Bo Nix's Five Touchdowns Lead Oregon to 70-14 Blowout Win Over Eastern Washington
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The Ducks won the toss and chose to defer to the second half to start off Saturday's contest. Eastern Washington got the ball to start and struggled to move their offense in the opening quarter. The Eagles totaled just 24 yards of offense and punted on three consecutive drives.
On offense the Ducks were much more effective and efficient compared to week one in Atlanta. Bo Nix looked more poised and was able to connect with Terrance Ferguson on a short pass over the middle for the first touchdown of the season.
Nix was also effective with his legs early on, taking what the defense gave him on scrambles and RPO's (run-pass options). While the Ducks rotated all four of their running backs early, Mar'Keise Irving was the feature back for much of the night with a 26-yard burst being his main highlight.
Nix continued to spread the ball around to his weapons including Moliki Matavao, Chase Cota and Troy Franklin as the Ducks moved the ball with relative ease.
Oregon led Eastern Washington 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Ducks picked up right where they left in the second, as Nix found Ferguson again, this time the ball hit off the defender's hands but Ferguson tracked it down and proceeded to bulldoze a few Eagles en route to his second touchdown of the day.
Gunner Talkington overthrew his receiver on a deep pass and Christian Gonzalez was there to haul in the first interception for the defense this season as a rough first half continued for the Eastern Washington offense.
Nix and Franklin continued to have a strong connection throughout the first half as the Ducks moved the ball with relative ease despite a few penalties. Irving ran it in from a yard out to extend Oregon's lead to 28-0 with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
Talkington and the Eagles finally got some momentum going on their fifth drive of the game after a strong return got them near midfield. Eastern Washington dink and dunked their way down the field before capping off the drive with a Jett Carpenter receiving touchdown to make it 28-7 Ducks with six minutes to go in the first half.
Nix found Cardwell for an easy touchdown on a quick wheel route out of the backfield to make it 35-7 Oregon. Troy Franklin fought through contact for another touchdown, stretching the lead to 42-7 at half. Franklin became the first Duck to record 10 or more catches in a game since Johnny Johnson III in 2019.
The beatdown continued in the second half, as Franklin and McCormick both hauled in touchdown passes as part of a strong day for Nix. Trikweze Bridges snagged an interception early in the second half and returned it to the Eastern Washington two-yard line and fumbled, but the Ducks hopped on it in the end zone for another score.
Redshirt freshman Ty Thompson made his first appearance of the season and was greeted by a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd. He lead a nine-play, 78-yard scoring drive capped off by Cardwell's second rushing touchdown of the night.
Eastern Washington scored on a Talkington pass to Freddie Roberson from 15 yards out late in the third quarter but aside from that it was a rough second half for the Eagles.
The Ducks offense eclipsed the 600 yard mark and backups, including Jay Butterfield played for a majority of the second half as Oregon went on to win 70-14 on a smoky evening in Eugene.
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