Bo Nix aims to continue his strong start to the season on Saturday when No. 13 Oregon hosts Hawaii in Eugene, Ore.
Nix has completed 77.5 percent of his passes for 646 yards and five touchdowns without an interception for the Ducks (2-0).
He earned his fourth career Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week award Monday, two days after throwing for 359 yards and two scores in Oregon’s 38-30 victory at Texas Tech. He also chipped in a team-leading 46 yards rushing on nine carries.
Nix engineered a 17-play scoring drive with four third-down conversions to bridge the third and fourth quarters. He also guided the Ducks to pair of field goals in the fourth before Jeffrey Bassa returned an interception for a touchdown to seal the win.
“You want to go get points, you want to go take the lead, obviously if you can, you want to limit them getting the ball back,” Nix said. “As an offense, we’re champing at the bit to get the ball back to go down and score with five minutes left in the game.”
Oregon coach Dan Lanning didn’t mince words while praising his quarterback.
“I love Bo. And it’s not about what he is as a player, it’s what that guy is as a person. We have an unbelievable quarterback right now on our team,” Lanning said. “That is an unbelievable leader, an unbelievable human and he’s a freaking ballplayer.
“Go pull up that film on Bo Nix and tell me he can’t win games. Watch what he did with his feet tonight. Good decision maker. Just really proud of him and glad he’s leading our team.”
Troy Franklin boosted his team-leading touchdown reception total to three with a 72-yard score in the first quarter. Tez Johnson reeled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Nix just over five minutes later.
“Like I always say, it was a dream. But I know there’s many more to come,” Johnson said after Tuesday’s practice. “Just gotta keep working in practice, and time will tell.”
Hawaii (1-2) answered a pair of losses to open the season with a 31-20 victory over FCS foe Albany last Saturday. That said, Rainbow Warriors coach Timmy Chang knows his team has its work cut out against Oregon.
“They’re a good opponent. They are gonna compete for a Pac-12 championship, and in their minds they are a CFP team — it’s gonna be tough. It’s a tough game,” Chang said. “So we have to get healed up, we have to get ready to go. We have to have a tough mindset. It’s a good, good experience and mindset and mentality to get ready for this (weekend).”
Brayden Schager threw for 266 yards with a career-high four touchdowns and three interceptions against the Great Danes.
Steven McBride capped a two-touchdown performance by reeling in a 12-yard scoring strike with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter. He has found the end zone in each game this season and has a team-high five touchdown receptions.
Running back Jordan Johnson made his season debut and rushed for a team-high 76 yards. That total leads the team through three games.
