EUGENE - It would be difficult to make a bigger, better, bolder statement than the one the Oregon Ducks made Saturday in Autzen Stadium.
The Ducks beat No. 7 Washington 30-27 in overtime, which is good enough.
The way they went about it matters too.
This was the big stage, a Top 10 opponent, arch-rival, jammed house and an environment that was head-banging, heavy-metal loud.
The game-winner came Mario Cristobal-style, with CJ Verdell cracking six yards up the gut on third-and-goal behind an offensive line missing two starters.
The line surged, No. 17 Oregon won, the crowd of 58,691 erupted and the question became not whether Cristobal, the first-year UO coach, can get this thing turned, but how far around the corner he and the Ducks already are.