12 major takeaways from Ducks’ 31-7 Civil War blowout over Oregon State

If you really wanted to argue, nobody would have stopped you from calling Friday night’s matchup between the No. 6 Oregon Ducks and No. 16 Oregon State Beavers the biggest game of Dan Lanning’s young career.

With a spot in the Pac-12 Championship on the line and a chance to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive, Lanning’s team needed to perform. More than that, Lanning needed a victory against a rival, something he had yet to accomplish in Eugene.

Fortunately for Duck fans everywhere, all three of those things were checked off in a 31-7 beat down in Autzen Stadium that left zero doubt when it came to who was the better team.

The reward? Oregon’s second-year head coach gets to play the biggest game of his career next week in Las Vegas: a rematch against the Washington Huskies, the only team to beat the Ducks this season.

While we have several days to dive into that highly enticing game, let’s first take a deeper look at this matchup that could well be the final Civil War we see for quite some time. No future game is scheduled.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the evening:

Bo's Heisman Resume Strengthens

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We knew coming into this game it would be important for Bo Nix to once against put up big stats because his opportunities for Heisman statements are dwindling. He did just that, and gave us a perfect Heisman moment as well.

Ultimately, the Oregon QB finished 33-of-40 passes for 367 yards and 2 touchdowns. He added 31 yards and a TD on the ground. While the numbers look really good, it was the play that Nix made right before half that will have the lasting legacy of then night.

With the Ducks up by 7 points with under a minute to go, Nix led them on a 78-yard drive in 40 seconds, capped by a remarkable 41-yard, cross-body throw to Troy Franklin that will undoubtedly be shown in New York on Dec. 4.

Not only was it an incredible throw, but it also served as a huge momentum shift in the game. The Ducks grabbed the reins from the Beavers before half, even though Oregon State had the ball coming out of the break.

On Saturday afternoon, Jayden Daniels and the LSU Tigers play against Texas A&M, so we will see what Nix’s biggest Heisman competitor can do, but the Oregon QB also locked up one extra game on Friday, which is something that Daniels can’t do. At this point, the odds of a bronze statue coming back to Eugene are looking pretty good.

The Elite Run Defense

One thing we’ve made note of all season is how impressive Oregon’s defense is when it comes to taking away what the other team is good at, and making them “play left-handed,” as Lanning would say.

I don’t think that was ever truer than it was on Friday night. The Ducks shut down Oregon State’s rushing attack, which has been their bread and butter all season.

Coming into Friday, the Beavers were No. 22 in the nation, averaging 192 rushing yards per game, led by Damien Martinez and his 104 yards per game.

The Ducks gave up just 53 yards on the ground, and held Martinez to a season-low 38 yards. After the game against the Beavers last season when the Ducks allowed a massive fourth-quarter comeback on the back of 19 straight running plays, this type of performance was impressive, to say the least.

“They were motivated coming in this game to put together a great performance,” Lanning said after the game. “It’s really about building off the last performance we had and it’s going to be about building into the next one. And they certainly take a lot of pride in it. And they’ve certainly been reminded this last week of what last year looked like, and they didn’t want to replicate that.”

We’ve always known that Oregon’s defense is really good this year, but there are times when they just remind you how good they can be. Holding one of the better rushing attacks in the nation, and one of the best running backs in the conference, to a fraction of their season average is endlessly impressive.

Time of Possession Dominance

From the opening drive, you could sense the Ducks were trying to make a statement. I would say it happened quickly, but that’s not factually correct. In reality, it took Oregon 8 minutes and 41 seconds to make its statement.

The Ducks opened the game with a 15-play scoring drive that chewed up well over half of the first quarter. They did it with physicality and toughness, demonstrating early on that this wasn’t going to be an easy matchup for the Beavers. In the first quarter, Oregon had the ball for 11:14; the Beavers just 3:46. At one point, the Ducks had run 34 plays to Oregon State’s 8.

It balanced out in the end — Oregon 34:03, Oregon State 25:57 — but what mattered the most was the Ducks’ ability to establish their game plan early on and make it be known that there would be no pushing around in this game, unless they were doing the pushing.

A Conversation about Camden Lewis

Photo Courtesy of Ethan Landa

This was supposed to be a special night for Camden Lewis. He was supposed to get introduced on senior night as the new leading scorer in Oregon Ducks’ history — a record he broke last week down in the desert — and have his send off from Autzen Stadium how everyone would want it.

Instead, he missed a 34-yard field goal in the first half — his sixth miss in his last 10 attempts — and subsequently booted a kickoff out of bounds for a nation-leading sixth time this season.

For Oregon fans who are ready to cut bait, it’s hard to blame them. However, I’m left wondering why, if the Ducks had any other options, a change wasn’t made before now. Dan Lanning has not shown himself to be a coach who will keep a player on the field to save relationships when there is a better option elsewhere. That leads me to believe Camden is the best they have, and any change would not be in the best interest of the team.

Does that give me or any other Oregon fan more confidence going forward? Absolutely not, but I don’t know that there’s a different option at this point. It seems like the Ducks are going to have to stick with Lewis throughout the rest of the season, while Oregon fans nervously hold their breath every time he trots onto the field.

Troy Franklin Makes More History

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Last week, Troy Franklin officially got his name in the Oregon record books. This week, he just added to a growing list of impressive numbers.

