Noah Whittington’s fourth and three conversion in Oregon territory extended the drive and essentially iced the game for the Ducks with 4:14 left… in the first quarter. 

The Ducks (3-0), who came into Saturday night’s matchup favored by five touchdowns, lived up to their lofty projections by hammering the Rainbow Warriors (1-3) 55-10.

Nix, the reigning Pac-12 offensive player of the week, threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday. Nix and his adopted brother, Tez Johnson, connected for a 49 yard touchdown early in the first quarter. The brotherly connection would strike once again on the opening drive of the second half, on what would be the first-team offense’s final drive of the night. 

The Rainbow Warrior defense, which was missing captain linebacker Logan Taylor, had no answer for the Ducks offensively. Oregon imposed its will on the ground and through the air. Hawaii was listless. 

Defensively, The Ducks had little trouble containing Hawaii’s “run and shoot” offense. The Rainbow Warriors totaled just 201 yards of total offense (compared to 560 for the Ducks), scoring just one touchdown and throwing an interception to Oregon senior Khyree Jackson, his second interception in as many weeks. 

Amid the smackdown of the Rainbow Warriors, Oregon struggled yet again with penalties. The Ducks, who were penalized for 144 yards just a week ago, were penalized 9 times for 76 yards on Saturday. Head Coach Dan Lanning was adamant that the penalty issues would not plague the Ducks going forward. 

“We better not be talking about [penalties] next week,” Lanning said. “We are gonna do something different and see if we can get it fixed. If we can’t, you’re not going to be on the field.” 

Oregon was penalized on Hawaii’s missed field goal try at the end of the first half, allowing a second shot at points as the first frame expired. Hawaii’s second attempt was good. That field goal, and a late touchdown – also aided by Oregon penalties – would be the Rainbow Warriors’ only points. 

Aside from the penalties, Lanning was complimentary of his team’s effort Saturday night.

“I don’t want [the penalties] to overshadow a lot of the positives,” Lanning said. “I thought we moved the line of scrimmage. I thought we applied pressure. I thought our coaches had a really good plan.”

By the time Jordan James scored his second rushing touchdown of the first quarter, Hawaii had totaled just one first down.

The Oregon offense had a nearly-flawless game. The Ducks, who now lead the nation with 32 consecutive home non-conference wins, are yet to commit a turnover in 2023. 

“We talk about [turnovers] every day. That’s our main goal, we want to play clean,” Oregon quarterback Bo Nix said. “The number one way to play clean is to not turn the ball over and not give them easy possessions.”

Oregon will look to keep up the strong play in Week 4 against the University of Colorado Buffaloes (2-0), who are currently ranked No. 18 nationally. 

“Let’s let that carry over into Monday,” Lanning said. “What’s Monday going to look like, what’s Tuesday going to look like, then I can predict the result on Saturday”.

The game against Colorado looks to be Oregon’s biggest test in this young season. Kickoff is set for 12:30 PST at Autzen Stadium.