The Oregon Ducks walked into Autzen Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a good bit of machismo under their pads. The fan base was sporting a similar pride, walking tall as they entered a game against their most bitter rival. I could sense it when traversing through the parking lot tailgates, making my way to the front gates of the stadium.
There was a prideful confidence present in Eugene.
That feeling vanished rather quickly. While Dan Lanning and his squad may have entered this game against the No. 25 Washington Huskies with all of the bravado in the world, they left with a broken ego and the realization that this Oregon defense has some real issues that will likely limit how far they can go this season.
The final score read Huskies 37, Oregon 34. It was a thrilling back-and-forth game that at times felt like a heavyweight fight between two boxers landing blow after blow. In a 3rd-quarter stretch that saw 35 total points scored, Ducks and Huskies swapped touchdowns of 46, 29, 76, 67, and 62-yards.
Let me make that point again: that all happened in the third quarter, alone.
In the end, this game left Oregon with a broken path to the College Football Playoff and zero room for error when it comes to the Pac-12 Championship. On the other side, it gave the Huskies new life, and opened a door for them to get down to Las Vegas in December.
Here are our biggest takeaways from the game: