— Former Oregon athletic director and current booster Pat Kilkenny appeared on John Canzano’s radio show on Monday to talk about the current state of Oregon football. He dismissed rumors that Phil Knight would pay $10 million for a new head coach, but didn’t elaborate on his opinion of head coach Mark Helfrich’s status for next season.

— Oregon men’s basketball climbed to No. 4 in Monday’s AP Poll, marking the highest ranking the team has attained in school history. The Ducks jumped from No. 5 after the Kansas Jayhawks lost their season-opener to Indiana on Nov. 11.

— The Ducks play their first road game on Tuesday at Baylor. The Register-Guard’s Steve Mims wrote about the game’s implications for the No. 4 Ducks.

— While much hype surrounds the Oregon men’s team early in the season, the Ducks are still playing without arguably their best player, junior forward Dillon Brooks. Brooks sustained a foot injury during the offseason and has yet to play in Oregon’s first two games. There still isn’t a clear timetable for his return. With Brooks supporting Oregon from the sideline, the Ducks are adapting to life without their preseason All-American.

— Oregon tennis duo Cormac Clissold and Thomas Laurent delivered a dominant performance at the Ducks’ only home meet of the fall last weekend. Clissold and Laurent placed first in the doubles bracket and Laurent went on to win the singles bracket.

— Following Oregon women’s basketball’s season-opening win over Lamar, Sabrina Ionescu, the highest ranked recruit in program history, detailed how her father Dan plans to attend many Duck games this year. He drove eight hours on Sunday morning to catch his daughter’s first collegiate game.

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

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On the same day a former Oregon prep standout dismantled the Ducks’ offense, a current high school star passed on Oregon’s scholarship offer and committed to a rival school.

As a whole, Saturday was a disastrous day for Oregon football as the Ducks suffered a 52-27 loss to rival Stanford that dropped their overall record to 3-7 and assured they will miss out on a bowl game for the first time since 2004.

The day was made difficult by the fact a pair of former recruits from Portland who now play for Stanford held large roles in the loss. It got worse at halftime when 4-star recruit Elijah Molden, who was thought to be leaning toward Oregon, committed to the University of Washington.

Saturday’s loss highlighted some costly recruiting misses from past years but was also an indicator that Oregon could be stuck in this spot for a while due to its inability to secure in-state recruits.

Stanford linebacker Joey Alfieri, a former 4-star prospect from Jesuit High School, intercepted Justin Herbert twice during Stanford’s blowout victory and finished the game with three tackles.

There was a certain amount of irony to Alfieri’s performance: He played arguably the best game of his college career in his home state while facing two high school teammates. He also said the pair of interceptions were his first at any level since he played against Sheldon his junior year of high school, when Justin Herbert was the backup quarterback.

“It’s weird playing against guys you used to play with,” Alfieri said. “It’s kind of a funny experience, but I definitely had a good time and I’m glad we got the win.”

Between Alfieri’s two interceptions, Molden, a 4-star cornerback from West Linn High School in Portland, announced via Twitter that he committed to Washington.

GO DAWGS! pic.twitter.com/cGkbdvucmj

— Elijah Molden (@e_molden1) November 12, 2016

Molden, one of the top prospects in one of the deepest in-state recruiting classes in recent memory, is the son of former Oregon All-American Alex Molden. It was long believed he would choose Oregon when it came time to commit.

That wasn’t the case, and Oregon has now missed out on the top three in-state recruits for the class of 2017. The Ducks are being out-recruited in their own backyard by conference foes at a time when local talent is at an all-time high. As Andrew Nemec of the Oregonian noted, Oregon coaches may have a false perception of how coveted of a destination the program is.

The Ducks’ recent recruiting struggles have been well-documented this season, and it wasn’t just Alfieri who reminded the Ducks of what could have been on Saturday. Cameron Scarlett, a speedy running back who was the No. 2 prospect in the state of Oregon for the class of 2015 at Central Catholic High School, ran for 68 yards and scored a touchdown in a backup role.

Scarlett and Alfieri both had positive things to say about Oregon afterward. Oregon defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux, who played with Alfieri at Jesuit, said the two are best friends, but he never tried to convince the linebacker to flip to Oregon.

“It was great,” Scarlett said. “It’s always great to be back in my home state, and I got an opportunity to play at Autzen, which has been a goal for my whole life and I made the most of it.

