SEATTLE (AP) — Michael Penix Jr. threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze with 1:38 remaining after another debatable fourth-down decision by Oregon, and Camden Lewis missed a 43-yard field goal attempt on the final play as No. 7 Washington held off No. 8 Oregon 36-33 on Saturday in another wild chapter to their heated rivalry.
Penix needed just two plays to go 53 yards in 33 seconds after Oregon was stopped on foruth-and-3 at the Washington 47 with 2:11 remaining. Penix threw a 35-yard strike to Ja’Lynn Polk between two defenders, then hit Odunze on a back-shoulder throw at the goal line to give Washington (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) the lead.
It was Penix’s fourth touchdown pass of the game and his second time connecting with Odunze, who had eight catches for 128 yards.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix had one last chance to get the Ducks (5-1, 2-1) into field goal range and reached the Washington 25 with 17 seconds left. Nix missed with his next two passes and on the final play of the game Lewis push the kick to the right setting off a wild celebration of purpled-clad fans pouring onto the field.
The 115th matchup between the rivals was the first that featured both teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25. And it lived up to the hype and attention as perhaps the biggest of all-time between the Pacific Northwest foes and the final regular-season one before both programs move to the Big Ten starting next season.
Oregon rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the second half and took a 33-29 lead on Jordan James’ 10-yard TD run with 12:58 remaining. Washington was on the verge of an answer but was stopped on three run plays inside the Oregon 2. Tybo Rogers was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the Ducks’ 1 with 6:33 left, met by Taki Taimani and others short of the goal line.
Oregon converted a pair of third downs, including a 25-yard catch by Troy Franklin. But the Ducks were stopped on fourth-and-3 just inside midfield when Nix’s pass for Tez Johnson fell incomplete. It was the third time in the game the Ducks failed on fourth down, the previous two coming inside the Washington 10-yard line, including the final play of the first half.
