Final ride: Oregon football's Bo Nix, Bucky Irving, Brandon Dorlus suit up for Fiesta Bowl
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Fiesta Bowl will be the final ride for Bucky, Bo and Brandon Dorlus.
The leader of the offense.
The leader of the defense.
The heart-beat of the team.
In the era of postseason opt-outs for star college football players, these three NFL-bound Ducks have instead opted-in, choosing to suit up with their teammates when Oregon (11-2) takes on undefeated Liberty (13-0) at 10 a.m. Monday inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Bo Nix and all-Pac-12 defensive end Dorlus are seniors, running back Bucky Irving is a junior who has already stated his intentions to enter the 2024 NFL draft.
“You know, it means the world,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said of the decision by those players to play in the Fiesta Bowl. “As much for me as it does for them. Anybody who is a competitor wants that opportunity to go out there and compete. I think a lot of people will sit here and say what are you playing for? An opportunity to go play with your brothers one last time. An opportunity to win 12 games for the fifth time in Oregon history.”
It also gives the Ducks — who are an 18-point favorite — a greater chance to win and help to flush the bad memories that still exist from their three-point loss to Washington in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 1 that ended their chances of making the College Football Playoff.
“We didn’t end the Pac-12 championship like we wanted to, so this one’s going to mean a lot,” Nix said. “There’s just something about winning, and there’s something about competing that we enjoy doing together and we’re going to put it out there one last time and hopefully go out with a win.”
Bo Nix doesn’t waiver in decision to play
The Fiesta Bowl matchup was set on the morning of Dec. 3 and later that afternoon at the start of Lanning’s press conference, the coach announced Nix would be playing in the game.
It was a surprising decision by Nix, a fifth-year senior coming off a career season who was just about to head to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Almost universally, the expectation was that Nix, who is projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick, would skip the game.
Nix had other ideas.
“You play a full season,” said Nix, who is playing in his first New Year’s Six bowl game. “You’re not promised games so to be able to play in a game like this, of this magnitude, it’s a honor and I’m going to make the most of it. … It wasn’t really a decision, to be honest.”
Nix finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting on Dec. 9, the culmination of a season in which he threw for 4,145 yards, 40 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He completed 336-of-435 passes and at 77.2%, is close to breaking the NCAA single-season record for completion percentage of 77.4% set in 2020 by Alabama’s Mac Jones.
Named the Pac-12 offensive player of the year and the winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy as the nation's top scholar athlete, Nix is tied for the FBS lead in passing touchdowns, second in total touchdowns (46), passing yards per game (318.8), completions (336) and passer rating (186.24), and third in total yards per game (336.4) and total yards per play (8.96).
“He's been able to find ways to do it with his legs and his arm,” Lanning said. “He's been a great decision-maker for us. He does a lot of communication on the field that I think is really evident, getting us in the right play. And then, obviously, the way he leads off the field, the kind of person he is.”
Nix’s decision to play didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.
“After what he had, going to the Heisman, and all these awards, to still be here for his teammates, just made me feel like, ‘I got his back if he’s got my back,’” Irving said.
“You see somebody like Bo playing, it triggers on everybody else,” Dorlus said. “If you're going to play, we're going to play. It's the guys we have. … That’s why we're going to play. I think we have guys who truly love football. I love this game.”
Brandon Dorlus an impact player on defense
No one was happier than Dorlus when Liberty was named the Ducks’ Fiesta Bowl opponent.
His mom is a Liberty graduate, automatically making Monday’s game a thrilling matchup for the Dorlus household.
It also ensured that Dorlus would be in uniform on New Year’s Day.
“I never thought I would have a chance to play Liberty,” Dorlus beamed. “It doesn't sound like a game you would want to play for the last game, but it's exciting.”
Dorlus has 25 tackles this season, including 6.5 for a loss and a team-leading and career-high five sacks. He also leads the team with a career-high nine pass breakups.
“I feel like I put everything I want on the field,” Dorlus said. “This is probably my most consistent year. And that's all I wanted to do, show consistency and how dominant I can be.”
Monday will be his 39th career start, and it will come against the No. 1 rushing team in the nation, making Dorlus’ presence even more significant for the Oregon defense.
“He impacts us tremendously,” safety Steve Stephens IV said. “We can put him at any spot on the D-line. He plays the whole D-line. So wherever he's at, he's wreaking havoc, and the offense is trying not to run to that side. Even on the pass, he's killing guys in pass rush. So it's big time. We need him.”
Bucky Irving the 'ultimate competitor'
The decision to play in the Fiesta Bowl didn’t come quickly for Irving, who announced he was surrendering his final season of eligibility for the NFL on Dec. 11.
“I think Bucky was kind of unsure what he wanted to do and I said, ‘Hey, sleep on it man. Think on it. This is your decision. These are tough decisions to make,’” Lanning said. “And he came back and said, 'I wouldn't feel right in my stomach if I didn't play in this game. It bothered me even thinking about the possibility of not competing in this game.’”
Thus the Ducks will have their leading rusher available against the Flames.
Irving has rushed for 1,063 yards and 10 touchdowns on 172 carries this season, giving him back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
He also is third on the team with 53 catches that he’s taken for 395 yards and two scores.
“A lot of guys sit this game out and think about getting hurt and them type of things,” Irving said. “But I’ve been with this team for two years now and I just want to finish what I started. These guys got me to the point where I can go play at the next level so it would’ve been bad for me to just sit back and watch my guys on TV instead of being here riding it out with them one last time.”
That mentality doesn’t surprise those who know Irving best.
“The heart-beat of our team,” offensive coordinator Will Stein said. “Loyal. Tough. The ultimate competitor. The ultimate teammate. Fantastic football player on top of that. … The ball in his hands is something you want as many times as you can.”
He'll get his touches Monday, just as Nix and Dorlus are also expected to find ways to make plays, even if it was unexpected to see them one more time in an Oregon uniform.
“That's the way they are wired,” Lanning said. “It speaks volumes about what they want to do and the legacy they want to leave here at Oregon when they are done playing.”
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 8 Oregon (11-2) vs. No. 23 Liberty (13-0)
When: Monday
Time: 10 a.m.
TV: ESPN. Radio: KUJZ-FM (95.3)
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Fiesta Bowl is final ride for Oregon football's Bo Nix, Bucky Irving
