Record-Setting Day Yields 10th Win

Saturday, November 18

Tempe, Ariz.

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

10-1 , 7-1

Arizona State

3-8 , 2-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oregon

Arizona St.

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

11/18/23 | Football

Box Score FINAL STATS: Oregon 49, Arizona State 13 POSTGAME NOTES: Oregon 49, Arizona State 13 Sign Up For Our Weekly Email Newsletter, "Flock Talk"Photo Gallery

Multiple Ducks set UO records as the No. 6 Oregon football team improved to 10-1 with a 49-13 win Saturday at Arizona State.

By: Rob Moseley

TEMPE, Ariz. — Oregon football's record book will require several rewrites after Saturday's performance at Arizona State. And the Ducks kept themselves on track to write even more history for themselves as this season continues.

Troy Franklin set multiple UO single-season receiving records, Camden Lewis became the program's all-time leading scorer and Bo Nix tied the school record with six touchdown passes — all in the first half — as the No. 6 Ducks beat Arizona State, 49-13, before 44,741 fans at Mountain America Stadium. Oregon's defense pitched a first-half shutout as the Ducks took a 42-0 lead into halftime, before getting extensive playing time for their rotation players.

The Ducks (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12) have at least 10 wins in their first 11 games for the sixth time in program history. They remained on track to earn a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game and in the race for a College Football Playoff berth, entering Friday's regular-season finale against Oregon State at Autzen Stadium.

"We talk about playing to our standard; I think the first half was the definition of our standard," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "… Big day for our guys. But I know how hungry they are for the next one, and that's the most important one."

Nix burnished his Heisman Trophy credentials by going 24-of-29 for 404 yards and six touchdowns — more scoring passes than incompletions. His 35 passing touchdowns this season trail only Marcus Mariota's 42 from his own Heisman season of 2014, and Nix is up to 64 touchdown passes in his UO career, trailing only Mariota, Justin Herbert and Darron Thomas.

"It feels awesome," Nix said. "It's a complete team win. We played really good on offense — protected great, ran the ball early, and our receivers just did what they do every week."

Franklin caught eight passes for 128 yards and two scores — all in the first half — to set UO single-season records for receiving yards (1,221), touchdowns (13) and 100-yard games (seven). Lewis kicked seven extra points to give him 386 points in his career, surpassing the record held by Royce Freeman.

"It feels pretty good," Franklin said of setting multiple records. "I think it just shows the work, and the production I'm putting out there. It's pretty cool for sure."

Facing former UO offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, now the head coach at ASU, Oregon's defense dealt with an array of Wildcat and swinging gate formations. The Sun Devils played both a running back and a tight end at quarterback, where they've been beset by injuries, yet the UO defense adapted to the exotic looks and pitched a shutout in the first half.

Oregon's offense, meanwhile, had touchdowns on each of its six first-half drives — all of them passes by Nix. The first two were to tight end Patrick Herbert, the next two were to Franklin, and the last two were to Gary Bryant Jr. and Tez Johnson. Nix played one series in the second half and appeared to have thrown his school-record seventh touchdown of the day, but offensive pass interference was called on the play.

"Obviously I have an opinion on our quarterback," Lanning said. "But it's pretty hard to say that he's not the best quarterback in the nation."

Ty Thompson led the Ducks to their final touchdown of the day, a 19-yard reception by tight end Casey Kelly in the fourth quarter. Bucky Irving rushed for 63 yards, surpassing 1,000 for the season.

The Ducks rotated liberally as the game wore on, and freshman defensive back Cole Martin tied for the team lead with five tackles; he also had an interception late in the second quarter to preserve the first-half shutout. Bryce Boettcher also had five tackles, and Dontae Manning broke up three passes.

"I think we're playing at a very high level," Nix said. "Defensively we're playing really good — we're tackling in the open field, putting pressure on the quarterback, we're mixing looks up. We're playing good in the secondary with balls in the air, and forcing turnovers. And then special teams, we're changing the game, doing what we're supposed to do, executing. And then offensively, you know, we just do what we do."

The game was the second in a row in which a comfortable Oregon win ended with the Ducks being outscored in the fourth quarter. They're still searching for that elusive 60-minute performance of elite execution, although they ended Saturday's game with just five penalties, addressing a season-long area of concern.

All of that unfolded before a crowd heavy on Oregon fans, particularly in the second half when the Ducks had the game in hand.

"I felt like it was Eugene South down here today," Lanning said. "Our fans were absolutely incredible. I saw so much green in the stands, it fired me up. Glad we were able to put together a great performance for them."