Washington Upsets Oregon, Upends Pac-12, CFP Races

Bo Nix and the Ducks couldn’t convert a last-minute drive, dropping a rare home game and putting their College Football Playoff hopes in jeopardy.

EUGENE, Ore.—Peyton Henry kicked a 43-yard field goal with 51 seconds left and No. 24 Washington snapped No. 6 Oregon’s eight-game winning streak with a 37-34 victory Saturday, dealing a blow to the Ducks’ chances for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Michael Penix Jr. threw a 62-yard scoring pass to Taj Davis to tie it at 34 with 3:07 to go after Oregon quarterback Bo Nix limped off the field on the previous series.

Nix returned after Henry's field goal and got the Ducks (9-2, 6-1, No. 6 CFP) to the Washington 38 but the final drive fizzled with a penalty. The Huskies (8-2, 5-2, No. 25 CFP) won in Eugene for the first time since 2016.

Penix threw for 408 yards and two touchdowns as Washington stopped a 13-game losing streak against ranked Oregon teams. The last win was in 2002 when the Huskies beat No. 23 Oregon 42-12. Washington was 0-7 against the Ducks when they’re ranked in the top 10.

Washington snapped No. 6 Oregon’s eight-game winning streak on Saturday :: Andy Nelson/AP

Nix fell after a 2-yard run on third-and-5 on the Washington 10 and he limped off the field. Cameron Lewis' 26-yard field goal finished the drive to make it 34-27 with 3:54 left. He was replaced for a series by backup Ty Thompson.

Nix threw for 280 yards and two scores, and ran for 59 yards and another touchdown. The loss snapped a 23-game home winning streak, the third-longest streak in the nation and a win shy of the school record.

Penix went into the game as the national leader in passing yards per game with 359.1. He had a streak of eight straight games with 300 or more yards passing that just ended last week in a victory over Oregon State.

The Huskies scored on their opening series when Penix handed off to Wayne Taulapapa, who dashed 13 yards down the middle for the TD.

The Ducks settled for a 43-yard field goal from Lewis on their first drive. Henry kicked a 30-yarder to make it 10-3 early in the second quarter.

Oregon got to the 1 on the ensuing drive but the snap was fumbled and Washington recovered. The Huskies did not move the ball and instead the Ducks had good field position ahead of Nix's 10-yard TD dash, his 14th of the season, to pull Oregon within 13-10.

After Nix hit Dont’e Thornton with a 46-yard touchdown pass on Oregon’s first drive of the second half for a 17-13 lead, Cameron Davis scored on a 3-yard run to put the Huskies back on top.

Noah Whittington's 29-yard scoring run gave Oregon a 24-20 lead midway through the third. It was a back-and-forth duel the rest of the way.

A 76-yard touchdown pass from Penix to Ja’Lynn Polk gave the Huskies a 27-24 lead in the third quarter. Nix answered with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin.

Jeffrey Bassa’s interception of Penix at the goal line to start the fourth quarter appeared to shift the momentum to the Ducks until Nix's untimely injury.

Washington hasn’t visited Eugene since 2018, when Oregon won 30-27 in overtime.  Oregon, meanwhile, missed out on going 7-0 in Pac-12 play for the first time since 2019. In addition to snapping the overall winning streak in Eugene, the loss also snapped a school record 17 straight conference games at home.