STORY: Oregon Bounces Back With Pac-12 North Clinching Win vs Oregon State

Written Story by Justin Grossweiner

Oregon Football found a way to bounce back to win against Oregon State 38-29 at home following a season-altering loss to Utah last weekend. Oregon is no longer a player for the College Football Playoff, but a victory over Oregon State clinches the Pac-12 North for the Ducks, and secures themselves a place in the Pac-12 Championship game Friday, December 3rd. Oregon got the momentum going in their favor right away, and after receiving the opening kickoff they moved down the field to score on a Travis Dye touchdown from 20 yards out following a 9 play 4:07 minute drive. Oregon scored on their first 4 possessions, carrying a 24-3 lead into halftime.

Oregon State pulled within 15 within the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter following a touchdown pass by Chance Nolan to tight end Lance Musgrave and a missed two-point conversion. The Beavers missed 3 two-point conversions on the afternoon, and after missing their initial two-point conversion Oregon State was playing catchup to make up for those lost points.

The two teams combined for 34 points in the 4th quarter as following a Kris Hutson touchdown to push the Ducks’ lead to 22 the Beavers responded with a quick drive to draw cut the deficit to 16. Oregon State then executed a surprise onside-kick and scored another touchdown within a minute and thirty seconds of game time with another Chance Nolan touchdown pass to make it a 10 point game. However, the Ducks finished off the Beavers with a 9 play 5:14 minute drive which was capped off with a Travis Dye 1 yard touchdown to seal the game.

One of the biggest reasons for Oregon’s success was their passing attack. The Ducks threw for 178 yards in the first half, including 105 yards from Oregon’s leading receiver Devon Williams. Willaims 110 yards on 5 receptions was the most that an Oregon receiver has accumulated in a game so far this season. Kris Hutson followed up his best game as a Duck against Utah with another breakout performance as well, finishing with 7 receptions, 82 yards, and the previously mentioned 4th quarter touchdown. Anthony Brown totaled 275 yards by the end of the game.

Beavers running back B.J. Baylor was limited all day by the Ducks defense. Coming into the day averaging around 230 rushing yards per game, the Ducks held the Pac-12’s leading rusher Baylor and the Oregon State offense to 85 total yards rushing on the afternoon. This forced Oregon state out of their game plan of heavily running the ball, particularly because they fell down 14-0 early.

With a victory, Oregon hopes to carry their momentum over their biggest conference rival to the Pac-12 conference championship game. The Ducks will surely be looking for revenge against Utah in Vegas, and after being knocked out of the playoff hunt by the Utes Oregon will look to punch their ticket to the Rose Bowl against the same team just 13 days later on a neutral site.

Game Stories

Audio Story by Jakob Salao