Fifth Quarter 2025: James Madison

 

Oregon’s 51–34 first-round College Football Playoff win over James Madison at Autzen Stadium is the kind of night that can be two things at once: a scoreboard sledgehammer and a film-room warning label. The Ducks detonated the first half (34–6), lived on explosives (nearly 10 yards per play on just 52 snaps), and still walked off with a defensive box score that will make the next ten days feel short: 509 yards allowed, 34 points, and far too many late-game examples of Oregon letting an opponent “stay alive” long after the outcome felt settled.

This is a Fifth Quarter game because it wasn’t simply “Oregon dominated.” Oregon did dominate—then Oregon relaxed, rotated, and (at times) lost the thread. That doesn’t erase the win. It sharpens what matters next.

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Offense — Grade: A-

Oregon’s offense didn’t just start fast; it started violent. The first drive was four plays, 68 yards, and a tone-setter that told you immediately what the night would become: with a clean pocket, Dante Moore pushed the ball vertically to Jamari Johnson for a 41-yard touchdown, a one-handed finish that felt like a playoff announcement. Even the missed two-point attempt couldn’t mute the message—Oregon wasn’t here to “feel out” a playoff game. Oregon was here to put a smaller team in a bind before it could settle into its plan.

And James Madison’s plan was clear early: shorten the game, run it, steal fourth downs, and keep the Ducks watching from the sideline. Oregon’s counter was a reminder of why explosive offense is the ultimate antidote to ball control. James Madison spent 8:03 on a 15-play opening drive and came away with a field goal. Oregon answered with a 75-yard burst that included a 40-yard catch-and-run by Dierre Hill Jr. and ended with Moore’s 5-yard rushing TD. One team was trying to play chess. The other was flipping the board.

At the heart of it was Moore’s rhythm and Oregon’s ability to stress the field horizontally early and vertically whenever JMU blinked. The first half reads like a quarterback clinic: Moore opened 8-for-8 for 137 yards and two touchdowns, and Oregon hit touchdown drives of 1:38, 2:37, 1:34, 1:18, and 1:45. Those aren’t just “quick scores.” Those are possession-denial weapons. You can’t “keep Oregon off the field” if Oregon only needs a minute and a half to score.

The PFF grades you provided line up with what the eye test suggests: Oregon’s most efficient and impactful offensive pieces weren’t confined to one style. Hill graded as Oregon’s top offensive player, and it fits—his home-run ability (including the 56-yard pitch TD) changed the geometry of the game. Moore graded right behind him, which tracks with both the explosive passing and the added run element that forced JMU to defend the quarterback as a real component. And Jeremiah McClellan’s placement near the top matches your notes: he didn’t just “produce,” he produced through contact—highlighted by the held-but-caught 20-yard TD that pushed the game into avalanche territory.

But that “A-” is earned, not gifted, and the minus is real: Oregon gave James Madison oxygen twice with quarterback mistakes that will not be survivable against a better opponent. The late first-half interception—after Dan Lanning tried to “steal” another possession—flipped momentum and handed JMU points right before halftime. Then the third-quarter red-zone interception was the exact kind of “hero throw” that becomes a turning point against elite teams: blitz look, back-foot launch, long throw across the field, and suddenly a game that felt over had JMU in position to score again.

And late, when James Madison turned to pressure packages in the fourth quarter, Oregon had possessions that looked like survival rather than control. The strangest drive of the night—10 plays, 6:04, just 17 yards—ended in a 48-yard Atticus Sappington field goal, and while points are points, that series is also a snapshot: Oregon could not consistently punish JMU’s late pressure looks with the type of answers that close doors.

Key players (Offense):

• Dierre Hill Jr. — the game’s offensive accelerant; explosive plays, mismatch speed, and the 56-yard TD that broke JMU’s hope.

• Dante Moore — brilliant first-half command and big-play connection with Malik Benson, but two interceptions that must be coached hard this week.

• Jeremiah McClellan — physical, confident, and dependable; his contested TD catch underscored real growth during the injuries at receiver.

• Malik Benson / Jamari Johnson — Benson’s vertical strike and Johnson’s early TD catch set the ceiling of the offense.

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Defense — Grade: C+

The defense’s night is a story of two truths colliding.

Truth No. 1: Oregon’s front and overall speed advantage showed early, and it was decisive. Your notes call A’Mauri Washington “virtually unblockable” on the opening drive, and that tracks with the way JMU had to live on tempo, trickery, and fourth-down aggression just to keep a pulse. Oregon’s defense forced a punt on JMU’s third possession, then another soon after, and for a stretch in the second quarter you could feel the game drifting into “too big, too fast, too deep.” Even with liberal substitution, Oregon’s depth flashed—Jericho Johnson nearly picked one, and Oregon’s pass rush produced pressure and disruption (the team log shows 12 QB hits and 11 breakups, plus 2 sacks).

Truth No. 2: the overall output is still unacceptable for a playoff defense with championship goals. James Madison threw for 323 yards, ran for 186, and finished with 509 total yards—on a night where Oregon’s offense was so efficient that JMU ran 84 plays to Oregon’s 52. That alone tells you the core defensive issue: Oregon didn’t consistently get off the field cleanly, and when it did, it sometimes gave those stops back through breakdowns—fake punts, angles, soft coverage, and explosive mistakes layered on top of each other.

