DSC Inside Read: 3-2-1 Look back at Washington win, ahead to CFP

 

Today in the 3–2–1: Oregon didn’t just beat Washington; it survived a rivalry rock fight on the road, punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff, and showed exactly the kind of profile that wins in December. The Ducks controlled the game almost wire-to-wire, leaned on defense and special teams, and trusted a young quarterback to make grown-man throws in the biggest moments. With the first-round CFP game locked in at Autzen on the weekend of Dec. 19–20 — and the opponent still unknown until Tuesday, Dec. 2 after the conference title games — this win is both a statement and a blueprint.

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3 Things We Learned

1. Oregon can win a CFP-style rock fight without its run game

On paper, this is not the offensive box score you’d expect from a team that has bullied people on the ground all season:

• 42 rushes for 106 yards (2.5 yards per carry)

• Longest run: 17 yards

• Only one rushing TD, on a short Dante Moore keeper

Washington loaded the box all night, firing corners and backers off the edge and daring Oregon’s banged-up offensive line to move people. For long stretches, they couldn’t. Short-yardage was a grind. The failed fourth-and-1 late — when Moore probably scores if he keeps the ball — was a perfect snapshot of how clogged the trenches were.

But here’s the part that looks a lot more like a playoff team:

• Dante Moore: 20-of-29, 286 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

• Explosives through the air: 41-yard shot to Jeremiah McClellan, 31-yarder to Jamari Johnson, 64-yard dagger to Malik Benson

• Time of possession: 34:23 to Washington’s 25:02

Advanced grading backs up what the eye test screamed all night: Oregon’s pass protection and quarterback play were borderline elite. Moore graded out as one of the highest-impact players on the field — calm in the pocket, efficient on early downs, and ruthless on the handful of third-and-longs that could have cracked the game open in either direction. The offense wasn’t pretty, but it was situationally ruthless, especially through the middle of the field.

That middle of the field became the pressure point Washington couldn’t solve. The Huskies sold out to erase Kenyon Sadiq, bracketing him and forcing him into a quiet night statistically, but that just opened lanes for other problems:

• Benson: 5 catches, 102 yards, game-sealing 64-yard TD

• McClellan: 3 for 78, including bombs of 41 and 35 yards

• Johnson: 3 for 60 and the crucial 31-yarder to start the second half

Internal grades have that trio — Benson, McClellan and Johnson — all in the upper tier for offensive impact, reflecting not just yardage but down-and-distance leverage. Those weren’t empty yards; they were drive-defining plays.

Moore’s own words mirror what the tape shows. On the Benson touchdown, he talked about reading the disguise and trusting his guy:

“On that snap, it was a shot called… I knew I had numbers backside. And Malik, knowing he’s going to get his depth, he’s going to be a playmaker with the ball in his hands — I just had to find a way to give it to him.”

The Ducks spent most of the night living in that tension: a run game stuck in mud, a line just good enough in protection, and a quarterback who kept choosing the right answer. That’s playoff football: when Plan A (bully ball) stalls, you have to be able to win with Plan B against a defense that knows you’re shorthanded.

Oregon did exactly that.

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2. This defense is built for December football

Demond Williams is the kind of quarterback who ruins game plans, particularly in a rivalry game at home. He’s slippery, he’s creative, and he can make you wrong even when you’ve called the right thing.

Oregon held him to this:

• Passing: 15-of-30, 129 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

• Rushing: 10 carries, 27 yards

• Sack-adjusted yards per attempt: a meager 3.2

And they did it without completely erasing Washington’s run game; Adam Mohammed got loose for 14 carries, 105 yards, plus a big kick return. Oregon’s front paid a price to keep Williams in check, but it was a price Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi were clearly willing to pay.

This was a rush-and-cage clinic:

• Four sacks, six TFLs, and nearly constant pressure

• Long completions limited; Washington’s passing explosives were rare and hard-earned

• Success on passing downs tilted heavily Oregon’s way, especially as the game tightened

Advanced grading reflects a defensive effort that was both physical and disciplined. On film and on the grade sheet, several names jump off:

• Teitum Tuioti: one of the highest front-seven impact players — 1.5 sacks, 2 TFLs, multiple pressures, and the late sack that helped push Washington into desperation mode.

• Dillon Thieneman: seven tackles, a sack, a TFL, and the game-sealing interception — plus strong marks in both coverage and run support.

• Bryce Boettcher: team-high 10 tackles and multiple pressures; his all-around grade reflects a guy involved in everything from spy responsibilities to edge setting.

• Jadon Canady & Brandon Finney: strong coverage metrics; Canady’s goal-line interception and late pass breakups were exactly the kind of “don’t blink” moments that flip rivalry games.

• Nasir Wyatt & Blake Purchase: graded well as edge disruptors, even when they didn’t finish with sacks — Wyatt’s early blindside blitz set the tone, and Purchase’s work on the edge reduced Williams’ clean escape lanes.

Lanning put it simply:

“We talked about this game was gonna come down to takeaways… and we limited the explosives.”

That’s exactly what the numbers say: Washington hit some chunk plays, but Oregon owned the deep third and forced everything to be methodical. Twice, when the Huskies finally put together long drives, the Ducks answered with either a takeaway (Canady at the goal line, Thieneman at the end) or a four-down stand that left Washington inches short.

Boettcher framed the mindset:

“That was our number one ‘must’ — caging him… at the end of the day, we did a good enough job of caging him and DT was a big part of that, and our D-line did great.”

