Comeback! Ducks Defeat Dawgs, 35-31

Saturday, October 19

Seattle, Wash.

12:30 PM

University of Oregon

6-1 , 4-0

Washington

5-3 , 2-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oregon

Washington

Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto

10/19/19 | Football

Box Score FINAL STATS - #12 Oregon 35, #25 Washington 31 Oregon Postgame Notes

Oregon rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the second half to win Saturday at Washington.

By: Rob Moseley

SEATTLE — Trailing by two touchdowns early in the second half, the No. 12 Oregon football team came all the way back and beat No. 25 Washington on Saturday, 35-31, before a sold-out Husky Stadium crowd.

The Ducks (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12) moved to a more ball-control offense in the second half and brought more pressure defensively as well, tilting momentum. They remain the only unbeaten team in Pac-12 Conference play, two games ahead of Oregon State in the North Division.

"Words cannot describe how proud we are of them," UO coach Mario Cristobal said. "We never gave up."

Jaylon Redd scored his second touchdown of the day with 5:10 left Saturday, giving Oregon its first lead since scoring the opening touchdown of the game. Washington drove into UO territory, but a sack by Popo Aumavae put the Huskies in a third-and-long situation, and two plays later an incompletion on fourth down clinched it for the Ducks.

Washington had the ball for 7:48 of the fourth quarter but managed only 52 yards on three possessions. Early on, the Huskies had success attacking the perimeters of the UO defense. But that changed in the fourth quarter.

"They closed it out," Cristobal said. "They really did. They just rose to the occasion."

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Justin Herbert and the UO offense also finished on a high note, with the senior finishing 24-of-38 for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Herbert had an up-and-down first half but he completed six of his last seven passes in the game, including touchdowns to Mycah Pittman and Redd that completed the comeback.

The Ducks looked to stretch the field from the outset, on a day of surprisingly mild weather. For the most part the weather remained dry, but the Ducks began to call plays as if it were driving rain, with offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo adjusting to a shorter passing game and a rushing attack fueled by the power of Cyrus Habibi-Likio.

"When we started doing that in the second half, it worked out well," Cristobal said.

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Habibi-Likio rushed 14 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, reaching the end zone to get Oregon within 28-21 in the third quarter. After Washington kicked a field goal to go up by 10, the Ducks looked to respond again, something Cristobal was so intent upon doing that, on fourth-and-one from the UO 34-yard line, they eschewed a punt and went for it.

Habibi-Likio got the necessary yard and more, rushing eight yards. Two plays later he hurdled a UW defender on a 15-yard run, and four plays after that the Ducks went for it on fourth down again, scoring on a screen pass that Pittman turned into a 36-yard touchdown.

"He's a big guy," Cristobal said of Habibi-Likio. "But I don't think people realized how agile he is."

After Pittman's touchdown, the UO defense got a three-and-out to open the fourth quarter. The Ducks ended up punting it back to the Huskies, but Oregon's defense coaxed another three-and-out, setting the stage for Redd's go-ahead touchdown.

That was Oregon's first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Spencer Webb, helping fill in for injured senior tight end Jacob Breeland, made it 7-0 with a touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. But Washington rallied with two straight touchdowns to lead 14-7.

The Ducks tied it 14-14 on Redd's first touchdown. But Washington went up 21-14 just before halftime, then scored again to open the second half. The situation for Oregon was dire. But the Ducks didn't flinch, and remained unbeaten in conference play this season.