“The tougher it gets, the harder we play!”

Those were the words reverberating off the walls inside a raucous visitors’ locker room within the bowels of Husky Stadium Saturday afternoon, as the 12th-ranked Ducks overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to earn an exhilarating 35-31 victory over the 25th-ranked Washington Huskies.

The words also couldn’t have been any more emblematic of Oregon’s mentality after finding themselves in the deepest hole they’ve faced all season.

Considering the stakes, the elements, and the environment surrounding the game, Saturday’s win over this program’s most hated rival undoubtedly counts as the biggest, most impactful win of Mario Cristobal’s head coaching career, as well as Justin Herbert’s playing career. Quite a statement to be sure following the Ducks’ narrow 30-27 overtime victory over what was then a top 10 team in Washington roughly a year ago. Yet, there’s something to be said about the way in which Oregon earned a victory that all but assures the Ducks of the Pac-12 North title with six weeks to go in the regular season.

Now 6-1 with a 4-0 record in conference play, WFOD takes a closer look at the biggest takeaways stemming from Oregon’s inspiring comeback win over Washington.

1. Give the Oregon offensive line the game ball

In a game that was billed as a battle between two teams led by two stellar quarterbacks and two outstanding, veteran-laded offensive lines, Oregon proved to be the team that simply made more plays when it mattered the most. And much of that had to do with the play of the Ducks’ vaunted offensive line. Following a first half in which Oregon got off to a quick start with an impressive 12-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to tight end Spencer Webb, the Ducks’ offense bogged down. In fact, following the opening touchdown drive, Oregon would muster just 20 yards on the ensuing four possessions, each of which ended in a punt. A 16-yard touchdown from Herbert to wide receiver Jaylon Redd would knot the game up at 14 a piece with just under three minutes remaining in the half, but the Ducks would go in to halftime saddled with a seven-point deficit and just 46 yards on the ground.

The second half, however, proved to be a different story. Though the Ducks would go down 28-14 following a quick Washington scoring drive, they never panicked. Instead Cristobal and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo put together a brilliant and poised offensive game plan that put the game on the offensive line’s shoulders. On the ground, running lanes started opening for sophomore running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio and Travis Dye, who combined to rush for 108 yards in the second half to pace three critical scoring drives. Through the air, the big fellas in the trenches provided Herbert with a remarkably clean pocket, allowing the senior quarterback to play efficiently as he completely 71.4 percent of his passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns after halftime. They allowed only three tackles for loss the entire contest and surrendered no sacks, proving Saturday that they are definitively one of best position groups in the entire country.

2. Despite a shaky overall performance, Justin Herbert displayed a steady hand down the stretch

Despite what the stat line might say, Saturday was far from Justin Herbert’s finest performance as a Duck. His first half, in particular, was especially rocky. Following Oregon’s touchdown drive to open the game in which Herbert was 6-for-6 for 56 yards including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Webb, the senior would go on to complete just 8-of-19 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, with Redd doing most of the work on a 16-yard screen for the score.

Frankly, Herbert’s first half was the kind of performance that validated many of the questions that have surrounded the Eugene native with regard to his ability to rise to the occasion and lead his team in the biggest moments in the biggest games. And while Herbert’s second half performance didn’t do everything to silence those questions completely, he certainly hushed them to a notable degree by executing an efficient and well-conceived offensive game plan by Marcus Arroyo that saw him confidently lead the Ducks to three second half touchdowns, bringing Oregon back from a gloomy 14-point deficit in the third quarter. Herbert would finish the day completing 24-of-38 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns in a win that will deservingly go down as the biggest on his résumé to date, but Oregon will need sharper overall performances from its quarterback as it continues its hopeful march to a Pac-12 title.

