Washington's Alex Cook on Oregon fans reacting to 2022 Bo Nix hit: 'They cry and complain about everything'

Last year, Bo Nix left the game between Washington and Oregon due to an injury he suffered on a hit by Huskies defensive back Alex Cook. Nix ended up coming back for the final drive, but Cook heard from Ducks fans about the hit.

Friday, ahead of the rematch between Oregon and Washington, Cook — now with the New York Giants in the NFL — addressed the reaction from the Ducks faithful.

Cook joined Dave “Softy” Mahler on 93.3 KJR-FM and addressed the play. He pointed out where he hit Nix and said he did as much as he could to stay low. Then, he shared his thoughts about Oregon fans who responded to the play.

“Yeah, and they’ve been like you just said. ‘That was a dirty hit,’ ‘You could’ve hit him differently.’ Like, what did you want me to do? I hit him as low as humanly possible,” Cook said. “There was no other place on the body where I could’ve hit him that would’ve made you feel any better. I don’t know — just because he had to come out [of] the game for injury, they considered it a dirty hit. Like, it’s football.

“That’s the thing about Oregon fans. When things don’t go their way, they cry and complain about everything and blame the world. That’s what you get.”

Washington wound up winning that game against Oregon last year on a field goal in the final minutes to leave Eugene with the 37-34 victory. This time around, the stakes are even higher for the matchup. Both the Ducks and the Huskies are ranked in the top 10 and are undefeated out of their respective bye weeks. Not only will the game have Pac-12 title implications, but College Football Playoff hopes could also be on the line.

It’s also going to be a battle of two Heisman Trophy contenders. Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are both among the favorites to win the Heisman amid fast starts to the season. Penix enters the game leading the nation in passing yards per game while Nix leads the country in completion percentage.

But Oregon coach Dan Lanning said the Ducks haven’t forgotten about last season’s game. He told Andy Staples his team has a chip on its shoulder this time around.

“We want to go up there and win,” Lanning said on Andy Staples On3. “We feel a certain way about how we didn’t take care of business last year. You want to go out there and put your best foot forward and perform.

“We know it’s going to be a great environment. We know that they’re a great team. So, really just focused on the next play, next moment, what can we do best? And the rest will take care of itself.”