Game Breakdown: No. 15 Oregon 44, Washington State 41 in wild comeback

No. 15-ranked Oregon faced its third tough test in the first four games, traveling to take on a Washington State team on the fringe of the national rankings in Pullman, Wash.

The Cougars entered the contest with a perfect 3-0 record and an upset road victory over previously-ranked Wisconsin on their resume. In front of a sold-out Martin Stadium, they set out to prove the voters wrong.

The Ducks had other ideas, scoring 21 points in the final 4 minutes to rally back from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit.

Oregon (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) has now won three straight and continues to build momentum since it season-opening loss to No. 1 Georgia.

The game's first possession came far too easy for Washington State as it marched down the field for a quick touchdown. The drive started with a flea flicker and ended with a rushing touchdown from quarterback Cameron Ward. The Ducks had a quick offensive response of their own but only managed a field goal in the end.

That was the theme of the game, as the Cougars (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) stopped Oregon's momentum once things got to the red zone.

Bo Nix’s first four drives only amounted to nine Oregon points, even contributing to seven for the Cougars via a pick-6.

The Ducks had 142 more yards than the Cougars in the first half, yet trailed 17-9 heading into the locker room.

It was not until late in the fourth quarter that Oregon took its first lead of the game. The Ducks scored four touchdowns in the final quarter overall, starting with a 1-yard Jordan James scoring run at the start of the period. But it was still a 34-22 Cougars lead at the 4-minute mark before Nix found Cam McCormick for a 1-yard touchdown.

After a key defensive stop, Nix drove the ball down with ease connecting with Troy Franklin for a 50-yard touchdown with 1:21 remaining to take a 36-34 advantage.

The defense followed with points of its own via a 27-yard Mase Funa interception return for touchdown to make it 44-34 before Washington State tacked on a late touchdown to narrow the final score.

Oregon had plenty of chances to take what would have been its only lead of the game much earlier. Costly penalties, special teams miscues and ultimately not enough in the tank resulted in a much closer contest than it could have been.

There were two huge opportunities for Oregon to take the lead early in the fourth. A very unorthodox interception set the Ducks up with decent field position. They failed to get a first down and punted the ball back to the Cougars immediately. On that drive, the Ducks were an arm’s length away from taking down Ward for a sack on fourth down. Instead, the QB maneuvered around and connected with Nakia Watson for a first down.

That drive also crushed Oregon with penalties. D.J. Johnson was ejected for targeting while Brandon Dorlus was marked with roughing the passer on a crucial third-and-long. Eventually, Robert Ferrel scored the touchdown and the Ducks were looking up at that 12-point deficit with less than seven minutes to go and counting.

In the end, Oregon’s offense finally budged and the team survived the upset. This win could look awfully strong later in the year, as the Cougars looked very much like a team that came into the day undefeated.

The Ducks will host Stanford next week, the last opposing team to win in Autzen Stadium. Another win would surely give the Ducks a shot to crack the top-10 rankings.

First Quarter:

11:46, Washington State: Cameron Ward 5-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT), 7-0 WSU

7:36, Oregon: Camden Lewis 34-yard field goal, 7-3 WSU

4:34, Washington State: Dean Janikowski 38-yard field goal, 10-3 WSU

Second Quarter:

15:00, Oregon: Camden Lewis 28-yard field goal, 10-6 WSU

4:36, Washington State: Bo Nix pass intercepted; Francisco Mauigoa 96-yard return (Dean Janikowski PAT), 17-6 WSU

1:33, Oregon: Camden Lewis 29-yard field goal, 17-9 WSU

Third Quarter:

14:15, Oregon: Bo Nix 12-yard pass to Bucky Irving, (Two-point conversion attempt failed), 17-15 WSU

8:53, Washington State: Dean Janikowski 38-yard field goal, 20-15 WSU

4:21, Washington State: Cameron Ward 15-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling (Dean Janikowski PAT), 27-15 WSU

Fourth Quarter:

14:56, Oregon: Jordan James 1-yard run (Camden Lewis PAT), 27-22 WSU

6:42, Washington State: Cameron Ward 1-yard pass to Robbert Ferrell (Dean

Janikowski PAT), 34-22 WSU

3:50, Oregon: Bo Nix 1-yard pass to Cam McCormick (Camden Lewis PAT), 34-29 WSU

1:21, Oregon: Bo Nix 50-yard pass to Troy Franklin (Camden Lewis PAT), 36-34 Oregon

1:01, Oregon: Mase Funa 27-yard interception return for touchdown (Camden Lewis PAT), 44-34

0:01, Washington State: Nakia Watson 1-yard run (Dean Janikowski PAT), 44-41 Oregon

Oregon had been able to move the ball downfield all game. Scoring the big points was always where the Ducks failed to capitalize in abundance, but Washington State failed to put the visitors away on its final drive with the lead. They were bounced into a three-and-out and gave Nix a chance with a little over 2 minutes left to play.

He needed less than that to find the striding Franklin for a 50-yard touchdown that gave the Ducks their first lead of the game -- one they wouldn't relinquish.

QB Bo Nix

Nix had a completely different response after throwing a pick-6 against the Cougars. Instead of crumbling down and forcing more plays, the veteran stayed calm and collected. He picked apart Washington State’s secondary, throwing for 428 yards which is a new career high. When he was needed the most, he connected for a 50-yard bomb to Franklin and secured a much-needed road victory.

OLB Mase Funa

It surprisingly wasn’t a defensive back, nor was it a linebacker, who made the game-sealing interception. Funa was coming off the edge when he was gifted a turnover. Ward made a costly mistake and Funa took the ball to the end zone. The lead grew to two possessions and the win was all but confirmed after that point.

Down by 5 points early in the fourth quarter, Trikweze Bridges capitalized on one of the stranger plays you will ever see. Ward threw a pass to Ferrel for what should have been an easy completion. Bridges quickly closed in and caused the catch to be bobbled. The ball ended up in Bridges’ hands and it was ruled an interception, which set Oregon up with the ball for a key possession.

The offense had to have been frustrated when looking at the halftime box score. Despite the yard advantage, the Ducks were trailing by 8 and failed to get into the end zone. The second half is where things changed. The offense produced successful drives and finally snuck into the end zone. The invisible wall was broken and the Ducks managed to score in abundance to close out the slugfest

Passing:

Bo Nix: 33-44, 428 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

Bucky Irving: 1-1, 18 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

Rushing:

Bucky Irving: 11 carries, 81 yards

Noah Whittington: 11 carries, 69 yards

Bo Nix: 6 carries, 30 yards

Jordan James: 3 carries, 0 yards, 1 TD

Receiving:

Chase Cota: 7 receptions, 84 yards

Troy Franklin: 5 receptions, 137 yards, 1 TD

Kris Hutson: 5 receptions, 72 yards

Bucky Irving: 5 receptions, 38 yards, 1 TD

Terrance Ferguson: 3 receptions, 22 yards

Seven McGee: 2 receptions, 18 yards

Cam McCormick: 2 receptions, 6 yards, 1 TD

Sean Dollars: 2 receptions, 1 yard

Dont’e Thornton: 1 reception, 42 yards

Bo Nix: 1 reception, 18 yards

Moliki Matavao: 1 reception, 8 yards