Mycah Pittman ALL THE WAY🚨

Oregon (-2.5) pulls within 3!pic.twitter.com/Xt5GyXzaup

— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) October 19, 2019

3. This was not the defense’s day

After mowing down the vast majority of its competition through six games, it’s safe to say that Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos and the Oregon defense received a bit of an education in Saturday’s win over Washington. Despite entering the day with one of the nation’s best pass defenses, Huskies quarterback Jacob Eason played arguably the best game of his collegiate career, completing 23-of-30 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns in a losing effort. Combine that with the outstanding game on the ground from Washington running back Salvon Ahmed who rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries, and the Ducks surrendered more than 146 yards over their season average (267.7 yards/game) in this contest. To the unit’s credit, they were at their best in critical moments, allowing just two first downs in the fourth quarter and forcing two three-and-outs on three drives in the final frame. The Ducks also held the Huskies to just 3-of-13 on third down conversion opportunities in the game, and have now allowed opponents to convert on just 34 percent of third down tries this season.

4. In the win, the Ducks displayed tremendous resilience

Beyond the stats and the scoreboard, Saturday’s victory represented the clearance of another important mental hurdle for this team under the guidance of Mario Cristobal. Last season, the Ducks were all too often the team that played tight and without confidence when the chips were down. The heartbreaking loss to Stanford, the failed road trips at Washington State, Arizona, and Utah, and even the loss to open the season vs. Auburn stand out as shining examples of this team’s inability to come through in pressure situations. Against Washington, however, this group proved to itself, scores of Duck fans, and the rest of the college football watching nation that this is a team that is maturing before our very eyes. Not long ago, a 14-point deficit would have all but ended this team’s hopes of mounting a comeback and winning a game. However, in the biggest litmus test of the year in which the Ducks faced their fair share of headwind, they fought their way back and found a way to get the job done, perhaps instilling a new brand of confidence that will serve as a hallmark for this team both in the weeks and years to come.

5. Oregon’s path to San Francisco gets a whole lot clearer

Don’t look now, but with their victory over Washington, the Ducks have all but punched their ticket to the Pac-12 Championship Game in Santa Clara with a month and a half of season left to play. Head-to-head wins over Stanford, Cal, and Washington gives Oregon the tiebreaker over all three teams should the Ducks lose three games between now and their season finale vs. Oregon State. The Beavers, who picked up a surprising win on the road at Cal on Saturday, sit two games behind the Ducks, but are 3-4 on the season and have notable difficult games at home vs. Washington and Arizona State and on the road at Oregon.

Of course, nothing is full-on guaranteed for the Ducks at this point, especially considering what lies before them over the next several weeks. Next up is a dangerous Washington State team which has defeated Oregon in the last four meetings between the two teams. After that, another tough game on the road against one of the most talented teams on paper in the conference in USC. The Ducks get a week off after their trip to Los Angeles, but have home games vs. Arizona and Oregon State sandwiched around a daunting road trip to Tempe to play a tough Arizona State team which has given the Ducks absolute fits each of the past two seasons. Saturday’s win no doubt makes things virtually academic for the Ducks and their hopes landing in the Pac-12 Championship Game, but there’s still considerable work to be done if Oregon hopes to position themselves for a New Year’s Six bowl game or perhaps even a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Items of note:

• The Ducks are off to a 4-0 start in Pac-12 play for the first time since 2013. They are also the first Pac-12 team to start league play 4-0 since Stanford in 2017, and are on a six-game winning streak for the first time since 2015.
• Oregon has won 14 of the last 16 meetings with Washington, including six of the last seven in Husky Stadium
• The 14-point deficit the Ducks overcame marks Oregon’s largest second-half comeback win since 2008 at Purdue
• All five of Johnny Johnson’s receptions resulted in a first down vs. the Huskies. His 90 receiving yards in the game gives him 389 for the year, the most he’s had in a season in his Oregon career.
• Jaylon Redd has a touchdown reception in six straight games, which is currently tied for the longest streak in the FBS. He’s also the first Oregon player to catch a touchdown in six straight games since Jeff Maehl in 2010.
• Cyrus Habibi-Likio set a career-high in rushing for the third straight game, finishing with 81 yards. All 81 of his yards against Washington came in the second half.

Top Photo: Sean Michael Meagher (The Oregonian)