Oregon rolls past Minnesota for 42-13 win

Courtesy GoDucks.com

 

EUGENE, Ore. — The Ducks entered Friday night short-handed but undeterred. With top receivers Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. both ruled out before kickoff, Oregon turned its attention to rediscovering offensive balance after two straight weeks of leaning on the run game against Wisconsin and Iowa. For the first time in nearly a month, the conditions finally cooperated — clear skies, a light breeze, and a crisp November chill replacing the rain-soaked, wind-whipped environments that had defined the last two outings.

It was the kind of night that demanded focus more than flash, and the Ducks responded accordingly — methodical early, explosive late, and every bit the contender their record suggested they still were. Behind a record-setting performance from quarterback Dante Moore and a smothering effort from the defense, No. 8 Oregon rolled past Minnesota 42–13 at Autzen Stadium to improve to 9–1 on the season.

Moore completed 27 of 30 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, setting a school single-game record with a 90 percent completion rate. The previous mark of 87 percent had stood since Marcus Mariota’s 2012 performance at USC. Oregon finished 30 of 33 passing as a team and piled up 510 yards of total offense while holding Minnesota to just 196.

Oregon set the tone from the opening series after electing to receive the kickoff. The Ducks were deliberate early, probing a Minnesota front that has been one of the better run defenses in the Big Ten. Oregon managed just 5 yards on its first three carries, but Moore picked up where he left off in Iowa City, calmly working through his reads.

A busted coverage turned the drive. Moore found Malik Benson wide open down the left sideline for a 38-yard gain to the Minnesota 24. On the next snap, Moore recognized zone coverage pre-snap with Benson in motion and hit tight end Kenyon Sadiq up the seam for 22 yards to the 2. Two plays later, freshman running back Jordon Davison bounced off contact and powered across the goal line on second effort for a 2-yard score, capping a 9-play, 75-yard march and giving Oregon a 7–0 lead with 10:48 left in the first quarter.

With the offense shorthanded and in control early, Oregon’s defense went to work on shortening the game. Edge rushers Ashton Porter and Blake Purchase drew the start, and the Ducks quickly derailed Minnesota’s first possession when quarterback Drake Lindsey slipped in the backfield for a 6-yard loss. The Gophers tried a trick look with Lindsey split wide and receiving a pitch from a Wildcat back, but Oregon stayed disciplined and forced a three-and-out.

Offensive coordinator Will Stein then leaned into the quarterback run game to loosen a Minnesota front that was crowding the box. After Moore kept for a key gain, Davison made the Gophers pay. On the next play, he burst through a crease and outran the secondary for a 40-yard touchdown, putting Oregon ahead 14–0 and finishing a 4-play, 66-yard drive in just two minutes.

Minnesota briefly threatened to flip momentum late in the first quarter when defensive end Anthony Smith knifed through for a 10-yard sack on Moore, and an illegal formation pushed Oregon into a second-and-25 hole. The Ducks would punt away the quarter facing third-and-17, but the game’s biggest self-inflicted wound came early in the second.

On third-and-long at their own 30 and leading 14–0, Oregon dialed up a hook-and-lateral to true freshmen Cooper Perry and Dierre Hill. Perry secured the initial catch but short-armed the lateral, and Minnesota recovered at the Ducks’ 42-yard line. The gamble nearly backfired in a big way.

Lindsey moved the Gophers into scoring range, and a throw to tight end Jameson Geers was initially ruled a completion inside the 10 before replay overturned the call. Minnesota settled for a 46-yard field goal from Brady Denaburg to cut the deficit to 14–3 with 11:39 left in the half.

The response from Oregon’s backfield was emphatic. Noah Whittington, already running with power and vision, broke multiple tackles 10 yards past the line of scrimmage on a 40-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to 21–3. The Ducks, facing a Minnesota defense that came in allowing roughly 108 rushing yards per game, had 120 on just 14 carries with 9:31 still left in the second quarter.

Minnesota’s best stretch of the night followed. Helped by a pair of pass interference flags, the Gophers pieced together a 13-play, 67-yard drive that chewed more than seven minutes off the clock. Oregon bowed up in the red zone, forcing another Denaburg field goal — this time from 26 yards — to make it 21–6 with 2:25 before halftime.

