Ground game dominates in Oregon football’s win at Arizona

Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 8, 2022

Trib’s take: Oregon football went and expelled some demons in the Arizona desert by taking down the Wildcats 49-22 in dominant fashion Saturday, Oct. 8. Quarterback Bo Nix had another impressive night, going 20 for 25 passing for 265 yards with no touchdowns and also no interceptions. But again the Auburn transfer dazzled with his feet, scoring three rushing touchdowns and putting up 70 yards on eight carries.

The past few weeks it’s been about Nix either dominating in the pass game or working the ball with his own feet, but Saturday against Arizona the full gauntlet of the ground game got in on the fun with rushers scoring all seven of the Ducks’ touchdowns.

Noah Whittington had the first touchdown of the game on a 55-yard run, followed by Moliki Matavao, Jordan James and Bucky Irving all finding the end zone. In total, the Ducks put up 306 yards rushing on only 41 carries, a 7.5 yards per carry average.

In the passing game, Nix hit 10 different receivers as well, demonstrating that his Oregon offense truly has weapons at every level. The defense was no slouch either, recovering four fumbles and hitting the Wildcats in the mouth outside of a 52-yard TD run by DJ Williams in the second quarter.

It was yet another all-around impressive performance for the No. 12 Ducks before they head into their off week. And getting the job done in a place where struggles have often emerged is potentially a continued sign of the new energy in the program under first-year head coach Dan Lanning.

Big picture: Oregon’s offense continues to show improvement and its ability to be nearly unstoppable (unless you’re Georgia, of course). The Ducks scored a touchdown on seven consecutive drives after their first ended with a punt. Two of Nix’s TD runs came as goal line dives with the seasoned Oregon O-line just being bigger and better to get the push. This Oregon offense is starting to seem like one of the most complete in the country with Nix being able to make plays, receivers who can make catches down the middle of the field and a running back room that can plow for big yardage.

Oh yes!: Pretty much the whole night for Oregon. The defense forced four turnovers, the offense scored early and often, and special teams didn’t give up anything too dramatic. Hard to ask for anything better than what the Ducks did Saturday night.

Oh no!: Sophomore defensive back Dontae Manning was called for targeting and ejected in the second quarter after making a couple big tackles earlier in the game. Since the ejection occurred in the second quarter, Manning will still be eligible in two weeks for the game with UCLA in Eugene.

Next game: UCLA at Oregon, TBD Saturday, Oct. 22.