What Went Wrong in Oregon's 34-31 Loss to Washington in the Pac-12 Title

The Ducks lost their third straight game to the Huskies as the curtain set on the Pac-12.

The Oregon Ducks saw their playoff hopes crumble in Las Vegas on Friday night, losing another 34-31 heartbreaker to the Washington Huskies in the final Pac-12 Championship.

But how did we get here?

Let's take a look at what went wrong for the Ducks inside a roaring Allegiant Stadium.

1. Ducks stumble out of the gate

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Oregon's offense got off to a terrible start Friday night. The Ducks gained just nine total yards and went three-and-out on their first two offensive drives.

You just can't afford that with an opponent like Washington. The Huskies scored 10 points and totaled 104 yards of offense on their first two drives, so Oregon dug themselves into a hole right away. The Ducks were playing catch up most of the night and the defense was shouldering the burden of slowing down one of the best offenses in the country.

2. Key starters banged up

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None of the coaches or players will use it as an excuse, but Oregon's injuries Friday only make their battle with Washington that much more difficult. Bucky Irving clearly wasn't 100%, and he was running into the backs of his blockers and struggling to get into a groove.

Defensive end Jordan Burch may have been the most notable of the night, as he got hurt in the first quarter and wouldn't return to the game. Young players like Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuitoi and Blake Purchase have played well for the Ducks all year, but there's something to be said about the value of having played more college football. The Ducks were forced to ask a lot from their young trio and Mase Funa.

Starting cornerback Khyree Jackson was also in and out throughout the game. His counterpart, cornerback Jahlil Florence, didn't play against the Huskies after also missing the Oregon State game, making the Ducks even more shorthanded against arguably the best crop of wide receivers in college football. 

3. Oregon's run game disappeared

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Washington completely neutralized Oregon's ability to run the ball. The Ducks finished with 124 yards on 20 carries, and 44 of those yards came on Nix's long run up the sideline. Irving had 20 yards on 9 carries and it felt like he couldn't find his spot all night.

Jordan James showed clear signs that he had the hot hand, but would get subbed out for Irving right as he was getting going. Oregon's balanced offense was what made it so successful. The Ducks were playing left-handed on Friday.

4. Ducks absent on third down

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Dan Lanning spoke about Oregon's poor execution in critical situations after the game and there were a lot of those critical situations on Friday. The Ducks finished 3/10 on third down, while the Huskies were 10/15.

Oregon couldn't put together sustained drives consistently on and then they couldn't get off the field when they needed to. That's a recipe for disaster and those are the moments when you need to show up the most. The Ducks didn't.

5. Ducks win middle eight but can't sustain momentum

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Any time you get off to a slow start, you're looking for a way to regain the momentum. Oregon found it by winning the middle eight. 

They scored a touchdown to close out the first half and scored on the opening drive of the second half. Then it started to look even more promising after Khyree Jackson's interception. 

Even after Bo Nix threw a crucial interception to give it right back to Washington, Nikko Reed sacked Penix on fourth down and Jordan James punched it in on the ensuing drive. It came down to the final frame, and Washington took the air out of the ball with a scoring drive that took 6:20 off the clock and proved to be the dagger.

QUAAACK: Roger Saleapaga Commits to Oregon

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