Takeaways from Oregon Ducks' Pac-12 football loss to Washington Huskies

Oregon’s dream of forcing its way into the College Football Playoff officially ended Saturday when Bo Nix’s desperation throw toward the end zone with no time on the clock skipped off the turf inside Autzen Stadium.

But truly, the demise of the No. 6 Ducks began earlier in the fourth quarter of their eventual 37-34 upset loss to No. 25 Washington, a game that featured 1,114 yards of offense, seven lead changes and two ties.

In the final four minutes, Oregon couldn’t cap off a long, time-consuming drive with a touchdown, couldn’t stop Washington from scoring a long TD, couldn’t convert on fourth-and-1 from deep in its own territory, and couldn’t put together a miracle scoring drive with under a minute to play.

"Our guys played the entire game, they certainly didn't quit, they didn’t throw in the towel," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. "You have to give Washington credit; they played a complete game and we made more mistakes atthe end of the game that hurt us. This game 100% falls on me. Our players gave a phenomenal effort, and I thought we shot ourselves in the foot a few times in the first half and were able to move the ball much better in the second half. That being said, we weren't able to get a stop defensively, things we have to attack going forward."

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The game was filled with drama to the very end, as Oregon receiver Troy Franklin appeared to make a reception along the sideline at the Washington 23-yard line with 1 second to play.

As Oregon kicker Camden Lewis hurried onto the field for a potential game-tying 40-yard attempt, officials ruled Franklin stepped out of bounds before making the catch and was flagged for illegal touching. After a review, the call was confirmed and the Ducks were back to the UW 40 and Nix’s last-gasp incompletion.

Franklin contended that he was shoved out of bounds by a Washington defender before coming back into the field of play to make the catch, which would have nullified the penalty, but replay officials didn't agree.

"I think everyone is pretty much upset right now, thinking about the game," said Franklin, who finished with five catches for 139 yards.

The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for Oregon (8-2, 6-1 Pac-12) and knocked it from the top of the conference standings to a ½-game behind Southern California.

It will almost certainly drop them out of the top-10 rankings.

The loss also ended the Ducks’ 23-game home win streak, which included 17-straight wins against Pac-12 teams.

For Washington (8-2, 5-2), it was a victory against the highest ranked opponent since a 2009 win against No. 3 USC. It was also their first win against a top-10 Oregon team.

"I know it’s just huge," first-year Washington coach Kalen DeBoer said. "It’s about these guys in the locker room and everything they’ve been through over the last couple years. They deserve it because they keep fighting; they keep playing, working, sticking together. I think in the end, program wise it’s a huge win. We just beat a top-10 team on the road, and for us, it’s just another step."

Here are some takeaways from Saturday’s loss.

Failure to dagger Huskies late hurt Ducks

The third quarter was wildly entertaining as the teams traded touchdowns.

By the end, Oregon had turned a 13-10 halftime deficit into a 31-27 advantage, though the Huskies had the ball at the Ducks’ 11-yard line when the fourth quarter started.

Three plays later, Oregon linebacker Jeffrey Bassa intercepted a pass from Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., at the goal line.

What followed was a 20-play, 91-yard drive by the Ducks that ate 10:33 off the fourth-quarter clock. But it also ended 8 yards short of the end zone, leading to a 26-yard field goal by Lewis that put the Ducks up by a touchdown, 34-27, with 3:54 to play.

A touchdown there would’ve made it a two-score advantage for Oregon. Being held to a field goal was a letdown for the Ducks and a massive save for the Huskies, who tied the score on their ensuing drive.

"Our guys had confidence going into that drive and obviously did a great job in that series," Lanning said. "If you go back and look at this game, you're going to see a multitude of times that we really just stopped ourselves and weren’t necessarily stopped."

Nix's injury status

On the final play of Oregon’s long drive, Nix ran on third-and-5 from UW 10 and was stuffed by Washington safety Alex Cook after a 2-yard gain.

Nix got up, and then immediately sat back down, grabbing his lower right leg. He was eventually helped to the sideline and missed the Ducks’ next series, though he returned for the final series, albeit a little gimpy.

"We’re always going to think about our players' health first," Lanning said. "At that moment, we felt like he wasn't able to go and wanted to get him evaluated to see where things were actually at with him. He came back and said, 'Coach, I feel like I can go.' I asked if he was sure, the medical staff said he was good, so we went back with him."

An injury to Nix would be a killer for the Ducks. Saturday he completed 19-of-27 passes for 280 yards and two long touchdowns — 67 yards to Franklin and 46 yards to Dont’e Thornton — and also rushed for 59 yards and a score.

Ducks make critical call on fourth down

With Nix out for a series and the score tied 34-34, Oregon put in backup quarterback Ty Thompson and the result was a possession everyone on the Ducks would like to have back.

Thompson handed the ball off for three straight short runs until the Ducks had fourth-and-1 from their own 34.

Instead of punting, Lanning made the critical call to go for it and Noah Whittington slipped for a 1-yard loss, giving the ball back to the Huskies at the Oregon 33 with 1:26 left in the game.

Four plays and 35 seconds later, Washington was kicking the go-ahead field goal.

"We were able to run the ball there in the second half. I don't know that they stopped us much there; that’s probably the only negative play of the entire second half in the run game," Lanning said. "We felt like we were going to fall forward. We’ve been a team that can get a yard or two yards consistently this year and we didn’t get it done there."

Oregon pass defense is suspect

From the first drive to the last, Oregon’s defense showed no real ability to stop Penix, the NCAA’s leading passer.

Penix completed 26-of-35 passes for 408 yards and two second-half touchdowns of 76 and 62 yards — the latter coming 3:07 to play to tie the score 34-34.

"I think we understand that we didn't play our best today," defensive back Bennett Williams said. "I think guys want to get better, guys want to come back. We still have a lot to fight for. It's not the end of the season."

On the 62-yard TD pass caught by Taj Davis that tied the score late, Williams attempted to jump in front of the pass but didn't get to the ball in time, leaving Davis to run unchallenged into the end zone.

"The ball came out and I really thought I was going to make a play," Williams said. "I got a good break on it, but he put it in a good spot right on the sideline, and, yeah, that's on me. That's one I gotta have."

It was the second-most yards thrown by Penix in a game this season and the second time he surpassed 400 yards.

The Ducks came into the game ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in pass defense, allowing an average of 276.6 per game. The 408 by Penix was the second-most allowed by Oregon this season, behind the 439 thrown by Georgia in the season-opening loss.

Other notable items

• Bucky Irving (career-high 143 yards) and Noah Whittington (108) became the first pair of Oregon teammates to each rush for 100-plus yards in the same game since Nov. 23, 2018, when Travis Dye and CJ Verdell did so against Oregon State.

• The Ducks lost a fumble for the first time this season when Nix mishandled a snap near the Washington goal line in the second quarter. Oregon came into the game as the only FBS team yet to lose a fumble.

• Oregon had won five straight by 15-plus points — the longest active streak in the nation — and had won 16 straight games when leading after three quarters.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. 

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Up next

Oregon vs. Utah

7:30 p.m. Saturday at Autzen Stadium. TV: ESPN. Radio: KUJZ-FM (95.3). KUGN-AM (590)

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks fall to Washington Huskies