Washington and Oregon might have given us the game of the year

When the 2022 college football season finally draws to a close, Saturday’s tilt between Washington and Oregon may stand as the game of the season.

Particularly in the second half, the Pac-12 rivals clashed in a game that looked more like Rocky Balboa taking on Ivan Drago, with both teams just throwing big play after big play at each other.

And Washington’s 37-34 upset of the Ducks might have altered the course of the Pac-12 this season.

The meeting, a battle of two teams ranked in the Top 25, saw the visitors strike first. Washington took the opening kickoff and went right down the field, putting together a 12-play, 75-yard drive that covered over five minutes of game time. Running back Wayne Taulapapa sliced through the line on a nifty misdirection design on the drive’s final snap, and the Huskies got out to an early 7-0 lead.

The teams traded field goals on their next possessions, but the Ducks finally reached the end zone thanks to quarterback — and Heisman trophy candidate — Bo Nix:

Washington would tack on a field goal before halftime, and the Huskies would head to the locker room with a 13-10 lead.

The second half, however, is when the teams, and their quarterbacks, starting trading haymakers.

Nix delivered the first big blow early in the third quarter, giving the Ducks their first lead of the game. With Oregon. trailing 13-10, Nix dropped into the pocket and targeted Dont’e Thornton on the deep post route, as the receiver wriggled past the coverage in the secondary:

The play design works to draw the post safety away from the middle of the field. Thornton is aligned as the middle receiver in the trips formation, but with the inside receiver running a deep crossing route, that draws the attention of the safety. That gives Thornton room to operate on his deep post route.

However, Nix has to navigate pressure in the pocket, as two defenders get a shot at him. He hangs in there long enough to hit Thornton on the post, and the Ducks are in front.

Washington would respond on their next possession, putting together a ten-play drive that Cameron Davis capped off with a three-yard plunge into the end zone, giving the Huskies the lead right back:

But Oregon had an answer of their own. The Ducks needed just six plays to retake the lead, and they too scored via the running game. With Oregon facing a 2nd and 7 at the Washington 29-yard line, running back Noah Whittington took a handoff from Nix and ran to daylight:

While Whittington did the bulk of the work, check out the effort from Oregon center Marcus Harper II. The sophomore center climbs to the second level to take on the linebacker in the hole, clearing the way for Whittington’s big run.

Stop me if you have heard this before, but the Huskies had an answer.

And the Ducks would not have to wait long to hear it.

On the second play of Washington’s ensuing possession, Huskies passer Michael Penix Jr. uncorked a deep post route of his own:

On the other end of this rainbow? Speedy wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, who settled under the throw and took it the distance, allowing Washington to reclaim the lead by a score of 27-24. And credit to Penix, who had to have seen that late flash of color in the form of linebacker Justin Flowe, who barreled into the pocket late and put a shot on the quarterback. The hit would draw a flag for roughing the passer, but it shows the toughness from Penix to stand tall in the face of the pressure.

Now it was Nix’s turn.

The Auburn transfer got the Ducks the lead right back, on this sprint design with a throwback element:

It was Washington’s turn once more, and they were knocking on the door before you knew it. Despite starting their next possession deep in their own territory, after kick returner Cameron Davis slipped to his knees at the Washington 1-yard line, the Huskies got the ball deep into Oregon territory.

But then, Penix made a mistake.

With Washington having covered nearly the length of the field, the Huskies faced a 1st and goal at the Oregon 1-yard line. On first down, Penix dropped to throw, and not finding anything right away, the left-hander rolled to his right to buy time. Late in the down, Penix tried to force a throw, but the pass was deflected, and intercepted:

Oregon took over on their own 1-yard line, and put together perhaps the most impressive drive of the game. Relying heavily on Whittington and fellow running back Bucky Irving, the Ducks and their ground game went on a march that play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti described as the “Oregon Trail.”

The drive spanned over ten minutes of game time, beginning with just over 14 minutes left in the game but drawing to a close with just over 4 minutes remaining. On a pivotal third-down play in the red zone, Oregon put the football in Nix’s hands on a designed run, but the quarterback was stopped short, and needed to be helped off the field.

