As Washington fans stormed the field after Camden Lewis’ missed field goal as time expired, Oregon was left with a familiar feeling.
The kind a player gets after a heartbreaking loss to a bitter rival.
Lewis’ kick sealed Washington’s come-from-behind win and gave the Huskies a win over a top-10 ranked Oregon for the second straight season.
No. 7 Washington (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) versus No. 8 Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) was everything fans wanted it to be.
Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. both put together very impressive days. But, the dagger that sunk Oregon was a trio of controversial coaching decisions.
The Ducks attempted three 4th-and-short situations — two of which occurred deep in Washington territory — and left points on the field in a game where every score mattered.
After the two offenses traded punts on their opening drives, both Heisman-hopeful quarterbacks orchestrated scoring drives in very different fashions.
Penix Jr. used a pair of long passes to put the Huskies ahead early. He connected with Jackson Giles for a 26-yard touchdown pass that sent Husky Stadium into a frenzy.
Oregon responded with a meticulous 14-play, 90-yard drive that was capped off by a 12-yard Bucky Irving touchdown run. Patrick Herbert’s crafty two-point conversion sneak found the end zone and gave the Ducks their first lead of the day.
Then, the flood gates opened wide. The next four drives all resulted in scores. Herbert found the endzone again while the Huskies continued to walk all over the Ducks’ defense.
Lewis nailed a 45-yard field goal to stop the touchdown barrage. And then, the impossible happened. Penix Jr. threw an interception to Jahlil Florence.
Oregon was given a last-minute drive to potentially take the lead, or at least shorten it, before halftime. A pair of completions to wide receiver Tez Johnson put Oregon on Washington’s 10-yard line, but the Ducks were unable to score. A controversial decision to attempt a 4th-and-3 conversion left Oregon empty handed. A chip-shot field goal would have brought the Ducks’ deficit to one.
“We felt that was an opportunity to get a touchdown,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “And a touchdown changes the game. That being said, the [decision] before half was one where you can really go back and say, ‘let’s just take the field goal.’”
At the end of the first half, Oregon had surrendered 260 yards and three scores. It was far from the 42-6 wins the Ducks seemed to have become accustomed to. Still, they only trailed 22-18.
After a 3-and-out to open the third quarter, Washington again walked down the field and punched in a touchdown with a Penix Jr. strike to Rome Odunze. Oregon fell behind by two scores for the first time since the Texas Tech game back on Sept. 10.
On Oregon’s very next drive, Lanning again called for a 4th-and-3 conversion attempt in the red zone. Again, the Ducks fell short due to an incompletion. For the second time on Saturday, Oregon turned down what would have been a short-range field goal for an incompletion.
The Ducks left six possible points out on the field. They lost by three.
“I think this game is 100 percent on me,” Lanning said. “You don’t have to look anywhere else besides me.”
The Washington offense, at least temporarily, went cold. Consecutive 3-and-outs provided Oregon with opportunities to score, which it did courtesy of back-to-back touchdown drives. Troy Franklin hauled in a touchdown reception, and Jordan James Jr. pushed through the Huskies’ defense for a score of his own.
Washington got the ball back and marched down the field, looking primed to score. Then, against all odds, the Ducks pulled out a 4th down stop of their own. Washington attempted a goal line push on 4th-and-1. Oregon stuffed the rush attempt and snatched the ball back leading by four with six minutes remaining in the third.
It was time for Nix to kill the clock.
The Ducks got the ball to midfield, up by four with two minutes remaining. But then, a 4th-and-3 came along, and Oregon called up a familiar play: an incompletion.
Washington got the ball back. Only this time, it needed to score. Que Penix Jr in crunch time.
It took the Huskies just two plays to score. Penix Jr. used a pair of long completions, one to . Ja’Lynn Polk and the other to Odunze for a two-play, 53-yard touchdown drive. Washington led 36-33 with under two minutes left to play.
Nix strung together a great drive and got the Ducks in primed position to kick a game-tying field goal. But, Lewis missed the 42-yard attempt and the field-storming began.
A crushing loss for an Oregon team that was riding so high just minutes before.
Washington extended its winning streak to 13 games. The Huskies haven’t lost since Oct. 8th, 2022.
The Ducks, on the other hand, suffered their first loss of the 2023 season by a few measly points. They will play Washington State next Saturday in Eugene after falling to 5-1 and 2-1 in Pac-12 play.
“I trust our coaches [and] our players,” Franklin said. “Most definitely, I trust our guys.”
But, trust will only get a team so far. The Ducks needed execution on Saturday. Instead, Oregon is left to wonder what difference three decisions and six points would have made in the heartbreaking loss.
