Bo Nix’s Hail Mary pass was left unanswered.
As the ball hit the ground, No. 25 Washington’s (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) 37-34 victory was finalized, and No. 6 Oregon’s (8-2, 6-1 Pac-12) playoff hopes were diminished.
Before there was a tsunami of purple storming the field, there was hope. There was hope when Nix returned from his brief injury to lead the team for that final drive. But a slew of penalties and drops left the Ducks short of a last-minute miracle.
“The message is I love this team,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “We’ve had a connected team all year and that doesn’t change because of this result.
There was hope when Nix took over in the third quarter, first with a 46 yard strike to Dont’e Thornton, and then a 67 yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin. The Oregon offense erupted in the second half after being limited to 10 first half points. The second half saw the Ducks collect 24 points on 381 yards.
“I just had to make my move across [the defender’s] face,” Franklin said about his score. “Everything else just happened.”
The Washington offense, however, was step for step with Oregon. Led by quarterback Michael Penix Jr., one of the nation’s leading passers, the Huskies’ offense accumulated 408 passing yards and 37 points.
There was hope when Camden Lewis, who had been a sure thing for the Ducks this year, lined up for a 53 yard field goal attempt. But his first miss of the season was added to the list of “almosts” that Oregon collected on Saturday night.
There was hope when Andrew Boyle attempted a surprise onside kick after the Ducks tied the game in the second quarter. It had worked against UCLA, but execution wasn’t present for Oregon this time. It was unsuccessful and gave Washington the ball near midfield, and it was the perfect setup for a scoring drive.
Similarly, the Ducks attempted three fourth down conversions – another area they had been successful in during the 2022 season – but Noah Whittington slipped on a fourth down conversion late in the game, and once again set the Huskies up with another short field.
Lanning took responsibility for the risks not paying off. “We’ve sat in this room and talked about when they’ve worked out,” he said. “And now we’re sitting in this room and talking about them when they didn’t. That was my decision.”
There was hope when Irving showed bright yellow flashes of greatness. He had 143 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards on the night. He seemed to be everywhere that a Washington defender wasn’t – the win column included.
There was hope each time the Huskies faced a third down. But Washington was 5-of-9 on third downs, and Oregon didn’t record a sack all game for the second straight week.
But mostly, there was hope when Jeffery Bassa picked off Penix Jr. on the goal line. After failing to find success stopping the Huskies’ offense, t was in desperate need of a turnover. A batted pass and a diving Bassa answered the prayer.
“I saw the ball in the air and just made a play on the ball,” Bassa said. The sophomore linebacker’s interception set up a scoring drive and an Oregon field goal that gave the Ducks a seven point lead late in the fourth quarter.
There was hope when Nix aired out that final long shot pass. But a wobbling ball never stood a chance.
Lanning said the loss won’t change Oregon’s approach. While a CFP berth is all but alive, a Pac-12 championship is still very much a possibility for this team… but a slim one at that.
There was joy for the Huskies as they broke Oregon’s 23 game home winning streak and a three game streak over Washington. The few Husky fans got loud as the clock hit zero.
And that band that Lanning had blasted all week in practice played on.
There was hope for the 58,756 fans at sold out Autzen Stadium. The cheers and jeers were up and down as the score fluctuated. But in the end, the stadium was silenced as the hope rose into the Eugene sky along with Oregon’s playoff dreams.
