On paper this should have been an easy one for the Ducks, a 14-point favorite heading into the match up. In reality, the Ducks had dropped the last four in a row to Washington State, and nothing was guaranteed. In the end, the Ducks would prevail 37-35, but not before a second consecutive week with a come from behind win. On a night of struggles across the board, the Ducks found a way to win with a defensive touchdown, no passing touchdowns (ends Herbert's streak of 35 straight games), and three field goals from a freshman kicker.

If you had told anyone in Autzen that the freshman kicker, Camden Lewis, would need to go 3 for 3 on the night to win this one, few would believe it possible. Sometimes teams just have to find a way to win, and tonight the Ducks continued to show their unwillingness to quit.

The start of the pre-game hype video shows what this team is built on, hard work. Those hundreds of hours put before and during the season are how fourth quarter comebacks are created. The culture of Oregon has made a 180 degree turn from the 4-8 squad of three years ago and is now in the playoff conversation with four regular season games remaining.

Oregon loves it's big men, and keeps using them for the jersey reveals. Jordon Scott, Oregon's elite nose tackle got the chance to show off the Nightmare Green duck uniforms. While the Ducks have made everything a lot more clean cut, they haven't slowed down on the cutting edge looks. Look good, play good.

Duck fans got bad news right before kickoff as starting inside linebacker Troy Dye didn't dress down. Missing Dye in any game would be huge, but his presence in the middle could have made a huge difference in pass protection against Washington State. After the game, Cristobal let everyone know that Dye should be good to go for USC next weekend.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program and Cristobal and company continue to take it to the next level. Tonight a couple of the highlight visitors were five-star linebacker Noah Sewell and 2021 four-star linebacker Keith Brown and four-star OL Kingsley Suamataia. Sewell was taking his official visit this weekend, but both he and Brown have been at numerous Oregon games at this point. Though not guaranteed, the Ducks look to be in good shape with the pair. Suamataia has been to Oregon a couple times already and will likely be in the hunt for his services till the end.

The visit list didn't end there with Rivals100 WR Gary Bryant, Rivals250 members OL Jonathan Denis (Oregon commit) and WR Kris Hutson (Oregon commit), and 2021 Rivals250 WR Kyron Ware-Hudson and DB Steven Ortiz.

Faced with a fourth and short, after a timeout, Cristobal decided to send out the kicking team to attempt a 40-yard field goal. This brought a bit of a nervous aura over the crowd as placekicking hasn't been a strength of the Oregon squad for years. Lewis entered the game 2 of 5 on the season, including missing twice in the 20-30 yard range. Camden nailed the 40-yarder, setting a new career long.

This is a huge run by CJ Verdell, made possible by some wonderful blocking by offensive line and wide receivers. CJ took it 89 yards to the house and Juwan Johnson gets a huge assist with a massive block that took out two defenders. This was Oregon's longest run since the 2011 season (Rose Bowl, January 1, 2012)

On a night where Oregon's defense struggled quite a bit between the twenties, their efforts in the Red Zone helped win the day. Verone McKinley III gets a big pick here and although he should have taken a touch back, it was still a big momentum swing for the Ducks. Though not up to their early season standard, the Ducks did force a turnover and two field goals on seven Cougar red zone efforts.

On a day where the Offense was having more trouble than it probably should have, the Defense was able to come to the rescue in the first half, with Jevon Holland making the huge play. Holland intercepted a poorly thrown ball on a questionable play call by Washington State. Holland brought it all the way back to the end zone, putting the Ducks up by 7 after a big two-point conversion catch by Johnny Johnson III.

A very important third quarter drive by Oregon ate 6:40 off the clock and was capped by the short CJ Verdell touchdown run. This was Verdell's second touchdown of the night, giving the Ducks a 24-17 lead in a seesaw battle of a game. Oregon's next possession would take up another big chunk of clock, giving a struggling defense more time off the field.

After the defense forced a field goal by Washington State, the offense returned to the field to go on an over four minute touchdown drive. CJ Verdell scored his third touchdown, and at this point, it felt like the Ducks might be finally pulling away. Unfortunately, following this moment the defense wasn't able to fully slow down the Washington State attack and the offense began to stall, making for some stressful moments in Autzen.

A promising drive by the offense was stopped short of the end zone on a highly questionable false start call against Penei Sewell. Oregon was forced to settle for a field goal, which only gave them a six-point lead over Washington State with just over six minutes to go. At this point, you could feel the nerves of the crowd.

After a big three and out by the defense, the offense couldn't seal the deal, giving the ball back to the Cougars with around 3 minutes to go. Washington State had to go 90 yards to give themselves a chance at victory, and with a little help, ended up taking the 35-34 lead with just a minute left on the game clock. Pac-12 officiating is pretty suspect at times, but last night was one of the more memorable performances by a crew.

One minute to win or lose. What did the Ducks do? They took control. Following a return by Mykael Wright to the 40 yard line, the Ducks picked up a first down on a couple short passes to the 50. On the next two plays, Juwan Johnson, the graduate transfer from Penn State finally made his big splash at Oregon. Johnson had been injured for most of the season, and was slowly coming back before back-to-back catches for 39 crucial yards. These two plays set up the game winning field goal attempt.

Don't have to say too much here, a true freshman entered the game hitting 2 of 5, and is now 5 of 8 on the season. Cristobal said he trusts his kicker and tonight had to be a huge growing moment for Lewis. Ducks with the walk-off win 37-35.

Moments after the huge celebration in the middle of the field, QB1 took time to find his kicker and congratulate him personally before heading over to his post game ESPN interview. Those that don't know Herbert try to knock him down by saying he isn't a leader, but moments like this show otherwise.

A couple of those huge linebacker recruits, Noah Sewell and Keith Brown, celebrating with future NFL top 10 draft pick Penei Sewell. Noah is of course Penei's brother and Keith is a top Oregon 2021 linebacker who bonded with Noah on prior trips and even changed his plans this weekend to come and join Noah at the game. After the win, it was all smiles and happiness for the three.

CJ might have to share his MVP of the game with Camden Lewis, but I'm sure he won't mind. CJ had the game of his career against Washington State, not only rushing for 257 yards and three touchdowns, but also ending up second on the team in receptions with 4 for 56 yards. Add that all up and Verdell broke the 300 yard all-purpose mark.

Ducks continue their march towards locking up the Pac-12 North and short of a major meltdown, will be in Santa Clara December 6th. Right now, Oregon State is the only other team with a possible chance, and that chance would require Oregon State to essentially win out. Oregon State could drop one more, as long as it wasn't Oregon and then pray that Oregon drops two of their other three.