Oregon football, Bo Nix get off to fast start and handle BYU
Oregon Football played their second straight game at home and after finding their offense vs Eastern Washington last week, the team was able to do it again vs BYU.
The Ducks found yards through the air and on the ground in the first half. BYU entered the game giving up just 300 yards of offense through the air in their first two games. They also had a solid defensive front to control the run game. Neither got in the way of the Ducks on Saturday.
BYU saw the ball first and went three-and-out on their first offensive drive. On the other side, the Ducks found their offensive swagger early putting up 10 points in the first quarter of the game. BYU battled back with a touchdown in the second quarter, but it was clear it was not going to be their day. Bo Nix used a mix of run and pass that confused a depleted BYU defense.
The Ducks would gamble early going 2 for 2 on fourth down and completing both conversions keeping drives going both times. BYU missed a 4th and 7 conversion early in the game that could have changed the momentum, but the Oregon defense held.
In the process, he threw a highlight reel pass to Troy Franklin that was brought in at the two-yard line. Franklin had to go up for the catch, got both hands on the ball, and came down without the ball hitting the ground.
Dan Lanning dialed up two more touchdowns before the end of the first half with Bo Nix taking it in on the ground from two yards out and a pass from Nix to Tyler Ferguson from 15 yards out. At the break, it was 24-7 Ducks and Oregon started the second half with the ball.
As the third quarter came to a close, the Ducks added two more scores pushing the lead to 38-7. Bo Nix would see his day come to an end finishing 12 for 17 for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. He ultimately was responsible for 5 touchdowns on the day for Oregon. Ty Thompson would come in to relieve Nix with just under 4 minutes left in the third quarter.
Thompson’s first drive would go backward, forcing a punt. BYU would score on their next drive to make it 38-14 Oregon. On Thompson’s next drive, he would throw an interception on third and long giving the ball back to the Cougars again. BYU would score a second touchdown within five minutes of time on the game clock. In the first eight drives, BYU had 7 points. They scored 14 on their next two.
Camden Lewis would add his second field goal to make it 40-21 as the Ducks would win their second straight game. This one was an impressive win over a higher-ranked BYU team.
BYU came in with a more physical defensive line and the Ducks passed and ran the ball all over the field. Bo Nix was stellar passing for 227 yards on the afternoon to eight different wide receivers.
Troy Franklin and Terrance Ferguson are helping this team find their identity along with the ground game led by Mar’Keise Irving who had 97 yards on the day and a hard runner in Noah Whittington who found the holes on the BYU defense to the tune of 66 yards. Oregon had over 200 yards on the ground.
Oregon will travel for their first Pac-12 road game of the season visiting Washington State to open conference play in Week 4. The Ducks and Cougs will meet next Saturday at 1 pm Pacific Time on FOX.
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