by Steve Mims

EUGENE, OREGON — A recent update on Oregon College Football.

^{Oregon College Football Bo Nix in the Holiday Bowl 2023, Photo by Andy Nelson / Associated Press}

Oregon secured double digit victories for the 13th time in school history with a dramatic 28-27 win over North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday in San Diego.

The Ducks finished coach Dan Lanning’s inaugural season at 10-3, including a 7-2 mark in Pac-12 play. While double-digit victory seasons have become commonplace in recent years, Oregon never won 10 games in a season until 2000.

The bowl game came down to the wire before quarterback Bo Nix threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Cota with 19 seconds left and Camden Lewis added an extra point for the margin of victory.

Nix, who announced before the game that he would return for one more year at Oregon, was 23-for-30 for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Terrance Ferguson caught five passes for 84 yards while Cota had three for 42 yards and the score.

Bucky Irving ran 13 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

Irving got the Ducks started with a 2-yard scoring run in the first quarter before adding a 66-yard touchdown to put Oregon up 14-7.

North Carolina rolled off 17 straight points before Nix found Troy Franklin for a 6-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 24-21 with 6:58 left in the game.

After UNC kicked a field goal. Oregon drove 79 yards in just over two minutes before Nix found Cota for the winning score.

Oregon may move into the Top 10 when the final polls are released next week and should be close to the Top 10 in preseason polls with Nix and Irving leading the way again next season.

Steve Mims has spent 25 years as a sportswriter, including 21 years at The Register-Guard. He covered University of Oregon athletics from 2013-2020. He works in Eugene as a registered representative and insurance agent at PBC Insurance. He can be reached at smims@pbcins.com.