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andrea adelson
Miami Gardens, Florida – Coach Dan Lanning said his defense did not play up to its standard in its first playoff game, oregon duck produced a postseason performance that had not been seen in over a century.
Oregon flocked texas tech From start to finish in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday, he forced four turnovers while recording four sacks and seven tackles for loss. win 23-0 –The first bowl game shutout in school history since the Rose Bowl against Penn in 1917.
The Ducks held the Red Raiders to season lows in passing yards (215), rushing yards (78) and first downs (nine) in the first shutout of an AP top-5 team since 2018. Texas Tech was also one of the top teams in the country in turnover margin coming into the game at plus-17, but finished the game at minus-3.
Lanning said in his defense, “He’s earned this opportunity.” “I told him to bring half a kilo of his meat today. He did just that today.”
The Ducks advanced to the CFP Semifinals in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, where they will face the top-seeded Indiana On January 9 (7:30 ET, ESPNOregon started as a four-point underdog in DraftKings for that game in Atlanta.
According to ESPN Research, the two other teams that defeated their opponents in the CFP both went on to win national championships (Alabama in 2015 and Alabama in 2015). CLEMSON in 2016).
This was actually a stark contrast to the Ducks’ first-round win. james madison On December 20, when Oregon’s defense allowed 509 yards of total offense and 31 points in the second half. win 51-34,
“Our defense had a lot to prove,” the linebacker said. teatum tuiotiWho had two sacks. “We all knew it wasn’t the norm. We’re glad we could get the shutout. It means a lot, especially after that JMU game. People were looking down on us.”
Tuioti said the emphasis in practices between games was on forcing turnovers, not only to get the ball back on offense but also to keep Texas Tech off the field. The Red Raiders came into the game with one of the most explosive offenses in the country, ranked No. 5 in the country in scoring offense and total offense behind the quarterback. behren morton,
But from the beginning, Oregon made its presence felt as Texas Tech played only six plays in the first quarter. On the Red Raiders’ third drive, the Oregon freshman Brandon Finney Jr.Morton was intercepted for the first of his three takeaways (two interceptions and one fumble recovery), Texas Tech did not gain a first down until nearly 18 minutes of the game and had a season low with three first downs and 88 yards in the first half,
Nevertheless, Texas Tech trailed only 6–0 at halftime. The turning point came early in the third quarter, when, following an Oregon turnover, Texas Tech had the ball at the 31. However, this soon changed Mataio Uiagaleli A strip sack by Morton was a fumble that he returned to the 6-yard line.
The Ducks turned the turnover into a touchdown and Texas Tech never really had much of a chance after that.
“We’re always saying, ‘Get the ball back.’ It’s really going to change the game for our offense, the whole team,” Uiagalelei said. “I had a chance, and I took my shot, and I took the ball out, and it bounced right back to me.”
“This is the best defense we’ve faced this year,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “They did a great job defending us. I thought they did a good job of keeping the ball in front of them, didn’t give up too many big plays. We’ve been a big-play aggressive, explosive offense. They kept the ball in front of them. But you can’t turn the ball over four times.”
Texas Tech also came into the game as the more heralded defense, but it was Oregon that left the game with a defensive performance to remember – a change of pace for a team that was used to being in the spotlight. While the Oregon offense had its issues, the defensive players seemed good at carrying the load.
Especially after their last game.
“Not necessarily to prove something to anyone else, but to prove myself more,” Uiagalelei said. “We knew it wasn’t standard in the second half last week. We didn’t finish how we wanted. We knew finishing this game was going to be very important to the success of this game. So just keeping that in mind, it was definitely fuel.”