“It’s great playing with Joey; Joey was out here balling and I was just happy to be here.”

While Scarlett and Alfieri celebrated on the Autzen turf, it was Oregon’s own in-state players who were left to deal with the reality that their postseason chances for the year are over.

“We’ve just got to focus on what’s next,” Mondeaux said. “We can’t dwell on the past and we’ve just got to learn from it. We’re gonna try to do that.”

Oregon’s past came back to haunt it on Saturday, and if Molden’s decision was any indicator, Oregon may be tasked with facing the state’s best homegrown talent for a long time to come.

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney

The post Recruiting mistakes both past and present showed up to haunt Oregon on Saturday appeared first on Emerald Media.

One of Oregon’s main concerns entering its matchup with Stanford was finding a way to stop superstar all-purpose back Christian McCaffrey. So far, the Ducks have yet to find a solution.

McCaffrey broke loose for a 61-yard rushing touchdown less than three minutes into the game, and since then Oregon has been at the mercy of the Cardinal offense. Stanford scored on four consecutive drives following McCaffrey’s touchdown.

Key Plays:

— Stanford lined up in its jumbo package on its second possession, and McCaffrey ran around the right side on the second play of the drive and went 61 yards untouched to give the Cardinal a 7-0 lead.

— After forcing on Oregon punt, the Cardinal went to work on their next drive and covered 47 yards on five plays before McCaffrey punched in a 5-yard touchdown, his second of the game, to give Stanford a 14-0 lead.

— Stanford took to the air on the following possession. Sophomore wideout J.J. Arcega-Whiteside broke free down the right sideline, and Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst found him over the top for a 61-yard score to give Stanford a 21-0 lead.

— Oregon finally answered back near the end of the first quarter when Justin Herbert found Johnny Mundt on a 10-yard curl route, and Mundt broke a tackle and rumbled for a 41-yard score. The tight end’s fourth touchdown of the year cut the Stanford deficit to 21-6 after Oregon failed to convert the ensuing two-point attempt.

— With five minutes left in the half, Royce Freeman broke off a 37-yard run down the right sideline, and scored on the following play to cut the deficit to 31-13. At that point, Stanford was averaging 8.7 yards per rush, compared to Oregon’s 4.8.

Stats:

Oregon passing

Justin Herbert: 13-for-18, 190 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception

Stanford Passing

Keller Chryst: 13-for-16, 189 yards, 2 touchdowns

Oregon rushing

Royce Freeman: 89 yards on 15 carries, 1 touchdown

Stanford rushing

Christian McCaffrey: 131 yards, 3 touchdowns on 14 attempts

Oregon receiving

Pharaoh Brown: 78 yards on five catches with a long of 27

Stanford receiving

JJ Arcega-Whiteside: 106 yards on four catches, 1 touchdown

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This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be for Stanford or Oregon.

Two teams historically perched at the top of the Pac-12 standings, the Cardinal (6-3) and Ducks (3-6) each earned top-25 preseason rankings at the start of the year. Both teams were expected to contend for conference titles as per usual.

But things have been anything but ordinary out west this fall. The two teams that have captured the Pac-12 crown each of the past seven seasons are both all but eliminated from title contention with three games remaining on the teams’ respective schedules.

A game that would normally hold national title implications and draw primetime coverage, Saturday’s matchup between Stanford and Oregon has been relegated to a 1 p.m. kickoff time, which will mean very little in the grand scheme of things this year. Washington (9-0, 6-0) has become the bully of the Pac-12 North, while Oregon and Stanford are each fighting to save face amid similarly disastrous seasons.

“The records don’t matter,” Stanford coach David Shaw told the Mercury News. “These are two proud football programs. We’ve had some exciting games the past few years. There were some great players in those games, and there will be some great players in this year’s game.”

For all the differences that have hindered the two teams this year, Oregon and Stanford each carry several key similarities. Both teams’ passing offenses rank near the bottom of the conference as both have struggled to protect their quarterbacks. Both teams boasted a Heisman candidate at the start of the year who has seen their production decline from last year: Royce Freeman for Oregon, and Christian McCaffrey for Stanford.

Freeman and McCaffrey have each battled injuries this season. While McCaffrey still ranks seventh nationally in total yards, he hasn’t been the unstoppable force that many expected him to be. Freeman has rushed for just 86 yards in his last three games and saw his playing time take a hit last weekend.

