Oregon Football: 3 takeaways from massive rivalry victory at Washington

Oregon football survived its rivalry game in Seattle against Washington. What did we learn as the Ducks came one step closer to the Pac-12 North title?

For most of the game at Husky Stadium, it looked like No. 25 Washington might pull off an upset against rival Oregon to revive their flagging chances in the Pac-12 North race. But the No. 12 Ducks kept pace with the Huskies throughout the game and set themselves for a late comeback in the 35-31 win.

With the victory, Oregon moved to 6-1 on the season. Beyond locking up bowl eligibility, Mario Cristobal’s team also improved to 4-0 in conference play and effectively locked up the Pac-12 North with an entire month left to play.

How pollsters will respond to the win remains to be seen, but the Ducks did claim a critical win over a ranked opponent for the first time this year. Finishing with 448 total yards against the Huskies, Oregon got it done with their offense. That was largely because a defense that was among the best in the country found itself exposed by a Washington offense that came out firing on all cylinders.

But as good as Washington was when they had the football, they ultimately could not find enough stops to keep their rival from prevailing for the second straight season. Here are three things we learned from the tense showdown in Seattle that ended with the Ducks celebrating on their rival’s home turf.