With a touchdown in the second quarter, Franklin broke the Oregon record for most career receiving touchdowns. He has 25. He passed Cristin McLemore, Keenan Howry, Jeff Maehl and Josh Huff. It’s an impressive stat, of course, but it wasn’t until this commentary that I saw from Howry during that game that I really appreciated it.

To break a record that has stood for almost 30 years is impressive, and to have one of the best Ducks in school history to consider you the greatest of all time at your position is something that should not be lost in this conversation. What Franklin has been able to do in his three years in Eugene is endlessly impressive, and it’s nice to see him get the stats and records that he deserves.

Jordan Burch Makes Waves

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It’s always hard to quantify how dominant a defensive lineman is after the fact, because we often turn to stats to assess one’s play, but the stats rarely show how good a player in the trenches really is.

So in this case, Jordan Burch’s 4 tackles and 3 quarterback hits pale in comparison to the impact he really had on the game. Going up against Taliese Fuaga, one of the top linemen in the conference, Burch was constantly in the backfield and getting pressure on DJ Uiagalelei. He had the fourth-best defensive grade in the game, according to Pro Football Focus.

Burch has flown relatively under the radar this season, but he’s really shown up late in the season and playing some of his best football to date.

Dyer Was Down, but Bucky Wasn't

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There’s no such thing as poetic justice, just poetic injustice.

Over a decade ago, the most notorious and painful play in Oregon history happened in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game, when Auburn RB Michael Dyer was tackled down, but continued to run for a large gain to set up the game-winning field goal for the Tigers. Despite both his wrist and shin hitting the turf — a clear indication of a player being down, according to the rules — the refs let him play, and the Ducks ended up losing the national championship.

So why then, when Bucky Irving has a run where it’s clear and obvious that nothing but his hand touches the ground, and he spins over a defender on his way to what would likely have been a touchdown, was he called down?

It didn’t end up mattering in the end, as Irving scored later on that drive, but I know that many Oregon fans shared in a moment of fury when Irving was called down. You’d think one of those calls would go the Ducks way by now, wouldn’t you?

Lanning's Big Win

I know I mentioned it in the intro, but it should not be overstated that this is a really meaningful win in the young career of Dan Lanning. Up until this point, the Oregon head coach was 0-3 against rivals, losing to both Oregon State and Washington last season, and falling to the Huskies earlier this year as well.

There were questions about whether or not the coach could get it done against a rival this year, and he was able to answer that call in emphatic fashion.

There’s a good chance that he can continue to do so a week from now as well, with a rematch against Washington on deck.

Tez Stays Electric

It really feels like a great Tez Johnson season is getting overshadowed by Troy Franklin a bit, doesn’t it?

The Oregon WR duo was elite once again on Friday, combining for 20 catches and 265 yards and a touchdown. Johnson led the way with 11 catches for 137 yards, which puts him over 800 yards on the season. There’s a good chance that the Ducks finish the year with two 1,000-yard receivers, which will be the first time that’s happened at Oregon since Cristin McLemore and Damon Griffin did so almost 30 years ago.

For years, Oregon fans went without any true standout wide receivers to call their own, but it’s become increasingly clear that they have two of them this year.

Dontae Manning and the CB Situation

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There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that Jahlil Florence spent the game on crutches after not practicing all week, and it’s currently unclear whether or not he will be able to play any time soon. The good news is that Dontae Manning looked as good as he has in an Oregon uniform Friday night, making some of the biggest plays of the game.

Going into the Pac-12 title game, the Ducks will have a major test on their hands with the elite passing attack of the Washington Huskies, so it would certainly help if they were at full strength in the secondary. It doesn’t look like that will be the case, though. At the very least, I think that Duck fans can be happy with what they saw from Manning on Friday, though, and confident that he can replicate that going forward.

To Oregon State, I'm Sorry

I’m not going to lie, I felt pretty sympathetic on Friday night. To the Oregon State fans, and the Beaver faithful who have stuck by their team through the ups and the downs over the years, I truly feel for you. Things seem to be going downhill, and there isn’t much light at the end of the tunnel.

While conference realignment and the future of the Pac-2 isn’t the main story here, it certainly is a driving factor in everything that is currently going on in Corvallis. About 30 minutes before the game on Friday, it was reported that OSU head coach Jonathan Smith is a leading candidate to take the job at Michigan State, and will likely be announced before the weekend is over. As a former Oregon State quarterback, Smith leaving for a better job in a more stable conference is a tough pill to swallow.

So it was an insult to injury when, after the game, RB Damien Martinez sent out a cryptic tweet about his future in Corvallis.

There’s no clear future for the Beavers, and it seems like things are going to get worse before they get better. That’s not fun for anyone, and definitely not something that faithful Oregon State fans deserve.

The Rematch We've Waited For

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On October 14th, we got the game of the year in college football when Washington beat Oregon 36-33 in Seattle after a field goal sailed wide right for the Ducks, stopping them short of overtime. As soon as it was over, everyone was asking to see it again.

Well, now we get to see it again, a week from now in Las Vegas. The Pac-12 Championship will be on the line, and a spot in the College Football Playoff will likely go to the winner, as well as the Heisman Trophy.

Talk about stakes? They’ve never been higher.

It will be the last Pac-12 game that is ever played, and it could potentially be the most important game in the conference’s history.

Yea, that will do. See you in Vegas.

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire