A 38-34 loss to Oregon State Saturday in Corvallis ultimately put the Oregon Ducks out of the Pac-12 Championship Game. Entering the game at 9-2, the Ducks were in a position to play their way into the title bout with USC by beating their in-state rivals on the road.

Instead, the Ducks coughed up a 31-10 second-half lead to a team that didn’t throw the ball a single time in the last 23 minutes of game clock. Special teams errors and defensive miscues contributed heavily to the loss, but Oregon’s offense didn’t help. Uninspired and unimaginative football late, coupled with lacking execution, saw the Ducks get outscored 21-3 in the fourth quarter.

Within an hour of the game ending, reports emerged that Arizona State was finalizing a deal to hire Oregon’s offensive coordinator as its next head coach. First thing Sunday morning, the Sun Devils announced Kenny Dillingham as the new leader of their program.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix was asked if the timing impacted things in Oregon’s loss, and he deflected blame back onto himself and the offense.

“No, not at all,” Nix said. “I thought he called a really good game. I thought we did enough out there to execute. We’ve just got to score in the red zone.”

Oregon went to the red zone six times. It came away with only three touchdowns. The Beavers scored five touchdowns — all on the ground — in their six trips inside the 20.

The loss and subsequent departure of his offensive coordinator now puts Nix’s future into murky waters. He could return to Eugene next year if he so chooses. He could also try his hand in the NFL Draft after a career year. Nix finished second among all FBS quarterbacks this season in completion percentage (71.5%).

He’s seen his draft stock rise this year, and could decide that Dillingham’s exit provides a natural transition point for him in his career.

That decision hasn’t been made yet, though.

“After a game like this, it’s important to know our season isn’t over with,” Nix said when asked about his future. “Whenever the next game, whenever we find that out, we’re gonna be looking forward to our next game. The way college football goes, a lot of things change from season to season, so you can’t worry about that until the season is completed and is finished. There’s still some football left to play.”

Knowing they weren’t going to get a straight answer either way — at the time he was asked, Oregon still had a chance to play in the title game — reporters asked Nix instead what might influence a player to go or stay.

“I think it depends on each individual’s personal goals,” he said. “Some guys are ready to go off and leave college football. Some guys enjoy college football and would like to stay. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong answer. It’s kind of based off each individual guy. Some guys are comfortable leaving, some guys would rather stay. Just trying to finish out the season and whatever’s next, go out there and perform at a high level.”

Nix will soon finish up his fourth season of college football. He’s married already and has dealt with ankle injuries throughout his career. Perhaps he’s ready to make that next move.

But he also rejuvenated his career at Oregon.

We’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out whether it was a one-year pit stop or not.