ScoopDuck Roundtable: Fiesta Bowl Game Balls
It’s time to put some finishing touches on the Fiesta bowl win over Liberty. One of the final pieces will be our Game ball picks from the ScoopDuck staff.
The Fiesta bowl awarded Bo Nix and Jeffrey Bassa MVP honors on their respective sides of the ball. But here are our picks anyways.
Jarrid Denney:
Tez Johnson & Jeffrey Bassa
For the first time this season, Oregon rolled into a game with Tez Johnson as its No. 1 receiver. The junior standout produced one of the best games of his career and potentially provided a glimpse toward 2024.
Johnson racked up 172 yards on 11 catches and scored a touchdown. He produced 134 yards after the catch and five receptions that went for 15+ yards.
Jeff Bassa was everywhere for the Ducks on Monday. He racked up eight tackles — all of which were solo stops — and led the Ducks with three quarterback pressures. While he was outstanding from a statistical standpoint, it was clear to anybody who watched that he was setting the tone for Oregon in the bowl game.
Bassa was flying around all afternoon and capped off the season with one of the best performances of his career.
Doug Scott:
Bo Nix & Jeffrey Bassa
Who else but Bo Nix? 27-34, 359 and 5 TDs. Also had 4 first half drops. Sets 3 Oregon records and an NCAA record in the process to cap off a brilliant 2 year run at Oregon
The Fiesta got this one right too. 9 tackles, 6 stops, 3 QB hurries. Bassa has gotten better and better throughout his 3 seasons thus far and he played like it yesterday
Bonus:
Iapani Laloulu. Poncho took over as the starting center and you barely noticed. No snap issues at all and he helped pave the way for the Ducks 183 yards rushing while also keeping Nix clean throughout.
Corpatty:
Bo Nix
Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I think Nix got every game ball I awarded this year. With good reason. A record-breaking performance where Nix added 5 more TD passes and 363 yards passing in essentially 3 quarters of football? This one is a no-brainer again. I’m going to miss being spoiled by Nix’s greatness at Oregon.
Jhop:
Bo Nix
I really wanted to give it to someone else, I loved the game Tez had. But my heart wouldn’t let me. Bo not only came back for the game, he played hard, made no mistakes, dealt and went out a winner. It says so much about his character to see him follow through on this journey like he said, not only for him but for his teammates.
