EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's defense faced numerous challenges in a thrilling win over Boise State, but Jordan Burch credited the Ducks’ resilience for their ability to pull through in the final moments. The game saw momentum swings, turnovers, and key plays that kept fans on edge until the end.

"I feel like a few moments were kind of challenging for everybody, being a close game," Burch said. "But as a group, we just came together. The main goal was to leave out with a win. I feel like us buying in together, we were able to accomplish that."

Burch praised Boise State's running back, who gave the Ducks trouble at times. "Oh yeah, he's pretty good," Burch said. "He runs hard and doesn't go down on first contact. We had to strike blocks, stay in our gaps. We did a good job of that at the beginning, but slipped up a bit in the middle of the game."

Despite some defensive lapses, Burch was proud of the overall effort. "Everybody played hard," he said. "We all know we had some mistakes that we got to clean up, but as a whole, everybody played really hard trying to get the win."

Burch noted the defense’s ability to stay focused even after mistakes, emphasizing the importance of communication and unity on the field. "Probably just keys and communication," he said about what led to some of the struggles. "That's something we can fix in practice, just communication. We all got to be on one accord. We can't blame anybody new. We got veterans on the team too, so we all got to hone in and grab each other and put it together."

Despite losing the turnover battle, Burch said the defense took pride in finding a way to win. "Oh yeah, big time. We try to win the turnover battle, but at the end of the day, we try to come out with the win."

A near-miss play late in the game left Burch disappointed. "The back came out of the backfield. I was supposed to have him," Burch recalled. "I didn’t think they were going to throw it to him because I’m right on him, so I kind of slowed down a little bit. When I looked back, the ball was coming. I dropped it. I don’t even want to think about it anymore."

Reflecting on the defense's performance, Burch was critical of himself but remained focused on improvement. "I feel like I made a good amount of mistakes," he said. "But, you know, just look at it as a success because we got the win as a whole team."

The defensive backs also earned Burch's praise for their role in stifling Boise State's passing game. "They were locked in all week," he said. "When the ball's up in the air, 50-50, I already know our DBs are going to make a play. I wasn’t really worried. I know they had a great game."

Special teams played a significant role as well, with two return touchdowns, one of which was called back. "It was a great feeling," Burch said. "We talk about special teams all the time, you know, change the game. Tonight, we really did change the game. That really helped us to the end."

As the Ducks move into rivalry week against Oregon State, Burch is already focused on making improvements. "I’m probably staying in my gap, using my hands a little bit better," he said about areas for growth. "Whatever we made a mistake on, we’ll use that as motivation and then try to prepare for running backs coming in or us going to them."

Burch acknowledged the importance of adjustments, saying the defense’s ability to fix issues during the game kept things from getting out of hand. "We had some out-of-gaps, big runs. So we had to fix that, put that together before it got real ugly. We were able to fix that towards the end."

Looking ahead, Burch and the Ducks plan to use their hard-fought victory as a learning experience as they prepare for their next challenge.