GO DUCKS!

Halftime Score: Huskies 21 - Ducks 14

1ST QUARTER: Travis Dye kneed the opening kickoff to start this rainy game in Seattle. CJ Verdell picked up four yards out of the pistol to start the game. He then picked up a first down on a swing pass. Another quick pass from Justin Herbert appeared to gain big yards for Jaylon Redd, however, it was correctly ruled that his knee hit the ground on the catch after adjusting to a underthrown ball.

Verdell reclaimed five yards on a playaction pass before Myles Bryant was able to take him down, A successfully read rpo had Johnny Johnson III for 11 yards, then Verdell ran for back-to-back carries for seven yards. Oregon completed a 23-yard pass to Brenden Schooler and at the 11:23 mark Coach Cristobal called his first timeout, on the Washington 36 with a fresh set of downs.

The ball flew through the hands and over the head of Herbert, who was somehow able to collect the ball and regain a lot of yards before sliding. But a boneheaded late hit by Asa Turner put the Ducks at the 11. Verdell nearly picked up the first down on his next carry, but the play after that Oregon moved ten yards back due to a holding call on Dallas Warmack.

And on the next play, Herbert connected with Spencer Webb who pushed his way forward for a 12-yard touchdown.

Ducks 7 - Huskies 0

washington attempted to trick the Ducks by having a player lay down in the end zone and pop up for a wide open pass by Aaron Fuller who caught the kickoff, but the refs reminded Chris Petersen that was illegal, and the Huskies were called for unsportsmanlike conduct and the ball was re-kicked for a touchback.

Starting at his own 25, Jacob Eason completed a 6-yard pass to Puka Nacua, then Salvon Ahmed picked up the first down with a 7-yard run. Kamari Pleasant straight dropped a short pass, then Ahmed nearly fumbled the toss on his next carry, and after that was only able to gain three of the 14 necessary to keep the drive alive.

On the Ducks’ next drive, Redd and Verdell had a couple of plays combine for three total yards, then an off throw led to Oregon’s first three-and-out. Oregon’s Blake Maimone had an uncharacteristic bad punt due to another high snap resulting in washington fielding the ball midfield.

The Huskies evened the score with a 13-play, 52-yard drive that lasted over five minutes and basically finished the first quarter. Ahmed carried the ball six times for 37 yards, which opened a few more options for Eason in the passing game.

Two times washington went for it on fourth and short, both were successful; the first was by inches as Eason was able to fight for the first on a QB sneak, the second was a 9-yard speed option on 4th-and-1 in which Troy Dye had a surprising missed tackle, which led to a Ahmed score.

Huskies 7 - Ducks 7

Troy Dye was seen on the sideline as staff attempted to wipe blood from his uniform seemingly due to an injury to his right hand. The Ducks ran one more play in the first quarter after a touchback: a Verdell 1-yard loss.

2ND QUARTER: The Ducks were not able to convert after coming back from break. Incompletions to Brenden Schooler then Mycah Pittman resulted in a 49-yard Maimone punt and a big hit from Daewood Davis on the washington 27.

The Huskies needed only four plays to score their second touchdown: an 11-yard pass to Otton, a 12-yard run by Admed followed by a 2-yard run, then a 48-yard touchdown pass setup by playaction. Thomas Graham Jr was able to get a hand on the ball as the two came tumbling down into the end zone, but Jordan Chin was able to bring in an impressive catch for his first career score.

Huskies 14 - Ducks 7

After starting 6 for 6, Herbert went 0 for 6 after leading the offense to their third straight three-and-out. Incompletions to Johnson III, Redd, and Pittman killed the drive. The next Huskies drive seemed to be another highly successful one before another high snap emerged, this time on the washington side. A 23-yard pickup by Hunter Bryant started the drive, but on 3rd-and-7 on the Oregon 44 the snap flew back and was recovered by Eason for a loss of 19 yards.

The Ducks earned their first 1st down of the second quarter with 9:13 left in the half after a 12-yard pass to Redd, but after a 1-yard Dye run back-to-back incompletions ended the drive.

Cameron Davis had his first carries, picking up seven yards to start the drive. Davis almost had the first down on the next play but washington was called for holding. On 2nd-and-13, Eason attempted a pass to Nacua that was defended by a couple of defensive backs. Unfortunately, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir was injured on the play and taken out of the game, Dye also saw some more time on the sideline seemingly due to his right arm. And on 3rd-and-9, a busted play involving two Huskies receivers running to the same spot of the field led to an incompletion.

Verdell was able to re-establish the run on Oregon’s next drive which helped the Ducks drive down the field in an 8-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. A couple of successful Verdell carries opened the drive which gave Herbert a manageable 3rd-and-2. A 17-yard pass to Johnson III gave the Ducks some much needed momentum, and two plays later another cpass to the receiver picked up 13 more.

Verdell’s next carry was good for the first down, and his carry after that put Oregon in the red zone. And on 2nd-and-8, Herbert threw his second touchdown of the day, a 16-yard completion to Redd.

Ducks 14 - Huskies 14

The final washington drive of the opening half started with a false start but found a good amount of success driving down the field despite the early blunder. Eason hit his last six passes of the first half for a combined 62 yards. After a perfect 27-yard pass to Hunter Bryant put the Huskies at the Oregon 5, the Ducks were too slow to fall into formation and Andre Baccellia was able to easily score.

Huskies 21 - Ducks 14

Oregon attempted to replicate washington’s late-half drive, but fell short. A Herbert pass to Johnson III picked up 29 yards despite the quarterback taking a big hit from Bryant, but ultimately the 34-yard-plus hail mary completely missed Pittman in the corner of the end zone.

-END OF HALF-

Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports