Oregon saves CFP hopes, escapes Iowa on last-second field goal

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Since entering the Big Ten last year, oregon It has shown that it can win in many of the league’s most hostile environments, without losing a single road game. Perhaps more impressive: how the Ducks won.

The latest example came on Saturday iowaAs No. 9 Oregon wins at Kinnick Stadium 18-16 next Atticus Sappington39-yard field goal with three seconds to play. Oregon wins without top wide receiver dakorian moore and top tight end kenyon sadikAnother starting receiver, gary bryant jr., left Saturday’s game due to a right ankle injury in the team’s second series and did not return.

As the rain continued to fall and the temperature dropped, the Ducks focused on their run game, which routed No. 20 Iowa to 261 yards on 36 carries, and special teams scored 12 points, including a safety after a bad snap by Iowa.

“We said special teams had to be special today,” coach Dan Lanning said.

Iowa has consistently won under coach Kirk Ferentz by improving at the line of scrimmage and in the kicking game. But Oregon maintained its lead in both areas on Saturday.

The Ducks passed Iowa 121 yards.

“Oregon has always been an aggressive, explosive team with flashy uniforms and fast passes,” the linebacker said. Bryce Boettcher Said. “Speaking of the Big Ten, from what I understand, Iowa has been a classic team running the ball, the I-formation, and we played better than them tonight, which is great to see.”

Oregon’s rushing total marked the most yards allowed by Iowa since 2022, and its 7.3 yards-per-rush average is the most surrendered by the Hawkeyes since 2014, when Indiana averaged 8.1. led by noah whittingtonAll four of Oregon’s rushers averaged more than 6 yards per carry, and all four rushed for 19 yards or more.

“We went into this game saying, ‘We run in the trenches,'” said Whittington, who had 118 rushing yards. “We don’t really pay attention to the outside noise, but going into this game, it was thrown in our face by the coaching staff, ‘Our O-line was not going to be able to handle what Iowa had in front of them.'”

Despite Oregon’s continued running success, its game-winning drives depended on the quarterback’s arm dante mooreHaving only 65 total passing yards when the Ducks took possession with 1:51 remaining, Iowa drove 93 yards on 12 plays to take its first lead of the game. Moore threw an ugly interception in the end zone and never established a passing rhythm, but he completed 5 of 6 attempts, including a 24-yarder. malik benson That put the Ducks in field goal range.

Benson and fellow wide receivers Jeremiah McClellan And cooper perry All recorded their first receptions of the game on the final drive.

“Dante’s lights were out on that drive,” Lanning said. “It reminds me of what we do in practice. We put our guys in a lot of scenarios like this, but I never give them a time of 1:51.”

Despite the strong special teams performance, Oregon needed one more kick from Sappington to win, who connected from 46 and 40 yards, but had three misses of more than 30 yards on the season. Whittington initially wanted to pray with his eyes closed, but Moore told him to watch a pressure-packed kick, which they both had seen Sappington make many times in practice.

Of course, it went ahead.

“When [Iowa] “I call timeouts to calm down, I just go through my process, breathe, know that everything is in place for me to get through it,” Sappington said. “That moment was made for me.”

After debuting at No. 9 in the CFP standings, Oregon bolstered its playoff profile with a win that should resonate with the selection committee. The Ducks finished the regular season with winning records against three teams – Minnesota, No. 19 USC and No. 23 Washington – a challenging path for a young team, but one that did not let Oregon down.

“Our guys are resilient, they’re tough, they can handle tough moments,” Lanning said. “If it’s a four-quarter battle, we can have a four-quarter battle. I had some guys coming up to me at the end of the game, like, ‘Coach, breathe.’ That’s what I’ve been telling them all week.

“For them to be able to come to me and say the same thing, it tells you that they believe in what we’re doing.”