Following a week in which there was very little palpable drama in the days leading up to Saturday’s game between 6th-ranked Oregon and Arizona, the game itself accurately reflected those vibes to a T.

Motivated by last year’s 44-15 walloping in Tucson at the hands of the Wildcats, the Ducks wasted no time jumping out to a quick lead thanks to quick-strike plays on offense, while the Oregon defense put Grant Gunnell, Khalil Tate, and the rest of Arizona’s playmakers on offense in a straight jacket en route to a 34-6 victory.

With the win, the Ducks officially clinch the Pac-12 North division title and a berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 6 where they will likely play Utah in a game that is shaping up to carry very serious College Football Playoff implications. It’s Oregon’s first berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game since 2014, when they went on to defeat Arizona 51-13 to take home the conference title and punch their ticket to the inaugural College Football Playoff.

With 10 regular season games down and two to go, WFOD examines the biggest takeaways and offers its perspective from the Ducks’ dominant win over the Wildcats.

1. Duck defense returns to form

There’s no denying that the Oregon defense lost its way a bit in mid-to-late October, surrendering 400-plus yards of total offense and 30-plus points in back-to-back games at Washington and vs. Washington State. To a smaller degree, even the USC game two weeks ago showed some residuals from those leaky defensive performances against the Huskies and Cougars. But against Arizona Saturday night, the Oregon defense experienced a welcomed return to the stifling form it had taken over the first half of the season when it was holding opposing offenses to an average 267.7 yards of total offense and less than nine points per game (8.7).

Entering the day, the Wildcats boasted the Pac-12’s second-best offense (495.8 yards/game) despite shaky play from the quarterback position, though they ran into a veritable buzzsaw against the Ducks who held Arizona to just six points and 240 yards of total offense. The dismantling of the Wildcats’ offense marked the first time since 1960 that Oregon has held six opponents to 10 points or less in a single season. Much of the Ducks’ success on the defensive side of the ball can accredited to the pressure that was being dialed up by defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, whose defense notched nine tackles for loss, including six sacks, which is the most the Oregon defense has had in a single game since their seven-sack performance vs. Cal in 2017.

2. Big time performance from Kayvon Thibodeaux

After signing as the highest-rated recruit in program history last winter, expectations were expectedly high for former five-star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux entering his first season as a Duck. But even with the sky-high projections surrounding the hopeful trajectory of Thibodeaux’s collegiate career at Oregon, it has been a remarkable thing to see the indications of that promise being fulfilled.

Case and point was Thibodeaux’s brilliantly destructive performance against the Wildcats Saturday night. Coming off a strong performance two weeks ago in which Thibodeaux was seen routinely collapsing the pocket and applying pressure in a homecoming performance of sorts at USC, Thibodeaux’s was rewarded on the stat sheet this week with three tackles for loss, including two sacks. Thibodeaux now leads the Ducks with eight tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, with five of those sacks coming in the previous six games. As Oregon continues down the final stretch of the regular season, it should stride confidently knowing that Thibodeaux appears to be emerging as perhaps the most disruptive player on defense for the Ducks.

Tough week to pick a ‘Down the Road Freakshow’ on Journey to the Draft with @fduffy3

EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux 👀

#1 player in ESPN300 last year. True freshman. pic.twitter.com/qZUUaKYcr4

— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) November 17, 2019

3. Herbert helps ignite big plays on offense

Unlike years past when the Ducks’ offense was wearing out scoreboard operators with their quick-strike offense under Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich, big plays on offense haven’t been quite as frequent under head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo. Of course, much of that has do with scheme and personnel, but it has been an adjustment nevertheless for scores of Duck fans who are used to seeing the Oregon offense score at will. Saturday, however, provided some fond flashbacks for those yearning for explosive touchdown plays.

Facing the conference’s worst passing defense, Justin Herbert didn’t hesitate one bit in taking advantage of the Wildcats through the air, kicking things off for the offense in emphatic fashion with his 73-yard pitch and catch to Johnny Johnson on the game’s second play from scrimmage. Herbert didn’t stop there, however, as the senior would connect on touchdown passes to Juwan Johnson, Spencer Webb, and Travis Dye that went for 53, 24, and 33 yards, respectively. Herbert would finish the day competing 20-of-28 passes for 333 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, as both he and the offense appear to be playing some of their best football at the most critical juncture of the season.

4. The Curious Case of Camden Lewis

This isn’t a spin-off of the Hollywood movie in which Brad Pitt ages in reverse, but it is a story that is simultaneously aging Duck fans while keeping them on the edge of their seat. In short, it has been a true adventure whenever Ducks true freshman kicker Camden Lewis has been called upon to kick an extra point or field goal this season. A rocky start to his first season as a Duck was highlighted by three straight missed field goal attempts, before giving way to five straight makes underscored by Lewis’ game-winning 26-yard attempt vs. Washington State. However, the pendulum appears to be swinging away from Lewis once again, as the Cornelius, North Carolina native had a woeful outing against the Wildcats on Saturday, missing a 20-yard field goal (his second miss from that distance this season) along with an extra point.

Kickers are notoriously unpredictable creatures, particularly collegiate ones, but Lewis’ on-again, off-again nature has to be wearing thin with Cristobal and special teams coordinator Bobby Williams. To say that Lewis’ job is in jeopardy might be a bridge too far, but it will be interesting to see if Cristobal and Williams allow for the competition that has taken place in practice between Lewis and redshirt freshman walk-on Henry Katleman to spill over into the remaining games.

5. An inconsistent all-around performance from the offensive line

As experienced and talented as Oregon’s offensive line is, at this stage in the season, it feels somewhat fair to say that this group has habit of playing both up and down to its competition. Entering Saturday, Arizona ranked last in the conference in sacks with just 10 on the season, but the Wildcats found success generating as much pressure as they have all season against the Ducks’ vaunted offensive front, notching three sacks and seven tackles for loss.

Not only that, but the Ducks also posted another fairly pedestrian day on the ground, rushing for 138 yards on 39 attempts (3.5 yards/carry) against one of the Pac-12’s least impressive units against the run. These odd fluctuations between dominant and underwhelming performances have become the norm for this ballyhooed group this season, and could be something worth paying close attention to as Oregon wraps up the regular season and prepares, in all likelihood, to face a rugged Utah front seven in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Items of note:

• Oregon is off to a 7-0 start in conference play for the first time since 2012. The Ducks are also the first Pac-12 team to start league play 7-0 since Stanford in 2015.
• The Ducks are currently on an eight-game conference win streak, their longest since winning nine straight league games between 2011 and 2012
• Oregon is outscoring opponents 357-121 (39.7-13.4) in the last nine games, including 183-41 in the second half
• The Ducks have held each opponent they’ve face to under its season average in points scored. They also pitched a shutout in the second half for the fourth time in six home games and have allowed fewer than 300 yards of total offense for the sixth time this year.
• Justin Herbert has completed 70 percent of his passes in three straight games, connecting on 62-of-84 (73.8) over that stretch
• Herbert has also moved into sixth in conference history in career touchdown passes with 91, passing Cody Kessler and Conor Halliday.
• Herbert became just the second player in Oregon history to reach 10,000 total yards for a career (Marcus Mariota) with 10,230. He also became just the second player in school history to reach 100 total touchdowns for a career (Marcus Mariota) following his third touchdown pass of the game.

Top Photo: Oregon RB Cyrus Habibi-Likio (33) celebrates a touchdown with Oregon OL Penei Sewell (58) (Jenny Rydstedt/Whole Flock of Ducks)