Oregon beating Washington eliminates the Pac-12 from College Football Playoff

Oregon controls their destiny in the Pac-12 after an overtime win against Washington that ends their chances of a College Football Playoff berth.

In what might be the best game we see this week in college football, No. 17 Oregon beat No. 7 Washington in overtime, 30-27 to take control of the Pac-12 North division.

The two played as evenly as you could imagine with both scoring 10 points in the first quarter and each getting one touchdown in the second and third quarters. The defenses took over in the fourth quarter where both sides failed to score.

Washington had a chance to score the only points in the fourth quarter on what would have been the game-winning field goal as time expired but the kick was no good and we got bonus football in Eugene where the Autzen Stadium crowd was ready to make the difference.

After Washington had to settle for a 22-yard field goal on their first possession, Oregon didn’t waste any time putting this one away. The Ducks scored six plays later on a six-yard touchdown run from CJ Verdell to come away victorious.

3 things we learned in Oregon’s win over Washington

1. Pac-12 is eliminated from the College Football Playoff. It was a great win for Oregon, but it was a damaging loss for the conference. The Pac-12 needed Washington to win out and beat a strong team from the South, preferably an undefeated or one-loss Colorado team for a better strength of schedule and quality wins to impress the committee members. But after their second loss of the season, there’s zero chance for Washington to get in. And no other Pac-12 teams are going to have the resume necessary to trump the other Power 5 champions, the second best team in the SEC or Notre Dame.
2. Oregon controls their destiny in the North. Oregon moved up to 2-1 in the conference, but really should be 3-0 if not for giving away the Stanford game. Nevertheless, Mario Cristobal’s team controls their fate in the division. If they win the rest of their games, they’ll be in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Not a bad feat for Cristobal in his first year on the job. The good thing is they’ve already gotten through the toughest part of their schedule. The toughest remaining opponent is at Washington State next Saturday and at Utah on Nov. 10.
3. Justin Herbert makes his case as the NFL Draft’s top quarterback. John Elway was in attendance getting an up-close look at Justin Herbert who could be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft. This was the game to see Herbert because of the strength of Washington’s defense. The Huskies entered this game ranked third in the nation in scoring defense, 16th in pass defense, with only three touchdowns allowed all year and 12th in total defense. Herbert was pretty solid, completing 18-of-32 for 200 yards and two touchdowns and zero interceptions. The win is a nice stat too.