Oregon football: Pac-12 Championship Game loss has a different sting
Oregon football struggled from the start and was not able to find any momentum toward the end of the game as Washington slammed the door and walked away with the final Pac-12 Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff.
The final score, 34-31 Huskies. Again, Oregon lost to Washington by three points for the second time this season. The Ducks are now 11-2 on the year, a very respectable finish, and will likely find themselves playing in a New Year’s Six Bowl, but not for their ultimate goal this season.
Michael Penix Jr. got Washington off to an impressive start. For the game, he threw for better than 320 yards. The Huskies had two wide receivers with better than 100 yards on the night including Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze. Oregon’s secondary just didn’t look like they could keep up right from the start.
Odunze showed off why he should be considered a top NFL Draft selection next year and still has more opportunities ahead. On the other side, Oregon Wide Receiver Troy Franklin was held to just four catches for 34 yards. Washington covered him well most of the night.
On the Duck’s first drive, Nix threw the ball in Franklin’s direction on consecutive plays downfield. Every play was an incomplete pass, which allowed Washington to jump out to a 17-3 lead midway through the first half.
But Oregon still had some fight.
Bo Nix threw a touchdown in the waning moments of the first half to Tyler Ferguson that saw the tight end one-hand the ball in the corner of the endzone and bring it in to cut the lead to 17-10. While the Ducks were able to take the lead in the second half, momentum was never on their side for the victory.
Now, the Ducks will wait to find out their fate. It is likely a New Year’s Six bowl game, but who will be the opponent? This team will also look dramatically different for the game. It is not known who will play and who will start the process of looking to the NFL Draft, skipping the upcoming bowl contest.
More clarity will come on Sunday for the 11-2 Ducks.
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