Saturday, October 26
Eugene, Ore.
12:30 PM
University of Oregon
8-0 , 5-0
38
vs
9
Illinois
6-2 , 3-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Illinois
3
0
6
0
9
Oregon
14
21
0
3
38
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Top-Ranked Ducks Show Poise With Top-20 Win
10/26/24 | Football
No. 1 Oregon showed no signs of being distracted by its new ranking Saturday, knocking off No. 20 Illinois at home, 38-9.
EUGENE, Ore. — November is setting up to be a month to remember for the Oregon football team.
Playing for the first time this season as the No. 1 team in college football, the Ducks remained unbeaten with a 38-9 victory Saturday over No. 20 Illinois. Dillon Gabriel accounted for four touchdowns, and the UO defense allowed a touchdown for just the second time in the last 10 quarters as the Ducks won before a crowd of 59,830 — the 10th-largest in Autzen Stadium history.
Oregon enters November at 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten Conference. The remaining regular-season schedule includes road trips to Michigan and Wisconsin, and home dates with Maryland and Washington, more chances for the Ducks to play with the kind of poise they did Saturday despite the No. 1 ranking.
"They've put themselves in position to have that opportunity," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "But that's all it is, is an opportunity. Success only matters if you're satisfied, and I know our team's not."
Gabriel finished Saturday 18-of-26 passing for 291 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, plus a rushing touchdown. Tez Johnson caught six passes for 102 yards and a score, Noah Whittington scored via rush and also reception, and Tysheem Johnson had 10 tackles plus one of the Ducks' two interceptions on the day.
"We know we've got a target on our back, but we don't really care who's coming after us," Tez Johnson said. "We don't care about the No. 1 spot. We just care about going 1-0 at the end of the week. I mean, it's good and all, but we don't really care that we're No. 1. We just want to win football games."
Oregon reached the end zone on five of its six possessions in the first half, taking a 35-3 lead into halftime. Illinois scored the only touchdown of the second half — just the second touchdown allowed by the UO defense since halftime of the Ohio State game on Oct. 12 — and the Ducks tacked on a field goal in the fourth quarter.
The Ducks came into the game prioritizing two elements of the matchup above all others — winning in the run game, and minimizing takeaways by the Illinois defense. Oregon outrushed the Fighting Illini, 229-132, and was plus-one in turnover margin on the day.
"We knew the challenge that we had, to stop the run and win the turnover battle," Tysheem Johnson said. "We heard all week about Illinois' (turnover margin). It was something we took pride in, to get more turnovers than them today. I think we did a good job of that."
Including interceptions by Johnson and Sione Laulea, the Ducks broke up eight passes. They also had seven tackles for loss that included three sacks, with 11 different UO defenders contributing to a tackle for loss.
"I thought our guys attacked the ball with relentless effort today," Lanning said.
Oregon opened the game with the ball and quickly drove to the afternoon's first points, a 31-yard scoring reception by Tez Johnson. The Ducks made it 14-0 on Gabriel's second touchdown pass of the first quarter, to Justius Lowe.
A defensive stop by Illinois followed by a field goal got the visitors within 14-3. But the Ducks scored three times in the second quarter — rushing touchdowns by Gabriel and Whittington, and a scoring pass between those two players with 29 seconds left in the first half.
Gabriel's 291 passing yards gave him 17,236 in his career, second-most in NCAA history behind Case Keenum with 19,217. Gabriel also moved up to No. 2 in career touchdown passes with 143, behind Keenum's 155.
"I'm chasing wins," Gabriel said when asked about moving up the record lists. "That's where I'm at. I don't want to not give you an answer, but to be quite honest, that's been the goal of mine for a long time — but now more than ever. You play a long career like I did, and you realize a lot of things. And I choose winning 100 percent of the time."
Illinois finally found the end zone with 46 seconds left in the third quarter, the first touchdown Oregon's defense allowed since Ohio State scored with 9:27 left in the third quarter on Oct. 12 — more than two full games' worth of clock time.
