Oregon took down the visiting Cougs in a 38-24 win in their home Autzen Stadium despite WSU out-gaining the Ducks through the air 438–248 and the Cougs getting 21 first downs to the Ducks’ 20.
Offensive philosophy is a widely debated topic, whether to emphasize the ground or the pass and Oregon and WSU are perfect examples of different offensive philosophies going head-to-head.
Despite being out-gained through the air, the Ducks dominated in the running game. Out-rushing WSU 248–57, two of their running backs had more yards than the entire Cougs’ offensive unit.
Bucky Irving led the Oregon rushing attack with 15 attempts and 129 yards, scoring twice and breaking off a 43-yard run for his longest run. Jordan James was not far behind, rushing the ball 13 times for 103 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.
The primary running back for WSU attempted to run the ball just eight times, as Nakia Watson had just 20 yards on the night but did push in one of the Cougs’ TDs.
Since Mike Leach took over the program and with subsequent coaches, WSU has adopted an air-raid style offense and rarely uses the run, usually ending games with 15 or fewer rushing attempts. Oregon, on the other hand, utilizes a two-back system despite having a talented QB on their side of the ball, something their coaching staff recognizes.
Cam Ward finished the game going 24-of-48, completing 71% of his passes for 438 yards and one TD, an impressive QB rating of 154.4 proving that his performance was elite. But Oregon QB Bo Nix finished with an even higher QB rating at 196.8.
“[WSU’s] QB is a special player but so is ours,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said.
Despite playing in an offense that relies heavily on the run, Nix is a Heisman-caliber player and will remain a contender for the coveted trophy for the rest of the season.
Against WSU, he went 18-of-25, completing 72% of his passes for 293 yards and two TDs, comparable but arguably better than Ward due to his extra TD.
Oregon’s scheme relies on getting the run game going to open up the passing game. While WSU has admitted earlier this season that they wish they could get the running game going, the team commits heavily to the pass and relies on it to get their offense going.
“When you can be explosive in the run game it sets up everything for you in the passing game,” Lanning said.
A win for Oregon is a win for the pound-the-ground offensive scheme, but WSU did the air-raid offense well by putting up a fight despite their weaker showings against UCLA and Arizona. One way the Ducks separated themselves is by going 5-of-10 on third downs to the Cougs 4-of-14.
Having the offensive game available made the Cougs’ defense stay on their toes, which was evident with the Ducks finishing with nearly 2.0 more yards per play on average.
