Oregon would not be denied late as quarterback Bo Nix connected with wideout Chase Cota over the middle on fourth-and-short with 19 seconds to go for a game-winning touchdown. The 15th-ranked Oregon Ducks walked away with a 28-27 Holiday Bowl win over North Carolina after entering the fourth quarter trailing by seven.

It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was Oregon’s 10th of the season. With Nix and a host of co-stars back for the 2023 year, the bowl win should serve as a springboard of sorts. The Ducks had lost two of three to close out the regular season, and while a Holiday Bowl trophy won’t totally wash away that sour taste, it will go down as a memorable send-off for an accomplished group of seniors and a positive to build on heading into the offseason.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Bo Nix delivers

Earlier this week, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said he expected his quarterback to put forth one of his best performances of the season. After injuring an ankle in a Nov. 12 loss to Washington, Nix wasn’t the same quarterback he’d been when the Ducks were rolling. The run element wasn’t there.

Nix wasn’t particularly effective with his legs Wednesday night against North Carolina either.

And for the first three quarters, he was sorely missing Kenny Dillingham. The Oregon offensive coordinator left after the Oregon State game to become the head coach at Arizona State. Oregon hired his replacement well before Wednesday night, but Will Stein was not the man calling the plays for Oregon. And the vertical shot game we got so used to seeing from Oregon earlier this year just wasn’t there.

Through three quarters, Oregon had 102 yards through the air on 19 attempts. Nix had been intercepted on one of the best individual efforts we’ve seen from a defender all season. The Carolina defense crept up to try and hunker down on Oregon’s run game. The Ducks went into the fourth trailing 21-14.

And then Nix came alive.

Eleven pass attempts, nine completions, 103 yards, two scores.

Nix hit Troy Franklin on third-and-goal from the 6 to draw the Ducks within three points with just under seven to play, capping what was a five-play, 61-yard drive.

A fourth-and-1 conversion from UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the clock ticking under five to play had it looking like the Tar Heels were going to be able to bleed the clock and keep Nix from having a real opportunity to go for the win, but UO’s defense stiffened and forced a field goal four plays later.

Nix got his shot with the ball at his own 21-yard-line. He hit each of his first four passes — 5 yards to Noah Whittington, 11 yards to Whittington again, 28 yards to Terrance Ferguson, then 6 to Ferguson again. Franklin drew a pass interference call on Play No. 5 to move the ball inside UNC’s 15-yard-line.

A run on third-and-4 netted just 2 yards and set up a fourth-and-2 from the UNC 6.

Carolina brought the house.

Nix delivered the dime.

Off his back foot, pressure in his face, game on the line, and Nix came through in the clutch. The fourth-year quarterback finished with 205 yards and two scores on 23-for-30 passing.

It was the perfect way to end his debut season in Eugene.

Emerging linebackers?

It was not the season anyone expected for Oregon’s linebackers.

Noah Sewell was a preseason All-American. The impact wasn’t quite as loud as most expected when Lanning arrived at Oregon and folks pointed back to what he did with Georgia’s linebackers in Athens. Justin Flowe was healthy and looking to finally showcase the ability that made him a 5-star recruit. He saw his snaps diminish late in the year and struggled to adapt to Lanning’s system.

Sewell is off to the NFL. Flowe hit the transfer portal and signed with Arizona.

Perhaps Wednesday night inside Petco Park was the appetizer for what’s to come in the middle of the Oregon defense.

Linebacker Keith Brown tied Mase Funa with a team-best seven tackles. He was excellent all night.

And Jeffrey Bassa really flashed early on in the game. He finished with six tackles and an impressive sack.

Both are finishing up their second season in the program, meaning their best football is still in front of them. They provide the Ducks with some real mobility at inside ‘backer.

Oregon needs to get a lot better on the defensive side of the football this offseason. Lanning knows that. Defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi knows that. But there are some building blocks that will remain on this defense. That group held UNC to just six second-half points with a lot of faces in new places.

A way-too-early 2023 prediction

Assuming he’s back in Eugene, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t be, the first team back on the all-conference team next season will be Bucky Irving.

Oregon’s lead tailback shredded North Carolina, rumbling for 149 yards and two scores on just 13 carries. It pushed him over 1,000 yards on the ground this season. He earned the game’s offensive MVP honor for his efforts.

“I want to shout out my offensive line, I love you guys,” Irving said on-stage after the game. “They’ve done a great job all year. I also want to thank my coach for being on me every day. Telling me to trust and stay on my track and I listened to him and these are the results.”

He runs hard, but he also runs smart. He makes dudes miss like he’s allergic to contact, but even when defenders do get hands on him he finds ways to force missed tackles — no one in the Pac-12 forced more missed tackles than Irving during the regular season. His contact balance and his vision are next-level. He’s patient and can really explode once you give him a lane.

And he ends the year third among all Pac-12 runners in rushing yardage. A similar campaign next season and he’ll get due credit as the conference’s best back.

Bonus shoutout

What a way for Chase Cota’s college career to come to a close.

A Medford native, Cota spent four years at UCLA before coming back to Oregon. He transferred into the Ducks’ program this past offseason to spend his final year of college ball at home.

Cota’s numbers were modest — 33 catches for 455 yards and two scores entering Wednesday’s game, three catches for 42 yards in the Holiday Bowl — but he delivered the shining moment.

It was Cota hauling in Nix’s game-winning touchdown pass, and it was Cota rolling over his tackler to cross the goal line. A deserved moment for the senior.