No. 15 Oregon unleashed a furious comeback to stave off an upset bid by Washington State Saturday afternoon to escape with a 44-41 victory.
Ducks fans who’d spent the afternoon sharing their misery on Twitter changed their tone, but this was too close. As one Oregon fan noted, “the Oregon Ducks had absolutely no business winning that game.”
The Cougars (3-1) had the upper hand for most of this Pac-12 showdown, leading the Ducks 17-9 at halftime. They held a seemingly safe 34-22 lead with under four minutes remaining.
Then the Ducks came alive. Quarterback Bo Nix (seen above in the first half of this game) threw a one-yard TD pass to Cam McCormick to cut the lead to 34-29 at the 3:50 mark. After the Ducks defense forced a three-and-out on the Cougars’ next series, Nix found Troy Franklin for a 50-yard TD strike to put the Ducks up for good.
Oregon with a 49-yard TD on 3rd-and-1!
The Ducks take a 37-34 lead!
(But wait, there's more…) pic.twitter.com/fym5R1Ib4Q
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 24, 2022
Linebacker Mase Funa sealed the win when he intercepted Cougars quarterback Cameron Ward and took the ball in for a score.
Oregon with a pick-six and has a 44-34 lead!
The Ducks have scored 21 points in the last 2:48. pic.twitter.com/B1SLn9h9Wq
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 24, 2022
That’s 21 points scored in 2:48. Game.
Nix finished with 428 yards and three touchdowns through the air. And just like that, the Ducks improved to 3-1 and escape their Pac-12 opener. But while happy to escape with the victory, many Ducks fans were not pleased with how the team played for much of the game.
A really, really key point from Dan, here.
This was such a classic Oregon loss, but they turned it into a win. The Ducks lose this game 9 times out of 10 after that start. Lanning pulled them out of a disastrous defeat. https://t.co/ryjOSeIrZG
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) September 25, 2022
https://twitter.com/duck_lindsay/status/1573813879750230016
Oregon is Head and shoulder better than WSU. But they will lose today because play calling, Soft D and really really dumb personal fouls. #GoDucks
— FQOregon
(@FQDucks) September 24, 2022
Still, a win is a win, no matter the circumstances.
[Photo from James Snook/USA Today Sports]