McCaffrey has started to return to form over the past two weeks and is still the Stanford player that Oregon is most worried about heading into Saturday’s matchup.

“We know number five [McCaffrey] is the guy,” Oregon defensive line coach Ron Aiken told reporters on Tuesday. “They’re going to get the ball to him either by handing the ball off to him in the backfield, or putting him out at receiver and throwing the ball to him.”

Lack of production from respective star players has not been the primary issue for Oregon or Stanford, though. Oregon’s defensive struggles are no secret, and the Ducks’ inability to stop the run was further demonstrated by USC last weekend.

Stanford has been hindered by inconsistent play at the quarterback position. Keller Chryst, a 6-foot-5 junior, recently took over as Stanford’s starter but still has yet to solidify the position for the Cardinals.

“We’ve just got to make sure that when the opportunity presents itself, we can get after the quarterback and get him to the ground,” Aiken said. “The guy is big; he’s not a 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback. He’s, what, 235? 240? So he’s a big quarterback. We’ve got to maintain rush lanes.”

When Oregon and Stanford take the field on Saturday, the Ducks will be fighting to remain bowl-eligible, while the Cardinals attempt to keep their head above water in the Pac-12 standings. For the first time in recent memory, an Oregon-Stanford game will carry very little levity and won’t have any implications in the Pac-12 title race.

“This team right now needs to step up and improve, and compete like heck every single day.” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said of his Oregon team on Tuesday. “[Stanford] is playing a lot better than they have earlier in the year.”

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After weeks of speculation as to whether or not he was healthy, Oregon announced on Tuesday that defensive lineman Canton Kaumatule has accepted a medical hardship and his career with the Ducks is over.

The former 5-star recruit missed multiple games with a concussion during the 2015 season and sat out Oregon’s three most recent games after seeing scarce playing time early in the year. UO initially announced that Kaumatule had taken a medical redshirt, but a UO spokesperson later clarified that the situation is a medical hardship, meaning Kaumatule can no longer play at Oregon.

Head coach Mark Helfrich confirmed Kaumatule’s medical retirement and said that he will remain on scholarship at Oregon, but no will no longer be a part of the football team. Kaumatule’s scholarship will not count toward the Ducks’ 85-man roster.

If Kaumatule wishes, he has the option to transfer and attempt to get medically cleared to play at another school.

The 6-foot-7, 295-pound sophomore came to Oregon as one of more highly-touted recruits in program history. ESPN ranked Kaumatule as the No. 15 player in the nation for the class of 2015, making him the highest-ranked recruit the Ducks had signed since the website began compiling rankings in 2006.

“I would say, based on our doctors as far as clearing him for our program, he is done playing football,” Oregon defensive line coach Ron Aiken told reporters on Tuesday.

“Based on what I understand, he came to the conclusion this week,” Aiken later stated. “After a lengthy talk with his parents, the head football coach, doctors and trainers, the decision was made.”

Oregon fans expected big things from Kaumatule as soon as he arrived on campus, but he suffered a concussion early in fall camp last year and was never completely healthy after that. When this year’s fall camp began, Kaumatule was optimistic about the new year and chance to play in a 4-3 defense that better suited his skills and capabilities.

But the production never came for the Honolulu, Hawaii-native. He recorded just five tackles during his career and was unable to crack Oregon’s two-deep rotation for much of the year, when it wasn’t always clear if he was playing healthy.

“I would say, with him, it’s just an ability to stay focused on the task at hand,” Aiken said in October when asked why Kaumatule had seen limited playing time. “Handle that, and then the next play, get ready after the primary play is over with — if that makes any sense. One play at a time.”

Kaumatule is the second Oregon defensive linemen this year to take a medical retirement. Ratu Mafileo had to medically retire as well in mid-October.

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While Dana Altman and a pair of Oregon players addressed a large crowd of reporters following the Ducks’ season-opening victory Monday night, Northwest Christian coach Luke Jackson stood outside the visiting locker room in the bowels of Matthew Knight Arena. With just two reporters there to listen, the former Oregon star threw an endless stream of compliments at the team that had just trounced his squad 86-51.