For December, that matters. Playoff games are decided by defenses that can:

1. Limit explosives

2. Rush with discipline

3. Tackle in space

4. Win critical fourth quarters

Oregon just checked all four boxes on the road in a rivalry game with a playoff berth at stake.

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3. Special teams isn’t just solid anymore — it’s a weapon

You don’t often win a rivalry game where your only first-half touchdown is a QB sneak and everything else is three points at a time.

Unless you have this kind of kicking game.

Atticus Sappington:

• 4-for-4 on field goals: 46, 32, 37, 51 yards

• Career-long 51-yarder in a hostile environment

• Accounted for 12 of Oregon’s 26 points

The advanced chart on this game might as well have a third column labeled “Sappington.” By both impact and grading, he was one of the most valuable players on the field. Each of those kicks stretched the score just enough to keep Washington chasing the game instead of dictating it.

Lanning didn’t hide his appreciation:

“Our kicker obviously played outstanding, four kicks in a tough place to kick. He’s been really solid for us down the stretch.”

Sappington’s own process is as calm as his results:

“I start far back because it’s an optical illusion… and then I’m just breathing the entire time… Iowa was a great game and I’m super blessed I was able to deliver in that moment, but… ‘next-kick mentality.’”

He hit the career-long 51-yarder like a guy who’d been there before — and now, he has.

And it wasn’t just him:

• James Ferguson-Reynolds flipped the field with three punts at a 43.3-yard average, pinning Washington inside the 20 once and never giving them a cheap short field.

• Coverage units held up, limiting return damage outside Mohammed’s one big kickoff.

• Malik Benson added hidden yardage as a punt returner and, more importantly, never put the ball at risk.

Internally, Oregon’s specialists have consistently graded above average all season; this game nudged them into “clear advantage in a playoff game” territory. In December, when margins shrink, having a kicker you can trust from 50+ and a punter who can erase bad field position is the difference between surviving a sluggish offensive night and going home.

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2 Questions for the College Football Playoff

1. Can the run game and offensive line get back to their November standard?

The Ducks have been mauled by injuries up front for weeks, and this game was another “how many can go?” situation:

• Poncho Laloulu

• Isaiah World

• Alex Harkey

All battled through midweek uncertainty just to be available. The grades reflect the reality: pass protection was good to very good; run blocking was not. Oregon’s sack-adjusted rushing average (2.9 yards per attempt) and power success (1-for-5) tell you everything about why this became a field-goal game.

That’s the first big question going into the CFP:

• Can this line get healthy and cohesive by Dec. 19–20?

• Can Oregon return to the version of itself that finishes drives on the ground instead of asking Sappington to rescue red-zone stalls?

The good news: the Ducks now have a built-in recovery window. They won’t play a conference title game. They’ll spend the next few weeks rehabbing, repping new combinations, and self-scouting their short-yardage packages.

Lanning knows they have to be better:

“They did a good job of limiting our run game, which is something that showed up. We gotta be able to run it in tough situations…”

In a playoff opener at Autzen, against an opponent they won’t even know until Tuesday, Dec. 2, Oregon will need both versions of its offense — the efficient aerial attack and the hammer. This game proved they can survive with one. The playoff will demand both.

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2. What does this offense look like when the skill group is whole?

Quietly, this might be the scariest question in the bracket.

Oregon just put up 392 yards and 26 points on the road with:

• A run game stuck in neutral

• Their top tight end minimized by a dedicated coverage plan

• A receiving corps that’s still not at full strength overall

Even with that, the advanced efficiency numbers are strong: Moore’s passing-grade equivalent is among the best single-game marks of his season, Benson graded as a clear impact receiver, and both Johnson and McClellan rated as high-leverage playmakers.

Now layer in the “what if” that Malik Benson hinted at:

“There’s definitely more to achieve. And it’s gonna be real scary once we get all of our guys back… I feel bad for whoever we’ve gotta play.”

The question isn’t whether Oregon can move the ball; we just watched them do it against a defense selling out to stop the run. The real question is what the ceiling looks like when the wide receiver room is fully stocked, the tight end room is fully weaponized, and the run game is something more than functional.

From a playoff lens, you can see two possible offensive identities:

1. Ball-control assassin: Long drives, high third-down efficiency, leaning on Moore’s decision-making and short-to-intermediate accuracy.

2. Track meet generator: Pushing tempo, flooding the field with healthy speed, and unleashing the downfield portion of the playbook that we’ve only seen in flashes the last month.

This Washington game leaned heavily into version No. 1 out of necessity. The playoff may demand a blend of both.

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1 Big Prediction

When the bracket is announced on Tuesday, Dec. 2, Oregon will be the home team nobody wants to see — and whoever draws Autzen on the weekend of Dec. 19–20 is going to inherit a problem, not an opportunity.

This win at Husky Stadium was more than a rivalry payoff. It was a proof of concept:

• Oregon can win when the run game isn’t there.

• Oregon can suffocate a dual-threat quarterback without busting in the back end.

• Oregon’s special teams can tilt the scoreboard on a night when the offense settles.

• And Oregon’s best players — Moore, Benson, Thieneman, Boettcher, Tuioti, Sappington — play their best when the stakes are highest.

Lanning told his team before the game:

“History is great, but we gotta write some history today.”

They did. Now they get three weeks to rest, recalibrate, and load up for the first home playoff game in program history.

The opponent is still a mystery. The identity isn’t. This game in Seattle just made it clear: Oregon is built for December.