Washington Huskies exposed in blowout loss to No. 1 Oregon Ducks
EUGENE – It only took 139 seconds for No. 1 Oregon to crush any thoughts of a Washington upset.
With 9:44 remaining in the first half, Washington kicker Grady Gross made a 41-yard field goal to pull the Huskies within one point of the nation’s top team.
Two minutes and 19 seconds later, the Huskies were trailing by two touchdowns as the same problems that have plagued them all season – poor offensive line play and porous run defense – were exposed by the Ducks time and again.
Washington was routed by rival Oregon 49-21 on a chilly Saturday night in front of 59,603 fans at Autzen Stadium , despite UW coach Jedd Fisch’s decision to start true freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr. instead of fifth-year senior Will Rogers.
The Huskies (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) completed their regular season without a road win for the first time since 2009 and saw their three-game win streak against the Ducks come to an end.
The 5-foot-11, 187-pound Williams completed 17 of 20 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 17 yards on 22 carries. He was also sacked 10 times. Senior wide receiver Giles Jackson led the Huskies with 69 yards on six catches, but junior running back Jonah Coleman was held to three yards on 11 carries, including a touchdown.
Oregon nearly doubled UW’s yardage, outgaining the Huskies 458-244 on the night.
Williams’ first drive was encouraging. He connected with Hunter for a 34-yard strike down the right sideline on the UW offense’s first snap, and helped lead the Huskies down to the Ducks 8-yard line before Washington settled for a 26-yard field goal to make it 7-3. Oregon opened the scoring with a 9-yard rushing touchdown by junior Noah Whittington.
And the Huskies had an opportunity to take the lead when Whittington fumbled on his 23-yard line, forced by UW cornerback Thaddeus Dixon and recovered by sophomore edge rusher Lance Holtzclaw. Washington went three-and-out before Gross kicked a 41-yard field goal to pull UW within one point.
That was as close as Washington got in the first half, as Oregon’s rushing attack took over. Junior running back Jordan James, who rushed for 60 yards on 10 first-half carries, scored his first touchdown with 8:13 remaining in the second quarter for the Ducks (12-0, 9-0).
On Washington’s next play from scrimmage, Williams and junior running back Jonah Coleman botched a handoff and Oregon recovered the fumble on the UW 19-yard line.
The fumble, charged to Coleman, was the first of his collegiate career. Two plays later, James was in the end zone again, extending the lead to 21-6.
The Ducks tacked on another rushing touchdown less than 3 minutes later. After a quick three-and-out by the Huskies, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel scrambled 4 yards to the end zone on a broken play.
Washington’s defensive front struggled to contain Oregon’s rushing attack for a majority of the first half. The Ducks had 105 rushing yards on 16 carries. James, Whittington and Gabriel all averaged more than 6 yards per carry in the first half, and UW’s defensive line had zero tackles for a loss.
Coleman and the Huskies finally reached the end zone with 51 seconds remaining in the first half.
The 1-yard touchdown run was the Arizona transfer’s 10th score of the season and UW entered halftime trailing 28-14.
But Gabriel and the Ducks put the game away with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter, as the Oregon quarterback hit wide senior receiver Tez Johnson from 9 yards out for his first touchdown pass.
Gabriel tacked on another score on the Ducks’ next drive, finding tight end Terrance Ferguson for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 12 minutes remaining.
The Huskies found the end zone again as Williams connected with Jackson on a 28-yard crossing route with less than 2 minutes left, but the game was well over by then.
The Huskies will find out which bowl game they play in on Dec. 8.
Top 25 scores
Michigan 13, (2) Ohio State 10
(3) Texas 17, (20) Texas A&M 7
(4) Penn State 44, Maryland 7
(5) Notre Dame 49, USC 35
(7) Tennessee 36, Vanderbilt 23
Syracuse 42, (8) Miami 38
(9) SMU 38, California 6
(10) Indiana 66, Purdue 0
(16) South Carolina 17, (12) Clemson 14
(13) Alabama 28, Auburn 14
(14) Arizona State 49, Arizona 7
(17) Iowa State 29, Kansas State 21
(21) UNLV 38, Nevada 14
(22) Illinois 38, Northwestern 28
(24) Missouri 28, Arkansas 21