Point Made: Ducks Down Dawgs

Saturday, October 13

Eugene, Ore.

12:30 PM

University of Oregon

Washington

Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto

10/13/18 | Football

Box Score Final Stats: No. 17 Oregon 30, Washington 27 (OT)Oregon Postgame Notes UO Season Stats

No. 17 Oregon scored a touchdown in overtime to beat No. 7 Washington, 30-27, before a packed house in Autzen Stadium.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — CJ Verdell ran for a touchdown in overtime and the No. 17 Oregon football team beat No. 7 Washington, 30-27, on Saturday afternoon in sold-out Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks went to overtime with a No. 7-ranked team in the country for the second time this season, but after losing to Stanford in September, they knocked off the Huskies on Saturday. Verdell capped a 29-carry, 111-yard day with his second touchdown, after the Huskies had to settle for a field goal to open overtime.

Oregon improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play. The Ducks join the Huskies and Cardinal as one-loss teams in the Pac-12 North, and play the fourth, Washington State, on the road next Saturday (4:30 p.m., FOX).

"I've been here for a lot of games," said UO quarterback Justin Herbert, a Eugene native who grew up an Oregon fan, "and I think that's probably one of the best experiences I've ever been a part of. For us to fight back like that and just not lose focus was unreal. It was great to celebrate with these guys."

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Washington missed a field goal on the final play of regulation, after UO head coach Mario Cristobal called two timeouts to ice the UW kicker. The Huskies opened overtime with a 19-yard run to the 6-yard line, but the UO defense held from there and the Huskies settled for a field goal.

In overtime, a holding call put Oregon in a third-and-11 hole, but Herbert moved the chains with a 17-yard completion to Dillon Mitchell, who continued his hot play of late with eight receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Three plays later, Verdell blew through the line for the game-winning touchdown. That ended UW's brief two-game win streak in the rivalry, and gave the Ducks 13 wins in the last 15 meetings with Washington.

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"Coach Cristobal just told us we were a downhill team, and we were gonna keep running downhill," said Verdell, whose fumble late in the loss to Stanford allowed for redemption with the winning touchdown Saturday. "I was just glad coaches put the trust in me to run the ball, and we executed it.

"Man," he added, "that hole was big."

Verdell scored the winning touchdown behind an offensive line that was without two starters injured over the course of Saturday's game, left tackle Penei Sewell and right guard Dallas Warmack. In their absence, sophomore Jacob Capra entered at guard, and Calvin Throckmorton shifted to left tackle with Brady Aiello entering at right tackle — and Verdell split blocks set by Capra and Aiello on the right side of the line to end the game.

That was the exclamation point on a game in which the Ducks generally controlled the lines of scrimmage, just as they did against Stanford three weeks earlier.

"It's third-and-six in overtime to win the game, and we run inside zone," left guard Shane Lemieux said. "That's big-time. That's a statement."

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Oregon's defense made a statement as well, keeping UW out of the end zone with the game on the line. With the game tied 24-24 in the fourth quarter, the Ducks got a stop on fourth down deep in their own territory. The Ducks had to punt the ball back to Washington with 5:05 to play, but the Huskies got no further than the 20-yard line, and settled for a field-goal attempt as time expired that was wide right.

In overtime, it was first-and-goal from the UO 6-yard line after one play. But Justin Hollins and Kaulana Apelu stacked up another run at the 3-yard line, Austin Faoliu stopped a ballcarrier for no gain and UW senior Jake Browning threw incomplete on third down.

"I love to see the defense eat like that," said UO senior Jalen Jelks, who shifted between end and linebacker throughout the game. "… I could tell everybody was locked in and ready to go. All we had to do was show up and play."

The game between two of the Pac-12 best offenses turned out to be a slugfest. The teams traded field goals to open the afternoon, and it was 10-10 after Mitchell's 12-yard touchdown reception late in the first quarter.

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The Ducks tied it up again just before halftime, at 17-17. That came on a marvelous pass and catch between Herbert, who rolled out to his left and threw a fastball into the end zone, to sophomore Jaylon Redd, who snared the bullet out of mid-air and tapped a toe inbounds before falling out of the end zone.

Again in the third quarter, the teams traded touchdowns, including Verdell's first of the game for Oregon. The offenses stalled from there, as the game turned into a heavyweight brawl. In the end, the Ducks landed the knockout blow.

"I believe this is a different type of culture we've been building around here," Mitchell said. "We're all about winning, and getting better every day"