The Oregon Ducks took down the Arizona State Sun Devils 49-13 in the penultimate game of the 2023 regular season. However, the storyline of the game was not just the massive victory for the Ducks, nor was it that Oregon is now just one win away from a one-loss regular season, or even that the Ducks are now guaranteed a spot in the conference championship game with a win over Oregon State. The story for the win over Arizona State was the culmination of a season-long prolific Oregon offense that saw multiple Ducks break records, both season-long and single game.
Troy Franklin entered the game against Arizona State needing just 92 receiving yards to pass Dillon Mitchell for the most receiving yards in a season in Oregon history. He also would become the leader in single-season touchdown catches with two, passing both Jeff Maehl and Josh Huff. Franklin broke both of those records in the first half. After recording 128 receiving yards and two touchdown catches, Franklin holds the single-season records in both categories.
Franklin also recorded eight catches in the game, tying him for fourth in the single-season catches leaderboard, and needing just eight more to pass Samie Parker to become the single-season leader in all three major receiving categories. Franklin’s two touchdown catches also tied him with four other former Ducks for most receiving touchdowns in a career with 24.
Franklin’s 128 yards put him above 100 yards receiving in a game for the seventh time this season. That number puts him first in Oregon history in that statistic, and there is still one more regular season game that Franklin could build upon that number in.
Franklin’s impressive day was spurred by an incredible showing from Bo Nix. Multiple records were approached by Nix before he left the game early in the third quarter after torching the Arizona State defense for 42 first half points. Nix threw for six touchdowns, tying himself with six other former Ducks’ quarterbacks for the single-game record. His performance also brought him within seven touchdowns of the single-season record of 42, set by Marcus Mariota in 2014. Nix also is just under 200 yards away from second place in the single-season passing yards record.
Camden Lewis made all seven of his extra point attempts on the day, which officially made him Oregon’s all-time leading scorer. The kicker passed Royce Freeman, who totalled 384 points during his time with Oregon, on his sixth extra point make of the day. Lewis now sits at 386 points for his career with another regular season game to go. Lewis earned the record after making 46 of his 58 field goal attempts in his career, and 247 of his 250 extra point tries.
Bucky Irving rushed for 63 yards in the win, which brought him just over 1,000 yards rushing on the season. He has now recorded his second straight season with 1,000 rushing yards and sits just 56 yards behind last season’s total, which is his current career high for a season.
With one game left in the regular season, a potential Pac-12 Championship game berth and a bowl game or spot in the College Football Playoff, there are a couple games left in the season for the Ducks. After a season long incredible performance from the offense where multiple players have had record breaking seasons or individual performances, the most important part of the season begins. The rivalry game against Oregon State has major implications for the Ducks’ chances in making the Pac-12 Championship game, and possibly the College Football Playoff. A rematch with the Washington Huskies is also in the cards for Oregon if the game against the Beavers ends in a victory for the Ducks.
Heading into the final part of the season, the Oregon offense will be tested like never before this season. The success of Nix, Franklin, Irving and the rest of the offense so far this season is a very promising sign as the season begins to wind down. The major question for the Ducks going forward is whether or not they are able to keep up this record-breaking season.
