The Oregon Ducks had it all laid out in front of them when they woke up in Las Vegas on Friday morning. A spot in the College Football Playoff, a Heisman Trophy and the last Pac-12 Championship trophy in the sport’s history.
All they needed to do was execute. It wasn’t going to take anything that they hadn’t proven week in and week out that they could do. They just needed to play their game for four quarters and beat a solid Washington Huskies team, something many believe they were capable of.
In the end, they couldn’t. They couldn’t start hot and grab early momentum, and they were unable to get key stops late in the game when it mattered. Ultimately, they were unable to advance in what was looking more and more like a dream season that belonged in the Oregon Ducks history books.
Now, they will be left with a New Year’s Six Bowl game that will likely be played with a backup roster and a depth chart that is a shell of what it currently looks like. And they will spend another year wondering if the dream of hoisting a national championship trophy in Eugene is actually possible.
It’s a tough reality for Oregon fans to swallow, seeing that dream fade once again, but it’s not a season that should be forgotten any time soon. Here are some of my biggest takeaways from the game on Friday night, a memorable finale to the Pac-12.