On Atticus Sappington’s 25-yard field goal with no time left on the clock, No. 7 Oregon survived Boise State’s upset bid with a 37-34 win on Saturday night in Eugene, Ore.
In a wild, back-and-forth game that saw Oregon (2-0) score twice on long returns on special teams and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty run the ball 25 times for 192 yards with three touchdowns, the Ducks had the ball at the end of the game and quarterback Dillon Gabriel engineered the winning drive.
Gabriel was 18-for-21 passing for 243 yards and two touchdown passes and running back Jordan James rushed for 102 yards on 17 carries. Boise State (1-1) outgained Oregon 369 to 352 and was 9-of-19 on third down compared to the Ducks’ 4-of-12. The Broncos ran 16 more offensive plays and forced two turnovers, but the Ducks extended the nation’s longest active nonconference home win streak to 34 games.
The Ducks took a 27-20 lead on Tez Johnson’s 85-yard punt return in the third. But they trailed 34-27 early in the fourth after losing two fumbles on consecutive possessions, both leading to Boise State touchdowns. Jeanty ran 70 yards to tie the score at 27 with 13:09 to play, and after Gabriel fumbled in Oregon territory on the next drive, Jeanty scored on an 8-yard run.
The kickoff after that touchdown was returned 100 yards by the Ducks’ Noah Whittington. He appeared to drop the ball before he crossed the goal line, but Jayden Limar picked up the ball in the end zone to tie the score at 34.
Oregon had the ball with 3:36 to play and converted two third-and-1s to drive inside the Boise State 10-yard line for the winning field goal.
Boise State was the better team in the first half, outgaining Oregon 214 to 149 in total yards. Jeanty had 85 rushing yards with a touchdown at halftime, and when the Ducks loaded up to stop the run, Boise State’s Maddux Madsen had some downfield success and threw a first-half touchdown to Cameron Camper.
Oregon gained only 16 net yards on the ground in the first half. The Ducks scored touchdowns on a 1-yard run for Gabriel, set up by a 67-yard completion to Evan Stewart, and later a 34-yard strike from Gabriel to Stewart to give Oregon a 14-10 lead with 9:28 to go in the half.
The second of two Jonah Dalmas field goals came with two seconds left in the half and sent the Broncos into the break with a 20-14 lead.
–Field Level Media
