How Oregon mashed Washington out of the Playoff in OT

Mario Cristobal got what he wanted with a big rivalry win.

With two losses, the Washington Huskies are out of the Playoff race. To blame is hated rival Oregon Ducks, who won in overtime 30-27.

Washington’s been the class of the Pac-12 for much of the last few years, but this year, it’s felt precarious. This Husky team hasn’t exactly been dominant in league play, and lost to Auburn in Week 1.

And in Week 7, the Huskies got beaten at their own game when it counted.

This is the type of game you’d expect from Washington and Stanford, but it’s clear that Mario Cristobal is building a bully in Eugene. This is not the Oregon team that got tagged as a finesse outfit for years. These guys can really fight, and they went toe-to-toe with the Huskies all day.

In regulation, it came down to this 37-yard field goal.

It missed, and we got free football at Autzen Stadium.

The difference between the teams was then very stark.

On third-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Washington ran a fade to the back of the end zone that was incomplete.

Oregon got the ball, and had the same scenario. They did this:

In a way, the play blends the old and new perceptions of Oregon’s program. The jet sweep action from the perimeter gets UW’s defenders flowing in the wrong direction, then the Ducks hit ‘em right up the middle to score.

Washington’s Playoff hopes were always precarious anyway.

The Huskies backed themselves into a corner with the loss to Auburn. We thought it was the biggest game of Week 1, or at least the one that would most reliably have a bearing on the Playoff race by season’s end unlike last year’s FSU-Alabama mega opener. Instead, we got a clunky season opener that may have actually been indicative of what the two teams really are.

But either way, Auburn’s an above average football team at best, the Auburn L isn’t a good one. Now it doesn’t matter.

As it stands now, the Pac-12’s Playoff hopes rest with Colorado and Oregon.