Drive of the Week: Oregon vs Washington - Round 1

It's game week! Real college football is finally days, instead of weeks, away. For this weeks game of the week we take a look at Oregon's visit to Seattle during week 7. This one lived up to its billing, with 4 lead changes and about a half a mile of combined offense. Like most of the games we're going to focus on this year, the box score from this one might deceive you. Oregon outgained Washington in 3 of the 4 quarters from both a yardage and efficiency (yards per play) standpoint. But it was the hidden turnovers that crushed Oregon's hopes in this one. On the 9th possession of the game Oregon picked off Michael Penix Jr. at mid-field. This would be the first decision that Dan Lanning probably wanted back. Oregon took the ball down to the 3 yard line and was trailing by 4 points, but wouldn't settle for a field goal, which would have cut the lead to 1, with Oregon getting the ball first in the second half. Oregon had another failed 4th down conversion deep inside Oregon's territory in the second half. Opting for a field goal on one of these possessions would have tied the game. Settling for 3 points on both possessions would have meant victory for the Ducks. Oregon had a 3rd hidden turnover in the 4th quarter, with yet another failed 4th down conversion, giving Washington the ball near mid-field. Washington would take the lead for good 2 plays later.