Oregon State produced 53 rushing yards — its fewest in a single game since 2019. Bassa met Martinez in the hole on a third-and-4 in the fourth and stood him up. Martinez!
Oregon had its in-state rival on the ropes right away. A long touchdown drive on offense, a turnover on downs in five plays on defense, and then another touchdown drive to take a 14-0 lead early in the second put Oregon on the front foot and it forced Oregon State to adjust.
Contrast what Oregon did with what Oregon State managed. The Beavers had eight real possessions in the game. They turned it over on downs four times. They threw an interception. And they had two three-and-outs. That was absolutely a product of circumstance.
Oregon State had to chase.
Manning caught my eye throughout. But you also have to give credit to the defensive front — specifically Brandon Dorlus. The box score will read only one sack, which belonged to freshman Matayo Uiagalelei in a matchup with his brother, but the front really affected Oregon State’s quarterback.
Jordan Burch was credited with three pressures. Bassa had three himself. Dorlus had a pair of pass breakups. The Ducks dominated in every way.
A rematch for everything
When Oregon played Washington on Oct. 14, it felt like a massive fixture. That midseason game lived up to the billing, and almost immediately people wondered if those two teams were destined to meet again in the Pac-12 title game.
Washington has its spot already secured, regardless of what happens in the Apple Cup on Saturday. Oregon handled its business down the stretch like a team hell-bent on getting a chance to make amends.
This looks like a frightening team right now. It’s not hyperbole to say this looks like a championship team. Oregon’s defensive studs got bigger. Oregon’s defensive additions have all hit. Nix is untouchable. Franklin sets a new Oregon record each week. (This week, it was with his 25th career receiving touchdown.)
Next Friday, a spot in the College Football Playoff almost assuredly awaits the winner.
Nix might even be able to capture the Heisman Trophy.
What a night it is shaping up to be.