For the first time since 2014, the Oregon Ducks are winners of 10 regular season games and are now 14-1 inside Autzen Stadium under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal following Saturday’s 24-10 win over Oregon State.

That’s the good, as Oregon will have a shorter than normal turnaround period before preparing for Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game in Santa Clara vs. Utah.

Beyond that, and the weather cooperating on a frigid afternoon in Eugene, there wasn’t much to be excited about if you’re repping the green and yellow. Offensive ineptitude and second half miscues helped keep the Beavers, who were without quarterback Jake Luton after he was a late scratch due to injury, well within striking distance after Oregon went into halftime holding what felt like a solid 17-3 advantage.

The Ducks would put the finishing touches on a game that was growing tenser by the minute after Brady Breeze recovered a fumble by Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson, giving Oregon the ball on the OSU 27-yard line with 2:22 left to play. Three plays later, Cyrus Habibi-Likio sealed the win his 20-yard touchdown run.

No matter how sleepy and sloppy the action on the field was, a win is a win if you’re an Oregon fan, but as the Ducks embark on a critical week of preparation with a conference title and a Rose Bowl berth at stake, it’s clear this team has serious strides to make if they’re to call themselves “Pac-12 Champs” by this time next Saturday. With the 123rd Civil War in the books, WFOD offers up its biggest takeaways from Oregon’s third straight Civil War victory over Oregon State.

1. Oregon’s offense goes missing for a second straight week

After performing like a group that was beginning to hit its stride through the midway point of the season, the Ducks’ offense has been plagued with inconsistency since coming out of their bye three weeks ago. However, the past two weeks, in particular, have seen Oregon’s offense bog down to a crippling degree. Against Arizona State, the Ducks we unable to find their groove until midway through the fourth quarter when faced with a daunting 24-7 deficit, though their spirited comeback bid in Tempe would ultimately fall short. Against Oregon State on Saturday, you can argue that Oregon’s performance was even more disheartening considering both the eventual output and the quality of opponent the Ducks were facing on defense.

Entering the day, the Beavers were ranked ninth the Pac-12 in total defense (453.0 yards/game), and tenth in both scoring defense (33.3 points/game) and opponent third down conversion percentage (46.50). By the time the game was over, Oregon State had posted one of its most complete defensive efforts of the season, holding the Ducks to just 365 yards of total offense, 24 points, and a paltry 3-for-14 (21.43%) on third down attempts. The galling thing if you were a Duck fan watching this game was the fact that Oregon failed time and time again to put together sustained drives that ended with the Ducks putting points on the board. Even with the distinct advantage of having average starting field position beginning on their own 46-yard line, the Oregon offense managed just 17 points, as they had just five drives of five plays or more. Only one of those drives garnered points for the Ducks, as their 16-play, 56-yard drive on their opening possession resulted in a 32-yard field goal from Camden Lewis. From that point forward, and not counting Mykael Wright’s 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the Ducks had eight of 10 offensive possessions end in either a punt or a turnover. Using Cristobal’s words from his postgame press conference, the offense’s performance Saturday was simply “not good enough.”

2. Another surprisingly subpar outing from Justin Herbert

“Where’s Justin Herbert and what did you do to him?” These were words that fell from my mouth, to no one in particular, from my living room, after witnessing his performance Saturday afternoon vs. the rival Beavers. For as good as Herbert has been throughout the year, he has also had some frustrating, if not borderline maddening, stretches of inconsistent play in a number of games this season. That was exemplified in last week’s loss at Arizona State, as Herbert endured one of the least inspiring outings of his career before nearly leading the Ducks to a miraculous fourth quarter comeback. The hope was that was just an outlier game for the potential first round pick in next year’s NFL draft, but as Saturday’s game showed, it appeared as if Herbert’s Senior Day performance was more so an extension of the lackluster play seen vs. the Sun Devils.

In his final game inside Autzen Stadium, Herbert completed just 18-of-30 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown, as his final showing against the Beavers was more so underscored by overthrows and short-hopped screen passes than it was high-level NFL play from the pocket. The weather may have had something to do with disappointing effort, as the cold temperatures didn’t make matters any easier for pass catchers responsible for hauling in Herbert’s pacey throws, but the conditions were dry and certainly not extreme enough to explain away the quarterback’s obvious shortcomings Saturday. With a huge matchup vs. Utah in Pac-12 Championship Game looming, Herbert has to be significantly better than he’s been the previous two weeks for Oregon to have any shot at taking home the win.

3. Critical miscues hamper potential scoring opportunities

Compounding the inefficient play on offense were a pair of notable miscues that were directly responsible for erasing scoring chances for the Ducks. The first came midway through the third quarter when Oregon true freshman kicker Camden Lewis badly missed a 24-yard field goal that would have extended the Ducks’ lead to 20-3. The miss marked the fourth time this season that Lewis has missed a field goal between 20 and 29 yards out, continuing a mystifying trend that has all but sapped the confidence that had been building for the freshman since just before his game-winning kick vs. Washington State a little over a month ago.

