On an evening where everything seemed to be clicking for Oregon’s offense, quarterback Bo Nix spread the love — and the stats. Ten different Ducks had a reception — eight of them had multiple — during the 55-10 routing of Hawaii (1-3) that saw the Oregon (3-0) offense collect 560 yards and seven touchdowns.

Nix’s night was cut short when Ty Thompson took over as quarterback early in the third quarter. But, when Nix was in the game — and shining as bright as the Autzen lights — his favorite target was a new face for Oregon fans, but a familiar one for the Nix family.

Tez Johnson had his best game to date as a new member for the Ducks. In his third game, the wide receiver transfer from Troy snared 77 passing yards and two touchdowns as well as 48 yards returning punts.

“We don’t really care about stats and all that,” Johnson said. “We just try to win the game.”

Be that as it may, he put up some of the best stats of his career, and was a large offensive piece in the onslaught that Saturday became.

Johnson grew up an Oregon fan and although both his and Nix’s collegiate careers started in Alabama — Nix at Auburn and Johnson at Troy — both found their way to a Lanning-led team and a connection that was intricate in the Ducks’ third win of the season.

Johnson was adopted by the Nix family when he was 15 years old. Growing up with a Heisman-contending caliber brother seems to have had its benefits.

His first touchdown of the day — a 49-yard beauty from Nix — served as the opening score to Saturday’s game and electrified Autzen Stadium on a night with plenty to cheer about. Johnson caught Nix’s pass in stride as he crossed the goal line on Oregon’s second play of the two-play scoring drive.

“It felt great,” Johnson said. “It was electric. Everything I dreamed of and [there’s] many more to come.”

The route wasn’t anything overly special. A simple stop and go move from Johnson left two Hawaii defenders two steps behind a man you can’t afford to let past you.

The second score from Nix to Johnson came courtesy of a 12-yard touchdown strike early in the third quarter. Nix was pulled to avoid any unnecessary injury or damage, but it’s not unreasonable to think the two could have teamed up for another score had Nix played a full 60 minutes.

“[Johnson] just provides something different,” Nix said. “We really have a lot of big, explosive play-makers at receiver. Tez does a really good job feeding off those other guys and those other guys do a really good job feeding off of him.”

Johnson also had a score in Week 2 against Texas Tech. A heartwarming video of Nix hugging his brother cheering, “He scored!” found its way into several highlight packages from Oregon’s Week 2 win.

In Week 3, the vibes on the Ducks’ sideline were even better as Johnson recorded his first multi-touchdown game in his college career.

“That was crazy,” Johnson said. “Every time you get to score, it’s awesome in front of all those fans. I love it.”

Clearly, Johnson’s score against the Red Raiders was no fluke performance as he caused trouble for the Rainbow Warriors’ defense all night long on Saturday.

“I think he’s had some really great performances that have shown up more in practice,” head coach Dan Lanning said. “I am really pleased with Tez. I am really pleased with all those wideouts. There are some guys in there who are certainly making us better, but I want to make sure that we continue to grow.”

Johnson appears to have established himself as one of the top receivers in Will Stein’s new offensive scheme. He, Nix and the rest of the Ducks’ offense have their biggest tests still ahead with Pac-12 conference play kicking off league wide next week. No. 19 Colorado, No. 8 Washington, No. 21 Washington State, No. 11 Utah, No. 5 USC and No. 14 Oregon State all await Oregon as it approaches the gauntlet of its season.

Johnson had nine total touchdowns in his three seasons at Troy. With Nix as his quarterback, he already has three in 2023. The Nix-Johnson connection needs to be dialed in all season long. Fortunately, the brothers already seem to be on the same page, one they finally get to write together.