No. 3 Washington held on to win a wild Pac-12 Championship Game, storming back to defeat No. 5 Oregon 34-31 on Friday. The win not only gives the Huskies the final Pac-12 football title, but it clinches the program's second College Football Playoff berth (2016) as they improve to 13-0 on the season.
The Huskies started hot out the gate, jumping to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and dominating on both sides of the ball. However, the Ducks fought their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to 20-10 at halftime and scoring the first 14 points of the second half to take a 24-20 lead. It was the only lead they'd have in the game, however.
Washington quickly answered with a touchdown drive of its own. Then, after getting a defensive stop, the Huskies put together a 12-play, 82-yard touchdown drive that gave the Huskies a two-score lead and melted nearly half half the fourth quarter away. The Ducks scored a quick touchdown to cut the lead back to three, but the Huskies salted away the rest of the clock after recovering an onside kick.
Running back Dillon Johnson was the star of the game for the Huskies. He rushed for 152 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground, while also throwing a touchdown for good measure. Michael Penix Jr. finished with 319 yards passing with a touchdown.
Oregon's Bo Nix finished with 239 yards passing, 69 yards rushing and three touchdowns, but his third-quarter interception proved costly. It came after a Penix interception at a time the Ducks had all the momentum, but it was quickly lost with the turnover.
- Washington is now 7-0 in one-score games. No other team in the country has won more than four one-score games without at least one loss.
- This is the ninth straight game in which Washington has played amid a one-score deficit in the fourth quarter.
- Washington will return to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2016 when it won the Pac-12 and lost a semifinal to Alabama.
- This was Washington's third appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game. It's won all three.
- Johnson's 152 rushing yards are his second-highest total in a game this season. He rushed for 256 against USC.
- Nix's 239 passing yards were the fewest he's had in any game this season. The previous low was 248 yards in a 35-6 win over Utah.
Keep it locked here as CBS Sports provides takeaways from the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game below.