The other mishap occurred in the fourth quarter as the Ducks were deep in Oregon State territory primed to slam the door on a potential comeback bid by the Beavers. Instead, a swing pass to wide receiver Jaylon Redd ended with a fumble careening off an end zone pylon resulting in a touchback that gave Oregon State the ball on their own 20. The play was eerily reminiscent of Redd’s goal line foible that prevented a touchdown vs. Stanford last season, which also occurred in the same area of the field. Oddly enough, that corner of the end zone was also the site of another infamous touchback when Cameron Colvin’s costly fumble through the back of the end zone handed Cal a narrow victory over the Ducks in 2007. Fortunately for Oregon, Redd’s fumble vs. the Beavers on Saturday didn’t lead to heartbreaking defeat, but it was an unnerving moment nonetheless in a game that didn’t offer much in the way of momentum for either side.

This @CarsonBooyJay21 touchdown that was called back reminded me a lot of the Cameron Colvin play against Cal in 2007. Obviously different situations for both games, but very similar play. pic.twitter.com/U5j7J19d8w

— Ethan Wyss (@WyssEthan22) December 1, 2019

4. More brilliance from Mykael Wright

Similar to the way Jevon Holland made a splash as a true freshman last season, the early portion of Mykael Wright’s career appears to be following the same kind of playmaking trajectory. Though Wright hasn’t had the same kind of game-changing plays on defense that Holland had a year ago, the former four-star recruit has had a tremendous impact on special teams where he’s gotten a chance to showcase his ability as a bona fide difference maker. The most recent example came in the first quarter Saturday when Wright provided the play of the game with his 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown which came immediately after the Beavers had tied the game at 3-3. Wright’s touchdown Saturday may not have been the momentum changing play that he provided with his 100-yard kickoff return for a score at USC, but it certainly demonstrated the kind of playmaking prowess that should make the Antelope Valley (Calif.) native an absolute joy to watch in the years to come.

Turn on the jets baby! 🛩@_mykael2 got the party started for @oregonfootball with this 9️⃣8️⃣-yard kickoff return and helped the Ducks earn a gritty 24-10 victory on Senior Day at Autzen. pic.twitter.com/Xyxu8AQEcQ

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) December 1, 2019

5. Full attention can now be turned Utah

It certainly hasn’t been the smoothest finish to the regular season for the Ducks, as the last two weeks have raised far more questions than answers with this team after they reeled off nine straight wins between the season opener vs. Auburn and last weekend’s debacle at Arizona State. For much of the past several weeks, the Ducks have known with relative certainty that they would be in Santa Clara representing the Pac-12 North in Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game. And while Oregon coaches and players would never openly admit that they’ve looked ahead to this game, the late season fade has seemingly suggested that the team has had waning focus building to this moment in the season. But now that that moment is here, and Utah is locked in as the opponent this Ducks will face for the Pac-12 title, those in and around the Oregon program can speak freely about the impending matchup with the Utes.

With a win, Utah will secure their first Pac-12 Championship in program history plus a potential berth in the College Football Playoff. For Oregon, a win would give the Ducks their first conference title and first Rose Bowl berth since 2014, providing Mario Cristobal with the validation and momentum he needs to continue winning big on the recruiting trail as Oregon remakes itself in a post-Chip Kelly/Mark Helfrich world. As big as the season opener vs. Auburn was, Friday undoubtedly serves as the measuring stick moment that fans of Oregon football have been pining for since Helfrich’s ouster in 2016.

Items of note:

• Oregon has won 10 straight games at home for the first time since a 10-game stretch between 2013 and 2014. In the process, Oregon has also clinched its eighth unbeaten season at Autzen Stadium.
• Mario Cristobal is the fourth head coach in school history to win 10 games in a season
• The Ducks have won 11 of the last 12 meetings with Oregon State, including six in a row at Autzen Stadium
• The Oregon defense has allowed just three touchdowns in 44 second half drives at home. They have also given up just 2.8 yards per rush and two touchdowns on the ground at home this year.
• The Ducks have held 11 of its 12 opponents under their season scoring average. Oregon State averaged 33.1 points per game coming into Saturday’s game.
• Mykael Wright joined De’Anthony Thomas (2011) and Jonathan Stewart (2005) as the only players in Oregon history (all freshmen) to run two kickoff returns back for touchdowns in a season and the first since 2011. Wright is also the first Pac-12 player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a season since 2016.
• With his sack Saturday, Kayvon Thibodeaux matched a program freshman record with 6.5 sacks on the season, tying Troy Dye’s 2016 mark
• Justin Herbert finishes his Oregon career throwing a program-record 54 touchdowns passes at Autzen Stadium

Top Photo: Ducks players leap into the crowd before the start of the game. (DL Young/Emerald)