Oregon Football: 3 takeaways from pull-away win over Washington State

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but Oregon football found a way to hold on to yet another win despite not looking its best. The Ducks had a late turnover at the goal-line which looked to change the momentum, but Oregon found a way to hold on and escape with a win over Washington State.

With the win, Oregon improves to 9-1 on the season, but will this be enough to impress the committee and stay at No. 3 ahead of Ohio State who just dominated a ranked Purdue team by four touchdowns? We’ll see.

Mario Cristobal has to figure out how to light a fire under this team so these close calls against inferior opponents stop happening.

What’d we learn from Oregon’s tight win over Washington State?

3. Mykael Wright was a difference-maker on special teams

Special teams aren’t often talked about enough, but they changed the momentum on Saturday night as Mykael Wright had a big return game for the Ducks.

Tied 14-14 to start the second half, Wright took the opening kickoff in the third quarter 56 yards into Washington State territory and the Ducks got on the board shortly thereafter. Without that huge kick return and energy injected into the team, do the Ducks score so quickly and regain the lead, never looking back? Honestly, probably not.

Wright finished the night with three returns for 117 yards and he breathed some life into Oregon when it needed it most. The field position game was won because of his presence.