The game was billed as a former Oregon quarterback facing a current Oregon quarterback. Bo Nix and Tyler Shough have met once before on the field, when Nix was with Auburn and Shough was the Ducks’ starting QB in 2020. That part of the game was stellar.
Tyler Shough finished the game Saturday 24 for 40 for 242 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions, including one in the final minutes that saw the Ducks take a 38-30 lead, the final score. Shough had a Hail Mary pass with six seconds remaining that landed in the hands of Oregon’s Bryan Addison, ending the game.
For the Ducks, Nix had to be a one-man show. The run game was tough to come by with a stingy Texas Tech defensive front. The Ducks had to get their yards where they could. finishing with 113 yards on the ground. Nix had 46 of those yards.
After a game last week against Portland State that saw just two penalties on Oregon, which came in the second half, the road game at Texas Tech was a different story. Oregon had a startling 14 penalties for 124 yards for the game. The Ducks found a way to get the job done on third down finishing 10 for 18. Texas Tech was 7 for 12 on third down.
Tyer Shough also accomplished the equivalent of a double-double in basketball finishing the game with 101 yards on the ground and 282 yards passing.
Shough and the Red Raiders had a 27-18 lead at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw Oregon come storming back with 20 points while the Ducks defense held Texas Tech to just three points in the second half. A pick-six by Ducks defender Jeffrey Bassa in the final minute helped seal the deal.
Winning on the road in a very hostile environment outside of your conference is never easy. Yes, there are things to work on and there are things that need to be cleaned up. Yes, the defense did not look that great at times, but it did step up in key spots when it needed to throughout the night.
Offensively, the Oregon run game did not look like itself. There were just 31 carries on the night. Running backs accounted for 22 carries with nine of them from Nix.
Yet Oregon did enough to win the game. These are the games that you are just happy you came away healthy and with the victory.
The Ducks return to Autzen Stadium on Saturday to take on Hawaii. Kickoff for the Ducks and Rainbow Warriors is set for just after 5 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.