He talked about how bright the future is for Oregon and stated that the Ducks have the best group of big men in the country. He couldn’t stop raving about the maturity of Payton Pritchard, going as far to say that the Oregon freshman will play in a final four during his career. He said this current Oregon team is better and deeper than the “Luke-and-Luke” team that garnered a No. 9 preseason ranking in 2003.

Despite the lopsided margin, Jackson said all this with a smile on his face.

The hometown kid who grew up just eight miles from Eugene and eventually became one of the top players in Oregon history has been around plenty of success at the collegiate level. Now in his fourth year coaching at Northwest Christian, he knows better than anybody that his Beacon team is on the same rapidly-rising trajectory as the No. 5 Ducks.

“There’s been a good culture with some of the leaders on our team,” Jackson said. “And it’s fun to be a part of those guys and the building of what they’re doing. Just like Oregon’s got a tremendous upside, I think we’ve got a tremendous upside.”

Oregon is one of the most athletically-talented teams in the country and took hold of Monday’s game right away. Chris Boucher scored nine points in the first five minutes, and with six minutes left in the first half the Ducks had opened up a 32-6 lead. Oregon shot 58 percent from the field and scored at will inside the paint.

The second half was a different story. Oregon outscored the Beacons just 36-33 in the final 20 minutes, and Northwest Christian connected on more field goals than Oregon did in the half. Beacon freshman center Kylor Kelly tallied nine points and three boards in the second half and gave Oregon’s loaded front line all it could handle.

“We were just really lackadaisical there in the second half,” Altman said. “Got the big lead in the first half, and I’m just really disappointed we didn’t use that second 20 minutes to our advantage to get better.”

Monday’s game was never a close contest, but it didn’t need to be for Jackson to see that plenty of progress has been made since he took over the program in 2013.

“If this team played Dana Altman during his second or third year [at Oregon,] I think we would really compete with them,” Jackson said. “But we’re obviously outmatched. I think the future is bright for us this year and I’m excited to see where we’ll go.”

During Jackson’s first year with the school, the Beacons finished 18-14 and fourth in their conference. By last season, they improved to 28-7 and reached the second round of the NAIA Division II national championship.

This year’s team may be even more talented.  The Beacons boast a combination of size and skill that is rare to see at the NAIA level. They feature a strong collection of big men who hail from in-state schools. The gem of Jackson’s group of posts is Kelley, a raw, athletic 7-footer whom Jackson believes could be every bit as good as Boucher. 

“He’s very raw and he’s got a ton of natural ability,” Jackson said of Kelley. “I just tell him not to back down; he doesn’t need to be scared of anybody. He’s going to develop into just as good of a player [as Boucher] in my opinion.”

Now 12 years removed from his own collegiate playing career, Jackson has found a second life in the sport of basketball after injuries hindered a promising NBA career. Oregon’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer now spends his days trying to take things he learns from other coaches and apply the lessons to his team.

“I get the same enjoyment out of coaching as I did playing,” Jackson said. “I get the same nervousness coaching that I did when I was playing. For me to be able to help them achieve their goals and be a part of something bigger than themselves is something that’s rewarding for me.”

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There is a distinct possibility that for the first time since 1998, both Oregon and USC could finish outside the AP top-25 in the same season. Two programs that have dominated the conference for nearly two decades are each making a late-season scramble to save face as bowl season approaches.

Oregon (3-5, 1-4) won its first conference matchup of the season last weekend while the Trojans (5-3, 4-2) have won four straight games since the start of October. Both teams have taken a step in the right direction recently, and for each program, much of that newfound success can be attributed to freshman quarterbacks. Oregon’s Justin Herbert and USC’s Sam Darnold will have plenty of weapons to work with this weekend in Los Angeles.

Here are the players to watch when USC and Oregon face off on Saturday:

USC

JuJu Smith-Schuster — Wide Receiver

After verbally committing to Oregon late in the 2014 recruiting process, JuJu Smith-Schuster spurned the Ducks on signing day and chose instead to sign with the Trojans. Since then, he has been one of the most productive players in college football and is expected to be one of the first five wide receivers taken in the upcoming NFL Draft. Smith-Schuster can score in a multitude of ways, and has caught eight touchdowns this season — tied for fifth-most in the nation. He got off to a bit of a slow start, but since Darnold took over at quarterback on Sept. 23, Smith-Schuster has averaged 106 yards per game and looked completely unstoppable.

