In the attempt to isolate the single most impressive victory of the 2022 college football season to date, a few candidates come to mind.
We have to start with Georgia's 49-3 win over then-No. 11 Oregon, the largest margin of victory over an AP Top 25 opponent to date this season. That 46-point margin is both Georgia's largest victory over a ranked team and Oregon's loss as a ranked team.
In terms of degree of difficulty, Tennessee's 52-49 triumph over Alabama takes the cake. The Vols had lost 15 straight to then-No. 3 Tide, and there's a good chance Alabama is No. 1 or No. 2 today had they won that game.
But if we're to combine domination with degree of difficulty, I'll submit that No. 8 Oregon's 45-30 win over No. 12 UCLA this past Saturday is the answer. Here's why:
-- There have been 538 FBS games to date. Of those 538, 96 (17.8 percent) have been what we call Quinfectas: games where a team out-rushes and out-passes their opponent, scores first, leads at halftime, and wins the turnover battle. Those 96 teams are 96-0 in such games. Last season, such teams went 146-0, winning by an average score of 42-11.
-- Of the 96 Quinfectas so far this season, 60 were done against FCS teams, or by a Power 5 team against a Group of 5 team.
-- Of the remaining 36, four stand above the rest. There was TCU's 55-24 win over then-No. 18 Oklahoma on Oct. 1. There's UCLA's 42-32 win over then-No. 11 Utah on Oct. 8. There's Middle Tennessee's Sept. 24 45-31 bombardment of then-No. 25 Miami, the only time this season a Group of 5 team has Quinfecta'd a Power 5. (For the record, Georgia 49, Oregon 3 was not a Quinfecta; the Ducks out-rushed the Dawgs, 140-132. Hey, I never claimed this stat was perfect.)
And then there's Oregon's 45-30 win over UCLA this past Saturday, the only time (so far) a team has Quinfecta'd an AP Top 10 team.
Oregon's Bo Nix out-passed his UCLA counterpart Dorian Thompson-Robinson, 283-262. Nix's 283 yards came on just 28 attempts (10.1 per), while DTR needed 39 throws to get to 262 (6.7). DTR's 6.7 yards per attempt are a season-low, and his 137.45 rating was 24 percent worse than his 180.58 rating entering the game. Nix's 222.4 rating was his best to date in an Oregon uniform, and his best against a Power 5 team since putting up a 241.62 rating against Mississippi State as a freshman at Auburn in 2019.
On the ground, Oregon ran for 262 yards to UCLA's 186. The teams were Nos. 1 and 2 in the Pac-12 in rushing offense and rushing defense heading into the game, so Oregon's 262 yards were above their season average and represented a low-water mark for UCLA's run defense, whose previous worst was 192 yards in the Utah win. UCLA's 186 yards (on 6.2 a carry) are also season-worsts for Oregon's run defense -- even Georgia "only" rushed for 132 yards on 5.3 carry in their 49-3 season-opening win -- but the 186 yards are 20 yards below the Bruins' average, the third time in seven games UCLA has been held below the 200-yard mark.
Of course, the reason UCLA only ran the ball 30 times was because the Bruins spent nearly the entire game in a trail position.
Oregon opened the game with a field goal, which UCLA answered. Oregon found pay dirt on its second possession, as did UCLA. But after Oregon scored again on its third possession, Dan Lanning stole command of the game with an onside kick, which Oregon converted into a touchdown. The Ducks led 24-10 at that point (6:34 to play in the second quarter), and UCLA never got within single digits again. In fact, Oregon forced a field goal -- as good as punt in this game -- and then executed a masterful 10-play, 88-yard drive that reached the end zone with six seconds on the clock to take a 31-13 halftime lead.
Oregon also forced a UCLA field goal to open the second half. Though the Ducks did not always play good run defense, they played effective situational run defense. In two of UCLA's field goal drives, the final 1st-and-10 segments that proceeded the field goals saw the Bruins run four times for five combined yards. Oregon then forced incompletions to turn 14 combined points allowed to six.
Oregon also won turnovers on the day, 1-0. The Ducks intercepted DTR in the end zone, preserving their lead at 45-23 with 7:46 to play, effectively sealing the win. Kenny Dillingham's offense produced its only three-and-out (its only punt, period) on the ensuing possession, but Oregon effectively won points off turnovers 7-0 thanks to the second quarter onside kick.
The Ducks accomplished their ultimate objective on seven of nine possessions for the day -- six touchdowns, plus a 9-play, 22-yard drive that expired the game's final 4:11. Oregon's offensive efficiency limited UCLA to seven possessions, four of which ended short of the end zone.
Is this a slam-dunk case? No.
For the record, while UCLA was No. 9 when it got Quinfecta'd, Utah was No. 11 when the Bruins did the Quinfecta'ing just one game ago. There's no effective difference between the No. 9 and No. 11 team, especially when we're still in midseason. Also, Oregon was No. 11 when it lost 49-3 to Georgia back in September.
Considering all the factors working against Oregon back on Sept. 3 -- its first game under a first-time head coach, playing effectively a road game against the defending national champions -- my vote goes to Oregon 45, UCLA 30.
Blowout losses kept Penn State out of the Playoff in 2016 and Ohio State in 2017 and '18, so it will be interesting to see how the committee judges these Ducks when the first rankings come out a week from today. Which Oregon was the "real" one in the committees eyes, the one that was demolished by the defending national champions or the one that systematically flattened a Pac-12 contender?
Here are the Week 8 numbers:
-- Rush for more yards: 42-11
-- Pass for more yards: 31-22
-- Score first: 32-21
-- Lead at halftime: 36-16
-- Win turnovers: 29-12
-- Win all five: 7-0
Year to date:
-- Rush for more yards: 419-118 (.780)
-- Pass for more yards: 335-200 (.626)
-- Score first: 368-170 (.684)
-- Lead at halftime: 412-100 (.805)
-- Win turnovers: 299-112 (.727)
-- Win all five: 96-0 (1.000)