Paolo Uggetti, ESPND2. December 2023, 2:06 a.m. ET
LAS VEGAS — Oregon quarterback Bo Nix knew the question was coming, but he didn’t give himself a chance to think about an answer. He was still processing a game and possibly a season and a five-year college football career that ended abruptly with a 34-31 loss to Washington in the Pac-12 championship.
A decision on whether he would participate in the Ducks’ upcoming bowl game would have to wait.
“Now can we just enjoy the moment and enjoy our season?” Nix asked. “That is not today’s decision. I have no idea.”
Nix, a fifth-year senior and now 23 years old, has made 60 career starts in college football – 34 at Auburn and now 26 at Oregon. His career stats are straight out of a video game – 14,750 passing yards and 105 touchdowns – but he’s never had a better season than this, totaling 4,000 passing yards with a 77% completion rate, 40 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
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Oregon, led by Nix, had done almost everything right this season to give itself a chance to win the Pac-12 and have a shot at the College Football Playoff. However, there was one crucial thing it couldn’t do twice: beat Washington.
“We didn’t play well enough to win this game,” head coach Dan Lanning said after the game. “We didn’t have her number; they had ours.”
After trailing 20-3 at one point in the first half Friday night, Nix and Oregon’s offense woke up and brought the Ducks right back, scoring 21 unanswered points and taking the lead in the second half. But after Washington countered with 14 points in the fourth quarter, Oregon couldn’t respond.
With the Ducks’ 11-win season now over, questions began to arise about Nix’s bowl game status. However, Nix said he is still coming to terms with the finality of it all. Before Friday night’s loss, there had always been a next game or season to look forward to.
“I’m just trying to get over this loss, I’m not thinking about anything else,” Nix said. “I think that’s why I’m shocked because I’m expecting a game next week and a different opponent. It’s hard when you’re used to going, going, going, and then when it ends, it happens very quickly.”
Oregon will likely play in a New Years’ Six bowl and, as linebacker Jeff Bassa said after the game, the team could look very different in that matchup.
“Obviously there will be people who make the decision to leave the NFL and go to the NFL,” Bassa said. “And then there will be people who leave and go into the portal.”
While Nix was noncommittal about his status as a bowl player ahead of the expected move to the NFL Draft, his answers hinted at what that decision might look like. He spoke at length about going through all sorts of ups and downs in sports, how it was his dream to play college football, and how he experienced everything from conference realignment to the introduction of the transfer portal and NIL to…pandemic.
“Every year was something different, every year was something new,” Nix said. “I’m going to miss college football.”
Nix then left the room, where he was first greeted by Washington coach Kalen DeBoer before congratulating quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on the victory. The Huskies quarterback entered the press room as conference champions in the last major quarterback duel of a now-defunct Pac-12. At least one more meaningful game lay in his future.
Regardless of whether Nix plays in the bowl game or not, there will be no more collegiate competitive games in his long career. But by the time he hopped on a golf cart and headed into the Allegiant Stadium tunnel with his dad, he had already found something else to look forward to.
“There’s a lot more to life than just college football,” Nix said. “As crazy as it sounds, I’m going to enjoy this plane ride home.”