The No. 8 Oregon Ducks are about to play their biggest game so far this season against the No. 7 Washington Huskies. The newest installment of the historic rivalry will be a top-10 showdown in both teams’ final year in the Pac-12 before the two teams move to the Big Ten.
The matchup between the two teams will be held the Saturday after both teams had their bye week, meaning that both teams will come into the game with two weeks of practice and game planning for the contest. However, preparation can only take a team so far, and when it comes time for the game to be played, the clash could come down to one very simple matchup: Bo Nix vs. Michael Penix Jr.
The two quarterbacks have both been the recipients of massive Heisman consideration so far this season as their respective teams have both started 5-0. Nix and Penix Jr. are looking to challenge another Pac-12 quarterback in reigning Heisman winner, USC’s Caleb Williams, for the crown.
It’s not often that two Heisman favorites get the opportunity to match up across from each other. But for Oregon and Nix, the game against the Huskies and Penix Jr. will be the first of three games against current top five Heisman candidates, adding in games against USC and Williams and Washington State and Cameron Ward that will come later in the season.
On paper, the counting stats seem to give the advantage to Penix Jr. His totals on the year so far include 1,999 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns. Nix’s numbers come in lower at 1,459 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns. However, that difference can be explained in a few ways.
Penix and the Washington offense rely almost entirely on the passing game. The Huskies average 446.4 yards per game in the air, good for first place in FBS by over 80 yards per game. Their rushing game generates just 123 yards per game. In contrast to the air raid employed by the Huskies, the Ducks have the 10th ranked passing offense and eighth ranked rushing attack, with 330.6 yards and 227.2 yards per game respectively, for a much more balanced spread of play calling. The Huskies and the Ducks have the most and second-most total yards per game so far this season, respectively. This incredible offense has led to Nix only playing one complete game so far this season. Nix’s numbers might be much higher than they already are.
The incredibly efficient Oregon run game has made it so that Nix does not have to do everything on offense for the Ducks so far this season. In stark contrast to that, Penix Jr. has been the fulcrum of the entire Washington offense due to his prolific passing abilities. The difference between how the two programs run their offense plays to the strengths of their respective personnel, but in Nix’s case, hurts his overall counting stats in the process.
Of course, the quarterback matchup will always be defined by the defenses they face. Oregon’s defense this year has been proven to be able to handle high level quarterbacks after its 42-6 dominant win over Colorado and the Buffs’ offense that has looked prolific most other weeks. Overall, the Oregon defense has allowed just 59 points so far this season, and just 12 points so far in conference games.
Washington’s defense has been less dominant. Washington has allowed 92 points through its first five games, including 56 points in conference games against Cal and Arizona, who are a combined 2-4 in Pac-12 games. Oregon’s defense has proven better at slowing down high level offenses than Washington’s defense has throughout their first five games.
The matchup between Oregon and Washington will be the toughest game of the season so far for both teams, but both will have plenty of star power to fuel their attempts to overcome the other. Whether Nix and the Oregon offense are able to prevail, or if Penix Jr. and the Washington offense prove able to continue with their incredible passing attack remains to be seen. Regardless of the outcome, the game seems poised to be an incredible matchup between two of the top Heisman candidates this year.
