Oregon’s second-year coach made a reckless decision by going for it on fourth down near midfield with two minutes left.
It says something that the fourth-largest comeback in conference history — Stanford’s 29-point, triple-overtime rally to slay Colorado — wasn’t the most compelling game of the weekend.The first meeting of the bitter rivals when both were ranked in the top 10 carried Pac-12 championship, College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy stakes — plus a visit by ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ and dozens of NFL scouts. And it more than met the occasion.The two heavyweights were at the top of their games.
Instead of playing it safe, Lanning played it recklessly. Quarterback Bo Nix’s fourth-down pass was incomplete, the Huskies took charge near midfield, and Penix, supercharged after the change of possession, ripped off a two-play touchdown drive to give UW a 36-33 lead. Combine the short field goals that he didn’t try Saturday afternoon with the short field he gave the Huskies and you have a 13-point swing in a three-point game.His comments after last year’s loss: “This game 100 percent falls on me.”Lanning’s wayward decisions aside, the outcome impacts Oregon more than Washington.
If the Pac-12’s goal is to maximize options for sending a team to the playoff, then the right team won Saturday in Seattle. Had the Huskies lost today, with that rugged road schedule awaiting, then the endgame would look like two-loss UW against no-loss Oregon. Under that scenario, a playoff berth would be anything but guaranteed.To this point, we have only mentioned Washington and Oregon as playoff contenders because, well, that’s the extent of the Pac-12’s uppermost tier.
Unless Lincoln Riley finds a new offensive line and an entirely different defense, the Trojans have no chance to win all five and the conference championship. A second loss is inevitable. And a third might be, as well.The Pac-12 has two other one-loss teams, Utah and Oregon State, but the Hotline is wary of declaring either a legitimate CFP contender.
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