What we saw in the Ducks' come-from-behind win against the Cougars on Saturday

Football’s a 60-minute game and Oregon needed almost every single one of them Saturday afternoon against Washington State.

The No. 15 Ducks scored 29 points in the fourth quarter, including three touchdowns in the final four minutes, as they rallied from a game-long deficit to beat the Cougars 44-41 in their Pac-12 opener at Martin Stadium in Pullman.

Oregon trailed 34-22 when quarterback Bo Nix connected with tight end Cam McCormick on a 1-yard touchdown reception to make it 34-29 with 3:48 left.

After a defensive stop, the Ducks came right back as Nix threw a 50-yard go-ahead TD pass to Troy Franklin to give them their first lead of the game, 37-34, with 1:12 to play.

On the Cougars' ensuing drive, linebacker Mase Funa intercepted a screen pass by Cameron Ward and returned it 27 yards for the game-sealing score and a 44-34 lead with 1:01 to go.

The Cougars scored their final touchdown with :01 on the game clock.

It was a stunning turn of events for the Ducks (3-1).

Oregon’s offense sputtered in the first half, the defense wilted at times in the second, and even some of Oregon’s most veteran and reliable players made mental mistakes in key moments.

Here are some takeaways from Oregon’s win against Washington State.

Oregon overcomes self-inflicted wounds

Whether it was an inability to score in the first half or defensive penalties in the second half, the Ducks just shook them off and kept plugging away.

Oregon had a chance to take a commanding lead when its first four drives went to at least the Washington State 11-yard line. But the Ducks couldn’t find the end zone, settling for three field goals while also giving up an interception returned for a TD in the second quarter that put the Cougars up 17-6.

The Ducks trailed  17-9 at halftime despite 321 yards of offense and an average of 8-yards per play.

In the second half, Oregon’s best pass rusher, DJ Johnson was penalized for a personal foul on a drive that ended in a touchdown, and later ejected for a targeting call. Later on that same drive, defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus was penalized for roughing the passer on 3rd and 18, extending a drive that also ended in a TD.

Bo Nix rallies the troops

Oregon’s quarterback threw for a career-high 428 yards and three touchdowns on 33-of-44 passing and also rushed six times for 30 yards.

In the second half he was 17 of 24 for 267 and three TDs, and in the fourth quarter alone he was 10 for 15 for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

His primary target were receivers Troy Franklin (five catches for a career-high 137 yards) — who made an athletic play on the long TD catch by staying on his feet after hauling in the ball — and Chase Cota (career-high seven catches for 84).

Overall, the Nix-led offense outgained the Cougars 624 yards to 416.

Cameron Ward exploits the Ducks' defense

Oregon made the first-year WSU quarterback look like Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, the way he scrambled, evaded and frustrated the Ducks’ pass russ for much of the afternoon as he deftly executed the Cougars’ Air Raid offense.

Ward threw for 375 yards and two touchdowns on 37-of-48 passing. He also recorded his first rushing TD of the season.

The Ducks still were able get four sacks, including two by Johnson before his ejection, 11 tackles for a loss and two interceptions on Funa's pick-six and earlier in the fourth quarter when cornerback Trikweze Bridges wrestled a completion away from receiver Leyton Smithson.

Bucky Irving does it all

What a game for the sophomore running back, who led the Ducks with 81 yards on 11 carries.

Irving also scored Oregon’s first touchdown of the game on a 12-reception to end the Ducks’ opening drive of the second half. It wasn’t his only catch of significance however. Late in the fourth quarter, Irving caught  a 21 yarder on fourth-and-2 to keep alive a Ducks’ drive that would end with McCormick’s TD with 3:48 to play.

Irving also completed a pass to Nix on a trick play in the first half that the QB took for 18 yards.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.

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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Takeaways from Oregon's come-from-behind win against Washington State