Adoree’ Jackson — Cornerback/Special Teams

Adoree’ Jackson spent last year proving he is one of the best overall athletes in the country in any sport. He earned first team all-Pac-12 honors during the 2015 season while splitting time at cornerback and wide receiver, and he was the only player nationally to accumulate at least 400 yards receiving, 600 in kickoff returns, 200 in punt returns and 30 tackles. If that weren’t enough, he competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene last summer in the long jump. Jackson has already picked off two passes this season and has returned a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown. He is expected to be one of the first cornerbacks off the board in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Oregon 

Tony Brooks-James — Running Back

Brooks-James has been a breakout force for the Ducks over the past two weeks and ran for 132 yards on just nine carries last Saturday. Just 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, Brooks-James is beginning to remind Oregon fans of LaMichael James — he even got a shoutout on Twitter from the former Oregon All-American last week. While Royce Freeman has struggled through injuries this season, Brooks-James has been Oregon’s most consistent running back and leads the Ducks in yards per-carry by a large margin. Oregon will need Brooks-James — as well as its other three tailbacks — to run hard through the tackles this weekend if it hopes to top a rangy USC defense that has improved at tackling in the open field since the start of the year.

Jimmie Swain — Linebacker 

Swain led the Ducks with nine tackles during their victory last week and has emerged as a consistent presence for an Oregon linebacker unit that has been decimated by injuries this year. Earlier in the week, Oregon linebackers coach Don Pellum told reporters Swain is the only player on Oregon’s roster who can play all three linebacker positions. He’ll start at the MIKE spot this week and will need to deliver the same type of performance he did against Arizona State if Oregon hopes to slow down a Trojans running attack that averages 204 yards per-game. If Swain and freshman linebacker Troy Dye can each provide steady play on a weekly basis, Oregon’s defense will begin to climb out of the Pac-12 cellar sooner rather than later.

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The post Players to Watch: USC still has plenty of NFL talent as Oregon prepares appeared first on Emerald Media.

After boasting one of the deepest wide receiver groups in the nation at the start of the year, Oregon’s depth at the wideout spot has been decimated by injuries.

During the Ducks’ 52-49 loss to California on Oct. 21, quarterback Justin Herbert shredded the Bears’ defense in the second half by connecting with his tight ends and running backs.

Herbert completed 22 passes but just nine of those completions went to wide receivers, with seven of those going to Charles Nelson. Herbert has looked like a superstar in the making in his first two starts, but as of right now he is playing with less help at receiver than anybody expected.

“Herb played a great game,” Oregon cornerback Tyree Robinson told reporters after the Cal game. “He made some difficult throws but we’re limited on receivers. There’s a lot on that — a lot of guys nicked up. We just have to get everybody back.”

Star wideout Darren Carrington has been heavily covered this year, and Oregon has seen less production from its talented wideout core than anticipated. The solution? Enter Jalen Brown.

Brown, a sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona, pulled down five catches for 97 yards during Oregon’s win over Arizona State on Saturday. His breakout performance included a 49-yard circus catch which set up an Oregon field goal that gave the Ducks a two-possession lead.

HIGHLIGHT | A great throw, even better catch! Herbert to Jalen Brown for 49 yards. #GoDucks #ASUvsUO https://t.co/u7mF3XlOav

— Oregon Football (@WinTheDay) October 29, 2016

“I just beat my guy deep,” Brown said of the catch. “Justin [Herbert] had to roll out under pressure and threw a little under. I had to go get it and make sure to push the field.”

Devon Allen and Dwayne Stanford each started the year splitting time at the outside receiver spot opposite Carrington. Allen suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the season, and Stanford has missed the past three games with various injuries. Freshman Dillon Mitchell was also touted as a player who could see reps at the outside receiver position but has been injured as well and played in just two games this year. On Saturday, the absence of those players was felt a little less as Brown gashed the Sun Devils’ secondary.

“Jalen is just a stud,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. “It’s almost like with Tony Brooks-James, where the understudy is now the key player. He’s a guy we believe a ton in; he does everything 100 miles an hour.”

Brown has seen plenty of playing time but had just four catches in seven games prior to Saturday. He had made a significant impact in the blocking game, though, and Oregon’s coaches and players were confident that his athletic talents were too great to keep him out of the passing game for long.

“He probably has the best hands I’ve ever seen out of anybody,” Oregon wide receiver Casey Eugenio said. “He can catch any ball, really.”

