College Football Roundup: Oregon made the right call on fourth down

With just over a minute and a half left in the game, Oregon had to make a decision.

The game was tied at 34 and the Ducks were facing a fourth-and-1 at their own 33-yard line.

The options were clear: Either punt the football and give Washington junior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. over a minute to get the Huskies into field goal range or go for it on the short fourth down to continue the drive.

The Ducks made their choice, but there’s some context missing here. Oregon’s stellar senior quarterback Bo Nix was out on the drive after suffering an apparent leg injury on the previous drive. The Ducks ran it three times on the current drive to set up the fourth-and-1 — another obvious running attempt if Oregon attempted to convert.

The Ducks did attempt that conversion, and had it not been for sophomore running back Noah Whittington slipping in the backfield, the Ducks would have gotten the first down. Washington scored a field goal on the next drive and secured the upset win in Eugene.

It drew a heap of scrutiny, but that decision to go for it on fourth down was the right call. It’s one of those plays where the coaches look like geniuses if they convert and look like complete fools if they come up short. But it’s a risk well worth taking.

Some will say Oregon should have punted and trusted its defense. That’s a good rule to follow for most games, but what defense did the Ducks have to trust? Washington averaged 5.2 yards per rush attempt and 11.7 yards per passing attempt.

On the drive immediately before, the Huskies drove 65 yards in 47 seconds. If Washington got the football anywhere on the field, the Huskies were going to score one way or another.

Oregon’s offense should have been just as certain to drive down the field — or at the very least gain one yard. Without Nix in the lineup, the passing game was less of a factor, but the Ducks averaged 6.1 yards per rush. You have to trust that running game and the best offensive line in the Pac-12 to break through. And, to be very clear, Whittington would have broken through.

There’s one key component that no one appears to be talking about that definitely went into Oregon’s decision to attempt the fourth down conversion: the Ducks’ loss of Nix. Nix returned on the following possession, but there were no signs he would return. If he’s out for the remainder of the game and it goes to overtime, Penix and the Huskies would annihilate the Ducks.

Coming out of high school, Oregon backup redshirt freshman quarterback Ty Thompson was expected to be the future star quarterback for a program that has had several over the years. But the coaches’ decision to have Thompson hand off the ball on all four plays of the drive shows they don’t trust Thompson with making plays in the spotlight.

If they don’t trust him with over a minute left in regulation, you’re not going to want to trust him to get the job done in overtime. Plenty of teams go for 2-point conversions late in games to take the lead when the other team is clearly better. This was Oregon’s version of that — without Nix, the Huskies are clearly better.

If you need any more convincing, ESPN’s Bill Connelly has the box score labeled here. Washington averaged 9.2 yards per play — giving that offense the ball is giving the game away.

Go for it or not, the result is likely the same either way. At least going for it keeps the ball in the hands of the side of the ball that has been reliable all season.

If only Whittington kept his footing.

“College Football Roundup” runs every Monday.