For Bo Nix, the job is finally finished after leading Oregon Ducks to Fiesta Bowl win
For Bo Nix, the job is finally finished after leading Oregon Ducks to Fiesta Bowl win
The Oregon quarterback said he'd play in the Fiesta Bowl. And he did.
Bo Nix had the record and the Oregon Ducks all but had the win, but as Dan Lanning met with the ESPN sideline reporter between the third and fourth quarter up by 32 over No. 23 Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl, the second-year head coach wasn’t ready to let his quarterback off the hook.
The Ducks were driving, after all. The job wasn’t finished.
“We got to go punch this one in,” Lanning said. “It’s time to go get another score.”
The No. 8 Ducks did two plays later. Nix handed the ball off twice to running back Bucky Irving, who punctuated his own final game as an Oregon Duck with 117 yards and the final score of Oregon’s 45-6 win — a convincing victory over an overmatched opponent in a bowl game that used to mean more to more people but still probably felt pretty good in the moment for those holding the trophy.
Nix would get the hook on Oregon’s next drive, getting pulled on second down to a standing ovation from the UO fans in attendance. He left with one finger pointed up to the sky while cameras caught his family tearing up in the stands. It was a poignantly beautiful end to one of college football’s uniquely brilliant careers.