With Stanford and Mitchell each still questionable heading into Oregon’s Saturday matchup with USC, there is no reason to believe that Brown’s playing time is going to decrease anytime soon. With Herbert behind center, Oregon is moving at a faster pace and throwing downfield more than when Dakota Prukop was running the offense. In three starts, Herbert already has more completions of 25 yards or more in three games than Prukop did in five.

Brown will be one of the main beneficiaries of the Ducks’ rejuvenated air attack, and if Saturday’s performance was any indicator, he could be Herbert’s most dangerous deep threat for years to come.

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The post Jalen Brown could emerge as Oregon’s next star receiver after breakout performance appeared first on Emerald Media.

Oregon wide receiver Casey Eugenio didn’t have any trouble picking a school when he made the decision to come to Oregon. His older brother was a Duck, and Eugenio said Eugene was “the best opportunity” for college.

However, Eugenio also grew up in San Clemente, California, just a 90 minute drive from the USC campus, and had a perfectly good reason to cheer for the Trojans throughout his childhood.

“My mom was actually a cheerleader for USC,” Eugenio said following Tuesday’s practice. “So we had season tickets from before I was born. I’ve been to the [Los Angeles Memorial] Coliseum hundreds of times. … I went to every home game, basically.”

Eugenio had an up-close view of one of the most dominant stretches in college football history; the Trojans won 11 or more games each year from 2002-2008. USC spent the grand majority of that decade outperforming the rest of the conference both on the field and in the recruiting ranks. Superstar players such as Reggie Bush and Dwayne Jarrett ensured that the Trojans were on national television almost every week. On Saturday, Eugenio will take his first trip back to the Coliseum as a player to face the team he grew up supporting.

“It’s gonna be cool, just really cool to be in there,” Eugenio said. “I grew up sitting in the stands and now to be on the field is just gonna be really cool.”

Eugenio will be far from the only player making a return home when Oregon travels to USC this weekend. Freshman standout Troy Dye grew up in Norco, California, an hour away from the Coliseum, while Cameron Hunt, Jihree Stewart and Austin Maloata all grew up in Corona, less than an hour away.

“It’s always kind of fun to go into hostile territory and be able to go compete and win games,” Hunt said. “Being from Southern California myself, we’ve got a lot of guys on our team who are gonna be really juiced to get out there and play the Trojans.”

While Eugenio’s family no longer holds Trojan season tickets like they did while he was growing up, they will be in attendance to see him suit up on Saturday. He didn’t go above and beyond to try to get friends tickets, but one Oregon player will have quite the audience for his last game at the Coliseum.

“There’s going to be about 100 people there. … It’s my last go-around in Southern California,” Hunt said. “It’s special — my senior year being able to come back and play in front of all my friends and family.”

While USC isn’t the recruiting powerhouse that it was when Eugenio was growing up — the Trojans garnered the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation each year from 2004-06 — there remains an interst to play a team which dominated for many years. That doesn’t change the way Oregon will approach this weekend, however.

“We recruit all over the place, and it’s probably exciting for our kids to go back and play them,” linebackers coach Don Pellum said. “Being from Southern Cal and wanting to go back and play in front of your family and friends, I’m sure that’s a big deal for our kids.

“But it’s the next game for us, and everyone gets bigger.”

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For the second time this season, an Oregon true freshman has earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.

Justin Herbert became the first player in Oregon history to accumulate 500 yards of total offense during the Ducks’ 54-35 victory on Saturday and was named the conference’s outstanding offensive player for the week.

Herbert tied the school record with 489 passing yards, matching Bill Musgrave’s record that was set in 1989. Oregon’s first five offensive possessions ended in scores, and Herbert orchestrated a scoring drive on the Ducks’ opening possession for the first time this season.

In what was just his third collegiate start, Herbert tallied 512 total yards while carrying Oregon to its first win since September. Herbert earned conference honors despite not being named offensive player of the week by Oregon’s coaches.

Washington linebacker Azeem Victor earned defensive player of the week honors, while fellow Husky Dante Pettis earned special teams honors after returning a punt for a game-winning touchdown.

Herbert is the second Oregon player to earn player of the week honors this season; freshman linebacker Troy Dye was selected as defensive player of the week after Oregon’s season-opener against UC Davis. 

Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney