Are you still with us?

Have you stopped nervously rocking back and forth in your lucky game day spot?

Have you stopped holding your breath?

Has your heart rate returned to a healthy level?

If you answered “no” to any, or all, of these questions, we totally get it. What was witnessed Saturday night in Autzen Stadium was the kind of heart-pounding, nerve-wracking, gray hair-inducing action that both shaves years off the lives of football fans and makes college football one of the most irrational addictions known to mankind.

The final score of Oregon’s Week 9 tilt vs. Washington State will read: Ducks 37, Cougars 35, yet the narrow margin of victory doesn’t really do justice to how tightly contested this game was. Oregon dodged a bullet, escaped by the skin of their teeth, won by the hair of their chinny-chin-chin…use whatever turn of phrase you like, there’s a good chance that it accurately encapsulates the way Duck fans feel in the aftermath of this game.

It was a game that will not only be known for the insane emotional toll it took on coaches, players, and fans of both teams, but also for a couple of impressive streaks that fell by the wayside. Oregon has snapped its four-game losing skid to Washington State, though it comes at the expense of Justin Herbert’s 35-game streak with a touchdown pass, which ended Saturday.

Herbert and Duck fans, however, will gladly trade the latter for the former, as Oregon moves to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play, keeping their improving chances for a berth in the College Football Playoff alive with Week 9 officially in the books. WFOD breaks it all down, as we take a closer look at Oregon’s thrilling last-second win over Washington State.

1. CJ Verdell turns in the performance of a lifetime

Aside from maybe Camden Lewis (more on him in a bit), no one player was more integral to Oregon’s win over Washington State than CJ Verdell. A dropped screen pass from Herbert late in the fourth quarter that could have put the game on ice not withstanding, Verdell was simply brilliant for the Ducks on Saturday night. How brilliant? Try 313 yards from scrimmage, which included a career-high 257 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 23 carries. His rushing total ranks tied for fourth most all-time in school history and the most by a Duck in Autzen Stadium history.

Prior to Oregon’s bye week between the game at Stanford and the Ducks’ Pac-12 home opener vs. Cal, Verdell and the Oregon offensive line had drawn some fair criticism for their lackluster performance on the ground through the first four games of the season. Since then, however, both parties have emerged in impressive ways. The offensive line has paved the way for an offense that is averaging 225.5 yards on the ground since the bye week, while Verdell has averaged 130.5 yards per contest during that span, highlighted by 171 yards vs. Colorado and Saturday’s monster effort against the Cougars. Verdell has now rushed for 753 yards on the year (averaging 6.7 yards/carry) and is currently on pace to eclipse the 1,018-yard mark he rushed for last year.

2. All hail Camden Lewis!

It has been anything but a cake walk for Camden Lewis in his freshman season as the Ducks starting placekicker. The start of his Oregon career got off to a rocky start in the season opener vs. Auburn, as his first attempt – a 20-yard try – went wide right, setting a tone for missed opportunities that would go on to haunt the Ducks in that game. Unfortunately for Lewis, things hadn’t improved much from there, as Lewis entered Saturday’s game just 2-of-5 on field goal attempts this season. In fact, Saturday’s game got off to a bit of an inauspicious start for the Charlotte native, as Lewis missed his first extra point attempt of the season following Verdell’s 89-yard touchdown run to give the Ducks a 9-3 lead in the first quarter.

Yet, to his credit, when the chips were down and his team needed him the most, Lewis delivered in impressive fashion. Not only did the freshman calmly convert the game-winning 26-yard field goal, but he would finish the game 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts, adding conversions from 40 and 30 yards out. It’s difficult to say whether his performance will mark the beginning of a definitive turnaround for the freshman, but a game like the one Lewis had Saturday certainly can’t hurt the confidence of a young player who has had his fair share of low moments in the early going.

It’s up…it’s good! @LewisCamden calls game for @OregonFootball. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/XVePUWxAXZ

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) October 27, 2019

3. Another strange performance from Justin Herbert

For the second week in a row, Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert was largely outplayed by the opposing quarterback. Last week, despite displaying a cool hand in the second half at Washington, Herbert was out-dueled by Huskies quarterback Jacob Eason, who looked more like the hot shot future first-round NFL draft pick than Herbert. On Saturday, you could have made a similar argument for Washington State’s Anthony Gordon, who despite the two interceptions thrown, was the catalyst for the Cougars, as he finished the game completing 64% of his pass attempts (32-of-50) for 406 yards and three touchdowns.

In Herbert’s defense, the Ducks did focus much of their attention on Verdell and the run game in an attempt to limit the number of possessions the potent Washington State offense would receive. Yet, there’s no questioning the fact that Herbert was fairly lackluster throughout Saturday’s contest, as he often exhibited poor pocket awareness (sacked three times) in addition to being stunningly inaccurate on a handful of throws that a potential top draft choice should make. He would shine on Oregon’s game-winning drive, going 4-of-4 for 52 yards – including two terrific connections with wide receiver Juwan Johnson, who had a breakout performance with four catches for 64 yards Saturday – but was all in all a player who failed to cement himself as head and shoulders the best quarterback in this game. With a monumental game at USC coming up next Saturday, critical eyes will be on Herbert once again as he goes head-to-head with a potential up-and-coming star in Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis.

4. Duck defense struggles for a second week in a row

In back-to-back weeks vs. the Washington schools, the Oregon defense has produced back-to-back shaky performances that have nearly cost the Ducks the game. Through six games this season, the Oregon defense performed as if they were a rising juggernaut on the national stage, ranking among the nation’s best in a number of major statistical categories. After the last two weeks, however, it’s fair to wonder if the Ducks were simply the beneficiary of being able to feast on largely inept offenses over the first half of the year. For a second straight week, the Oregon defense surrendered 30 or more points and more than 400 yards of total offense; an unsettling trend considering the Ducks head out on the road next week to face a dangerous USC team that possesses some of the best offensive talent on paper in the conference. It’s worth noting that two of the biggest plays in Saturday’s game vs. Washington State came courtesy of the defense, as Verone McKinley’s interception and Jevon Holland’s pick six in the second quarter were critical turning points in this game. But make no mistake, defensive coordinator Andy Avalos will need much better overall performances from his group if the Ducks are to continue their winning ways in Pac-12 play.

5. Oregon now finds itself squarely in the race for the College Football Playoff

Sometimes all it takes is one week to completely change the potential outlook of a season, and perhaps no other team in the nation understands that more than Oregon right now. Not only did the Ducks escape with a win over Washington State that preserves their hopes to land in the College Football Playoff, but losses by no. 5 Oklahoma, no. 8 Notre Dame, and no. 9 Auburn all but guarantees that the Ducks will be residing in the top 10 of the national polls as they head into Week 10. Oregon entered this week ranked no. 11 in both the AP and Coaches’ polls and should rise to no lower than eighth in either poll once the new rankings are announced Sunday. 

During the Chip Kelly era and the early portion of Mark Helfrich’s tenure in Eugene, the idea of competing for a national title was an expectation for the Ducks. However, this is officially uncharted waters for this program under the direction of Mario Cristobal. The road certainly won’t be easy for Oregon over the next several weeks, as two of their toughest remaining games take place away from the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium, beginning next Saturday at USC. Though an argument could also be made that the Ducks may be in the most enviable position of any team in the projected top eight, as each of the presumed teams ahead of them in the polls (excluding Clemson) will play each other between now and the end of the regular season. Either way, the road will be difficult to navigate, particularly if the Ducks have another performance like they did Saturday night vs. Washington State. For now though, Oregon essentially controls its own destiny, which is far more than what Duck fans could have asked for only a week ago.

Items of note:

• Oregon is off to a 5-0 start in Pac-12 play for the first time since 2013. They are also on a seven-game conference winning streak for the first time since 2014.
• The Ducks have come away with an interception in 14 of the last 17 games, including multiple in seven games over that stretch. The defense also held Washington State to 1-for-9 on third down conversions, and have held opponents to just 4-for-22 (18.1 percent) on third downs in the last two games.
• The Oregon offense was 8-for-10 on third down conversions in the second half vs. Washington State
• CJ Verdell’s 257 yards rushing vs. Washington State is the third-best rushing performance in the FBS this season. He’s one of just two players in the FBS this season to rush for over 250 yards and three touchdowns in a game this year. Verdell is also the first Oregon player to rush for over 200 yards since Royce Freeman in 2016, and is the first Oregon player to run for over 200 yards and three touchdowns since Kenjon Barner in 2012.
• Verdell is one of eight FBS players – only in Pac-12 – with 170+ yards rushing in two games this season. His 89-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the fourth-longest run in program history and was also the longest offensive play by Oregon since 2012.
• Jevon Holland became the 15th different Duck to score a touchdown with his 19-yard pick six in the second quarter. The pick six was the first of his career and the first for the Ducks since Thomas Graham returned an interception for a touchdown against Oregon State last year. Holland now has nine career interceptions in 21 games.
• Camden Lewis’ 26-yard go-ahead game-winning field goal was the first go-ahead game-winning field goal for Oregon since 2005, when Paul Martinez made a 19-yarder to win at Washington State. Lewis has now connected on his last five field goal attempts dating back to the win over Cal.

Top Photo: Oregon kicker Camden Lewis (Oregon Athletics)