The Oregon Ducks fell to the Washington Huskies 36-33 in Seattle on Saturday afternoon. It was a thrilling, back-and-forth contest that saw the Ducks fail to convert a fourth down that would close the game out, thus giving Michael Penix Jr. a chance to win the game with a touchdown pass to Rome Odunze.
CFB 3 Things We Learned: Michigan | Georgia | Notre Dame | Ohio State | Washington
What did we learn about the Oregon Ducks on Saturday?
Dan Lanning Sticks To His Beliefs
Dan Lanning believes in his offense and believes in being aggressive. On Saturday in Seattle, that aggressiveness backfired. The Oregon head coach chose to go for it on fourth down on three occasions and failed to convert on all three chances. Two of those fourth-down attempts came inside the ten-yard line, and the final one was near midfield with just less than two minutes remaining. A first down would have ended the game, but the failure to convert allowed Washington a short field they capitalized on to win. “This game is 100% on me,” Lanning told the media after the contest. Lanning still believes he made the right call on two of those decisions, but he feels they should have taken the field goal to end the first half instead of trying for a touchdown. “The one before the half is one where you could go back and say, let’s take that field goal, and it’s something I’m going to assess, go evaluate for me.”
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Oregon Was the Better Team
The Washington Huskies won the game and deserve the credit. That written, in a game played at Husky Stadium, the Oregon Ducks looked like the best team in the PAC-12. Oregon outgained Washington 541 to 415, had eight minutes more in terms of time of possession, and ran 23 more plays than the Huskies. Oregon was more balanced than Washington, and they consistently pressured Penix Jr. in the second half, winning the battle in the trenches. Again, Washington deserves credit for the win, and they earned it, but if this game is played again in the PAC-12 Championship Game, the Ducks might be favored.
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Bucky Irving and Troy Franklin Lead the Way
Bo Nix is the quarterback and gets the bulk of the attention for the success of the Oregon offense. His transformation in the two seasons since leaving Auburn is remarkable. The biggest difference makers on this offense are Bucky Irving and Troy Franklin. Irving ran the ball 22 times for 127 yards and scored once, while Franklin made some terrific catches en route to a 154-yard performance. The Washington secondary held him in check for large chunks of the game, but Franklin broke free for a 49-yard reception and ended up with eight catches on the day. Irving ran hard all game, consistently picking up more than five yards per carry and ultimately averaging 5.8 yards per rush. The one-two punch of Irving and Franklin makes this offense tick.
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