Moore then orchestrated one of Oregon’s cleanest two-minute drills of the season. Working primarily with quick-game concepts, he moved the Ducks to the Minnesota 42 with 1:31 left. A 24-yard strike over the linebackers to tight end Jamari Johnson set up a goal-to-go situation, and a throw over the middle to Sadiq was initially ruled down at the 3-yard line. Dan Lanning’s challenge failed, but Oregon needed only one more snap. Moore found Sadiq on a corner route for a 3-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left, stretching the lead to 28–6 at halftime.

By the break, Oregon had 332 yards of offense — 200 through the air and 132 on the ground — while allowing just 94 total yards (18 rushing) to Minnesota. Moore was 18 of 20 for 200 yards and a touchdown at the half.

Minnesota finally pieced together a touchdown drive to open the third quarter, converting multiple third downs on an 80-yard march. Lindsey capped it with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Javon Tracy, trimming the deficit to 28–13 with 8:17 left in the third and briefly tilting time of possession in the Gophers’ favor.

Again, the Ducks answered. Stein leaned on heavy sets and play-action, pairing Hill and Whittington in the backfield and using Moore’s movement throws to stress the edges. Benson made a contested catch in traffic to move the chains, and Moore continued to punish Minnesota’s aggression with rollouts to his right. He completed 6 of 7 passes for 64 yards on the drive, finishing it with a 13-yard touchdown strike to Jeremiah McClellan that restored a 35–13 cushion with 2:52 left in the third quarter.

From there, Oregon’s defense slammed the door. After Minnesota converted a fourth-and-short with Darius Taylor in a Wildcat look, the Ducks’ pass rush took over. Pressure forced an intentional grounding call on Lindsey for a 10-yard loss, and linebacker Teitum Tuioti followed with an 11-yard sack to set up third-and-31 as the third quarter ended.

A short screen on the first play of the fourth quarter led to a punt, and Oregon’s offense delivered the knockout blow. Mixing inside runs, a sharp jump-cutting burst from Hill and quick throws, the Ducks marched 70 yards in seven plays. Fourth-string back Jay Harris finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 42–13 with 11:09 remaining.

With USC and Washington looming, Oregon began to empty the bench. Walk-on quarterback Brock Thomas finished the game, completing all three of his pass attempts for 25 yards as the Ducks finally punted for the first time with 6:29 to play. On defense, reserves like safety Kingston Lopa continued to fly around, with Lopa shooting a late quarterback run for a tackle for loss to help close out the final minutes.

Oregon held Minnesota to 2.5 yards per rush and just 23 percent offensive success rate, while the Ducks’ offense converted 6 of 9 third downs and posted a 56 percent success rate. Minnesota reached the end zone only once and never truly threatened after halftime.

On a night that began with questions about depth at wide receiver and balance on offense, Oregon found both. The Ducks leaned on a stable of backs, an emerging tight end in Sadiq and a quarterback playing the most efficient football of his career — and in the process, they quietly turned a potentially tricky November test into another statement of how complete this team can be.

Player of the Game
QB Dante Moore — 27-of-30 passing for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. Moore set a new Oregon single-game record with a 90.0 percent completion rate, breaking Marcus Mariota’s previous mark of 87.0 set in 2012. He piloted five touchdown drives, directed a flawless two-minute drill before halftime and consistently punished Minnesota’s blitz looks with movement throws and quick-game precision.

Key Play
Late in the second quarter, leading 21–6 and facing the possibility of giving Minnesota life before halftime, Oregon’s offense answered with a crisp, 75-yard, two-minute drive. The defining snap came on second down from the Gophers’ 42, when Moore dropped a touch pass over the linebackers to tight end Jamari Johnson for 24 yards into the red zone. The throw flipped field position, forced Minnesota onto its heels, and set up Moore’s 3-yard corner-route touchdown to Kenyon Sadiq moments later. Instead of a one-score game at the break, Oregon went to the locker room up 28–6, effectively seizing full control.

Key Stat
30-of-33. Oregon quarterbacks combined to complete 30 of 33 passes (91 percent) for 331 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. The Ducks averaged 7.4 yards per attempt, were never sacked, and went 5-for-5 passing on third down. In a game missing their top two receivers, that level of efficiency through the air underscored both Moore’s command of the offense and the depth of Oregon’s passing-game weapons.