Kicker Camden Lewis came on to convert the short field goal, extending the Ducks’ lead to 34-27. But the concern on Oregon’s sideline centered on their quarterback, who was receiving attention from the medical staff as Penix and the Huskies offense returned to the field, with more than enough time to even the score once more.

Penix’s shot at redemption got an early boost, as the kickoff sailed out of bounds, giving Washington incredible field position to start their drive. As the Washington offense came to the line to start their possession, Autzen Stadium, with the fans doing everything they could to make life tough for Penix and his teammates.

After an incompletion, and a short connection, the Huskies faced a 3rd and 7. With the crowd in full voice, Penix threw the next haymaker in a game filled with them:

This is an incredible throw, as Penix attacks the soft spot of this two deep coverage, making a “hole shot” from the right hashmark to the left sideline. For a quarterback to make this throw, in this spot, they need two things: Arm strength, and nerves of steel.

Penix has both.

When the Ducks offense took the field, they were without Nix. Instead it was backup Ty Thompson, the five-star recruit who won a pair of state titles in high school.

Oregon ran the football three times, and faced a decision on fourth down. Facing a 4th and 1 on their own 34-yard line, first year head coach Dan Lanning kept his offense — and Thompson — on the field.

They ran the ball again, and Whittington slipped behind the line of scrimmage:

Gifted with incredible field goal position, the Huskies could not move the football. After being stopped on a run on third-and-short Kalen DeBoer, the other first-year head coach, sent his kicker onto the field.

And sixth-year senior Peyton Henry split the uprights, giving Washington a 37-34 lead with just 51 seconds left:

Could Oregon answer one last time?

When the Ducks offense came onto the field, the crowd roared, because #10 was back under center to guide Oregon’s last shot. But a pair of incompletions on first and second downs put the Ducks into 3rd and 10.

That is when Nix was sacked for just the second time all season. Bralen Trice and Jeremiah Martin burst into the backfield and get to Nix, dragging him to the turf and forcing the Ducks into a 4th and 14 situation.

Which they converted, because of course they would in this game:

Still, Oregon needed about 20 more yards to get into field goal range, meaning Nix would need to make one more big throw. As you might have guessed, he delivered. Flushed to his left and under pressure, Nix connected with Kris Hutson to move the chains, giving Oregon a fresh set of downs at the 38-yard line, with just six seconds remaining.

Still, they needed about six more yards to get into range for Lewis.

It looked like they would get those yards, as Nix connected with wide receiver Troy Franklin on a back-shoulder throw, after which the receiver crashed out of bounds with just a second remaining. But a flag came down, and Franklin was called for illegal touching, having stepped out of bounds before coming back into the field of play to make the reception.

Play was stopped for a review, to see if Franklin really stepped out of bounds prior to making the catch. As the crowd held their breath, and Dean Blandino did his best to try and make the call up in the booth, the game hung in the balance.

As the tweet says, you make the call:

The call stood.

Hail Mary time.

Nix climbed in the pocket and tried to target a receiver over the middle near the end zone, but the throw landed short:

Ball game.

After the game, DeBoer talked about his quarterback: “[i]t’s not like him to throw that interception down there...we trust him...that throw down the sideline, that’s just what he does. Super positive.”

Penix finished the night having completed 26 of 35 passes for 408 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with the interception. His counterpart, Nix, hit on 19 of 27 passes for 280 yards and 2 touchdowns, without an interception.

Nix also added the touchdown on the ground.

The loss dropped Oregon to 8-2 on the season, and was also the Ducks’ first loss in the Pac-12 this year. With a game against another Pac-12 team ranked in the Top 25 on tap for next week, as the Ducks host Utah, the path to the Pac-12 Championship Game has gotten a little more perilous than it looked a few weeks ago for Oregon. And for the time being, at least, the Ducks are in second place in the conference, as USC has a 7-1 record in the Pac-12, in contrast with the 6-1 mark for Oregon.

USC has just one Pac-12 game left this year, against UCLA next week, while the Ducks finish with Utah and Oregon State.

We can worry about the big-picture later. Because for now, we can bask in what just might have been the game of the year.