The game of the college football weekend and arguably the college football season took place in Seattle over the weekend. The duel between the Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies was expected to be a thrilling shootout and did it deliver on that expectation or what.
Both teams scored at least 30 points. The over/under was set at 67 points; 69 points were scored. Washington was three-point favorites and ended up winning by… three points. It was a fantastic game that lived up to all of the hype.
Unfortunately though, in a game of this magnitude, there are going to be plenty of talking points after the fact. This game has plenty of it, from coaching decisions to execution, so on and so forth. A few portions of the Oregon football team deserve some blame for how this game went down. Who specifically has to eat some of the blame pie?
Dan Lanning
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning's aggressiveness and willingness to go for it on fourth down deserves praise, not blame. Trying to score the most points possible usually works out in the long run. Against a high-octane offense that can score in a hurry, going for it on fourth down at Washington's eight late in the third quarter is a defensible move. So was the fourth down shot they took with two minutes left. If Oregon got three yards the game was over. Just about anybody would take those chances.
But the fourth down call that Dan Lanning and Oregon fans should be upset with was the call to go on Washington's three yard line with six seconds left in the half. Analytically, the decision to go for it in that position is the right one, as Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated argued. But the context of that decision should've shaped Lanning's process a bit more.
Part of the allure of going for it on fourth down in opposing field position is the field position the other team has if a team fails on their conversion attempt. Oregon was at Washington's three yard-line so Washington had to start their next drive after that there. The problem was it was right before halftime. The field position aspect becomes moot. And, Oregon was getting the ball after half. They could've cut the lead down to one and had the chance to take the lead on the other side of halftime. Instead, they got nothing out of either of those two consecutive possessions.
It's easy to judge these decisions in hindsight. Lanning was perfectly justified going for it on fourth down in his other decisions. But that was one where it made the most sense to not go for it.
Oregon's secondary
Oregon hasn't been all that tested going into this matchup. Texas Tech, Colorado, and Stanford were the only Power five teams Oregon played before squaring off with Washington. They steamrolled Colorado and Stanford, but they did get tested by Texas Tech.
In that game, Tyler Shough, Texas Tech's quarterback who transferred there from Oregon, threw for 282 yards on 24-38 passing. He added three touchdowns but also threw for three picks in that game. Nonetheless, Texas Tech was able to move the ball on Oregon's defense, especially through the air.
Michael Penix Jr. had success throwing against this secondary too. It wasn't Penix Jr.'s most outrageous game ever, but he did throw for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Penix did also throw a pick but Rome Odunze slipping on the play didn't help. Those two more than made up when they connected for the game-winning touchdown with 1:38 left in the game.
Oregon simply didn't have an answer for Odunze or Ja'Lynn Polk, who combined for 14 receptions, 246 yards, and three touchdowns.
Duck hunting
Oregon is still alive in the race for the Pac-12, but they took a step back that race. There's no shame in losing to this Washington team, but the Ducks could've easily come out victorious. They'll look to rebound next week against Washington State.
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