Bo Nix on playing final Pac-12 game: 'It meant a lot'

Bo Nix and the Oregon Ducks didn’t win the Pac-12 title, as they fell to the Washington Huskies last weekend.

Still, Nix recognized the significance of the clash between the two squads, as it was the final game featuring the Pac-12 as we know it. A lot will change next season, with Oregon and Washington among the squads headed to the Big Ten.

Nix won’t be in Eugene to see it happen, but he was happy to send the conference off with a game befitting of the competition level.

“It meant a lot,” Nix said, regarding playing in the final Pac-12 clash. “The Pac-12 has been a historical conference for a long time. I don’t know what necessarily the future holds or what it looks like. To have the year we had with the Pac-12, have the conference as talented as it was for the last one, it’s just huge respect level for the whole entire Pac-12, for every team.

“Like I said, I don’t know what it looks like moving forward. I know there’s a lot of good teams in this region and in this conference. It will be interesting moving forward to watch them go.”

Nevertheless, disappointment was still the flavor of the night. Nix and the Ducks had designs on going to the College Football Playoff, and it’s the Huskies’ fault they’re on the outside looking in as the dust settles.

“It was just a shocking end,” Nix admitted, following the game. “It’s tough when you’re so used to go, go, go, go, go. When it ends, it just happens very quickly. I got all the respect in the world for Michael. He’s played his butt off this year. I respect him a lot because I know how it is to play through some adversity, to play when you’re not necessarily feeling your best. He showed up tonight and he did a really good job of making the explosive play when he needed it. That just shows what kind of team they are. They battled in a lot of games down the stretch and they pulled them all out. So that’s a really good football team.”

“I think what sometimes hurts is when you put it all out there and it’s still not good enough.”

Regardless, Bo Nix is headed to New York for the Heisman Ceremony, which will put a cap on a phenomenal career. He wanted so much more for his team though.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this article.