This wasn’t just “they hit some throws.” JMU was 4-for-4 on fourth down. Oregon had multiple third-and-short snaps where coverage cushion turned into easy completions, which turned into manageable fourth downs, which turned into extended drives. And once James Madison decided it was going to empty the playbook, Oregon’s communication discipline took hits. The double-pass touchdown setup (Nick DeGennaro’s 50-yard completion to Ellis Landon) was the kind of constraint play underdogs use, but Oregon still has to recognize it faster and rally cleaner.

The most concerning stretch was the second half, where James Madison “won the chaos” moments: the fake punt early in the third quarter, the quick touchdown off it, the short-field touchdown after Moore’s end-zone interception, and then the fourth-quarter sequence where Oregon’s defense allowed a poor angle to become a 28-yard run, a busted-coverage 31-yard gain, and then a third-and-10 11-yard run that turned into first-and-goal. Those are the kinds of “how did we let that happen?” snaps that don’t show up in highlight packages but decide playoff games.

Individually, there were still clear standouts. Dillon Thieneman graded as Oregon’s top defender in your PFF list, and it fits the need he served: stabilizer, closer, and one of the few consistent answers on the back end. Bryce Boettcher’s box score pops (including 3 QB hits), and Teitum Tuioti’s disruption (multiple breakups/pressure moments) showed up in the havoc column. But the collective result—especially the soft spots late and the run-fit discipline—has to be treated as an urgent fix, not a footnote.

Key players (Defense):

• Dillon Thieneman — the steadier presence on a night the back end needed stabilizing.

• Bryce Boettcher — impact and activity; showed up in pressure/havoc.

• A’Mauri Washington — early-game tone setter; disruptive presence up front even when JMU’s volume started piling up yards.

• Teitum Tuioti / Aaron Flowers — moments of physicality and disruption, but the unit needs cleaner collective execution.

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Special Teams — Grade: A

If you’re looking for the cleanest unit on the night, it was special teams—and in a playoff game where the defense leaked in the second half, that matters.

Oregon didn’t just “hold serve” in the kicking game; it created points and controlled moments. The signature play: the punt that will go down as blocked—Blake Purchase’s pressure forced the breakdown, Jayden Limar scooped and scored, and Oregon turned a special-teams snap into a touchdown that felt like the game slamming back toward “over.” That play matters not only because it added points, but because it was a response: James Madison had just cut into the lead early in the half, and Oregon immediately reasserted separation.

Sappington’s 48-yard field goal late is also a subtle positive. The drive itself was weird and ugly (10 plays for 17 yards), but in a game where pressure was affecting Oregon in the fourth quarter, converting that kick ensured JMU’s late scoring couldn’t turn into actual danger. You also noted Oregon pinning JMU at the 1-yard line—field position wins playoff games, even when the rest of the snap-to-snap defense is inconsistent.

And the flip side: Oregon’s special teams also had a coaching/awareness miss. Allowing the fake punt early in the second half was a preventable momentum swing. But overall, Oregon’s specials were a net weapon—exactly what you want in January football.

Key players (Special Teams):

• Jayden Limar — scoop-and-score touchdown; instant-impact snap that shifted the third quarter.

• Blake Purchase — the pressure/forcing action that made the blocked punt possible.

• Atticus Sappington — 48-yard make in a quarter where the offense was grinding under pressure.

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Coaching — Grade: B-

Coaching grades in a 51–34 playoff win are always tricky, because the first impulse is to reward the win and the first-half plan. Oregon absolutely deserves credit for the opening script: fast tempo, early vertical shots, mismatch exploitation in 12 personnel, and immediate counters to the idea that JMU could “shorten the game.” The offensive approach was playoff-appropriate: score early, force the underdog to chase, and then punish chase mode with explosive plays.

But the “minus” in this grade is the collection of second-half moments that felt avoidable—and therefore instructive.

The first is the end-of-half sequence. Lanning used timeouts trying to steal an extra possession with 1:34 left—a classic “middle eight” mindset. The problem wasn’t the aggression. The problem was the outcome: interception, short field, and points conceded right before halftime while James Madison also got the ball to start the third quarter. In a closer game, that’s the kind of sequence that flips an entire night.

The second is the third-quarter special-teams fake. In a playoff game, against a heavy underdog with “nothing to lose,” you have to treat every fourth down and every punt look as potentially live—especially when you’ve already seen trick plays and fourth-down aggression in the first half. That’s part preparedness and part psychology: JMU was playing for pride, momentum, and a headline. Oregon can’t donate them momentum.

The third is the defensive handling of substitutions, coverages, and leverage once the game moved from “controlled” to “messy.” Oregon’s depth is a strength, but rotating doesn’t mean losing structural integrity. Soft coverage on third-and-manageable, poor angles on run fits, and coverage busts that created explosive plays aren’t “depth issues.” They’re communication and standard issues. If Oregon is going to play for four quarters against Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on January 1, the staff has to demand the same defensive identity in the third and fourth quarters that it demanded in the first.

And finally, the late offensive protection answers. James Madison brought pressure and Oregon didn’t consistently punish it. Some of that is execution (including the back-breaking third-quarter interception), but some of it is also how quickly you get to your pressure beaters when the opponent realizes the game is out of reach and decides to swing.

A win like this is what coaches love because it provides a teaching tape without a loss attached. But the teaching points are loud.

Key coaching “keys” from the tape:

• Great first-half sequencing and matchup targeting.

• A “middle eight” decision that backfired and can’t repeat against elite teams.

• Second-half readiness for trick looks and pressure packages must improve.

• Defensive identity can’t be optional once the lead is big.

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