Well… that was something. Going into Saturday afternoon, the 25th Washington Huskies were two touchdown underdogs going into Autzen Stadium to face the #6 Oregon Ducks. After a shockingly low-scoring first half that saw the Huskies take 13-10 lead into halftime, two of the best offenses in the nation combined for 35 points in the third quarter.

The turning point in the game seemed to come after a 98-yard drive that ended in a Michael Penix interception in the end zone, and after an unfathomable 20-play Oregon drive that covered 91 yards, the Husky defense stood strong to hold the Ducks to kick a field goal to keep the score within one possession at 34-27. Penix immediately responded with the play of the day, finding Taj Davis for a 62-yard touchdown with three minutes to play.

As if the third quarter and everything leading up to the Davis touchdown wasn’t crazy enough, the final three minutes of the game were pure chaos. After quarterback Bo Nix had to leave the game due to an injury, redshirt freshman Ty Thompson had to step in with the game tied at 34, and when the Husky run defense finally stood tall, Oregon’s head coach Dan Lanning and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham decided to leave their offense out on the field on their own 33-yard line. Running back Noah Whittington stumbled in the backfield, and four plays later, Peyton Henry nailed the game-winning field goal from nearly the same spot on the field where he missed a game-winner the last time the Huskies played at Autzen in 2018.

Game notes

Let’s try something new, we’re going to split the game notes into positives and negatives… to end it on a high note, we’re going to start with the negatives.

Negatives

• On Oregon’s 20-play drive in the fourth quarter, the defensive coaching staff refused to adjust their personnel or play calling at all over the course, even though the Ducks ran two different plays for the majority of the drive. While they followed it up with a perfect play call on 3rd and 5 to stop the Ducks, it shouldn’t excuse the rest of the drive.
• The defensive scheme should still be causing major concerns, as the Husky defense allowed two 40+ yard receiving touchdowns, and on both plays it looked like instead of helping over the top, safeties were in man coverage. While that’s the risk taken when playing the “attacking” style of defense co-defensive coordinators Chuck Morrell and William Inge want to play, adjustments need to be made.
• Oregon ran for 312 yards as a team, and it seemed like the Huskies missed 100 tackles on the night. Tackling should be the main point of emphasis in practice over the next few weeks as there’s still a tough road, but a much clearer one to the Pac-12 title game.
• Michael Penix’s fourth-quarter interception was arguably the worst of the six he’s thrown this season as he threw it into a crowd of Ducks, and the Huskies are lucky it didn’t bite them worse than it did.
• It looked like Kalen DeBoer wanted to call a fake field goal to open the second quarter, as the holder on an odd false start call against Peyton Henry was backup quarterback Dylan Morris, not the usual holder, punter Jack McCallister, so that feels like a missed opportunity for DeBoer to show what else is in his bag of tricks.

Positives

• While the first positive should be that Michael Penix should take Bo Nix’s spot at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York, it goes to Bralen Trice, who recorded the game’s only sack. That sack was also just the second that Oregon’s offensive line has allowed in 2022.
• Michael Penix showed up in the biggest way. 26/35 (74% completion percentage), 408 yards, two touchdowns. Both of those touchdowns were 60+ yarders.
• Kalen DeBoer outcoached Dan Lanning, which should have major repercussions on the recruiting trail. While there should still be lots of questions asked about the defensive staff, DeBoer showed he was superior to Lanning. Between Oregon’s fourth-down call late in the game, and the decision to onside kick the ball in the second quarter following Bo Nix’s touchdown run, Lanning made too many mistakes. DeBoer on the other hand set the tone early on by opting to receive the opening kickoff, and his team did just that by marching down the field and scoring a touchdown on the game’s opening drive.
• While they went away from him in the second half, running back Wayne Taulapapa made the most of his carries on the day. He took his 10 carries for a team-high 70 yards and a touchdown.
• This is the statement win Kalen DeBoer and his staff needed that will define his time as Washington’s head coach. Sure, the upset win over then #11 Michigan State was great, but this takes it to the next level. He took his team on the road into a hostile environment, and beat their biggest rival, who also happened to be ranked sixth in the country, and has beaten them in head-to-head battles for countless recruits over the last few years.