Oregon Ducks pummel Oregon State Beavers, secure trip to Pac-12 title game
The No. 6 Oregon Ducks are headed to Las Vegas.
In the final Pac-12 showdown between Oregon and Oregon State, the Ducks passed their biggest test of the season thus far and pummeled their in-state rivals.
Bo Nix went 33-for-40 passing for 367 yards and two touchdowns. Tez Johnson caught 11 passes for 137 yards and Troy Franklin had nine receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown.
The Ducks outgained the Beavers, 480 yards to 273, and held Oregon State to 53 rushing yards.
Oregon will now prepare for a Dec. 1 rematch with No. 4 Washington at Allegiant Stadium that could have College Football Playoff-altering implications.
How it happened
First Quarter
Oregon took a page out of Oregon State’s playbook and ground out a 15-play, 88-yard opening drive that was capped off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Irving.
During the opening series, the Ducks ran the ball up the middle 10 times.
On Oregon State’s opening drive, the Beavers got a couple of early explosives. But they stalled out at midfield and were forced into 4th-and-6 from the Oregon 47. Uiagalelei threw behind Silas Bolden and he was unable to haul in the pass as Dontae Manning produced some strong coverage. Oregon took over on downs.
Second Quarter
Oregon had a chance to put the game away midway through the second quarter when it drove to Oregon State territory with a 14-0 lead. But after a false start penalty, the Ducks stalled out at the Oregon State 16. They brought on Camden Lewis for a 34-yard field goal attempt, but he sailed it wide and the Beavers were gifted a massive opportunity to make it a one-score game.
It was tough sledding on Oregon State’s ensuing drive. But the Beavers converted on multiple third downs to keep the chains moving.
They capped off the drive with a big pass from Uiagalelei to Bolden for a 19-yard touchdown to cut the Oregon lead to 14-7.
But the Ducks responded immediately. Bo Nix made one of his more impressive throws of the season when he rolled out to his right and fired a moonshot across his body to Troy Franklin for a 41-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 before halftime.
Third Quarter
Oregon scored an early victory in the second half. On Oregon State’s opening possession, it rolled out a jumbo package on 4th-and-2 on the Ducks’ 29.
Oregon countered with pressure up the middle, and Brandon Dorlus and Jeffrey Bassa combined to force Uiagalelei into an incompletion for a turnover on downs.
The Ducks quickly marched into Oregon State territory after a couple of big-time throws from Niz — including one to Tez Johnson that put the Ducks inside the 10-yard line. But the drive stalled out, and Camden Lewis came on to drill a 25-yard field goal to push Oregon’s lead to 24-7.
Fourth Quarter
The Ducks, for all intents and purposes, put the game away on the second snap of the fourth quarter when Jordan James plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown to push Oregon’s lead to 31-7.
Oregon State was forced to quickly move the ball downfield with hopes of climbing back into contention. But Dontae Manning put the game away for good when he intercepted a Uiagalelei pass in the end zone with 11:39 to go.