Oregon closed the scoring Saturday with a 44-yard field goal by Andrew Boyle in the fourth quarter.
"I thought both sides of the ball started off fast tonight; that's always a positive for us," Lanning said. "Do feel like we had a little bit of a lull in the second half where we could have been a little bit cleaner — hurt ourselves with a couple penalties that extended drives for them. But overall, pleased with our team's performance, and I think we continue to see this team have growth and look for opportunities to get better."
Playing for the first time this season as the No. 1 team in college football, the Ducks remained unbeaten with a 38-9 victory Saturday over No. 20 Illinois. Dillon Gabriel accounted for four touchdowns, and the UO defense allowed a touchdown for just the second time in the last 10 quarters as the Ducks won before a crowd of 59,830 — the 10th-largest in Autzen Stadium history.
Oregon enters November at 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten Conference. The remaining regular-season schedule includes road trips to Michigan and Wisconsin, and home dates with Maryland and Washington, more chances for the Ducks to play with the kind of poise they did Saturday despite the No. 1 ranking.
"They've put themselves in position to have that opportunity," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "But that's all it is, is an opportunity. Success only matters if you're satisfied, and I know our team's not."
Gabriel finished Saturday 18-of-26 passing for 291 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, plus a rushing touchdown. Tez Johnson caught six passes for 102 yards and a score, Noah Whittington scored via rush and also reception, and Tysheem Johnson had 10 tackles plus one of the Ducks' two interceptions on the day.
"We know we've got a target on our back, but we don't really care who's coming after us," Tez Johnson said. "We don't care about the No. 1 spot. We just care about going 1-0 at the end of the week. I mean, it's good and all, but we don't really care that we're No. 1. We just want to win football games."
Oregon reached the end zone on five of its six possessions in the first half, taking a 35-3 lead into halftime. Illinois scored the only touchdown of the second half — just the second touchdown allowed by the UO defense since halftime of the Ohio State game on Oct. 12 — and the Ducks tacked on a field goal in the fourth quarter.
The Ducks came into the game prioritizing two elements of the matchup above all others — winning in the run game, and minimizing takeaways by the Illinois defense. Oregon outrushed the Fighting Illini, 229-132, and was plus-one in turnover margin on the day.
"We knew the challenge that we had, to stop the run and win the turnover battle," Tysheem Johnson said. "We heard all week about Illinois' (turnover margin). It was something we took pride in, to get more turnovers than them today. I think we did a good job of that."
Including interceptions by Johnson and Sione Laulea, the Ducks broke up eight passes. They also had seven tackles for loss that included three sacks, with 11 different UO defenders contributing to a tackle for loss.
"I thought our guys attacked the ball with relentless effort today," Lanning said.
Oregon opened the game with the ball and quickly drove to the afternoon's first points, a 31-yard scoring reception by Tez Johnson. The Ducks made it 14-0 on Gabriel's second touchdown pass of the first quarter, to Justius Lowe.
A defensive stop by Illinois followed by a field goal got the visitors within 14-3. But the Ducks scored three times in the second quarter — rushing touchdowns by Gabriel and Whittington, and a scoring pass between those two players with 29 seconds left in the first half.
Gabriel's 291 passing yards gave him 17,236 in his career, second-most in NCAA history behind Case Keenum with 19,217. Gabriel also moved up to No. 2 in career touchdown passes with 143, behind Keenum's 155.
"I'm chasing wins," Gabriel said when asked about moving up the record lists. "That's where I'm at. I don't want to not give you an answer, but to be quite honest, that's been the goal of mine for a long time — but now more than ever. You play a long career like I did, and you realize a lot of things. And I choose winning 100 percent of the time."
Illinois finally found the end zone with 46 seconds left in the third quarter, the first touchdown Oregon's defense allowed since Ohio State scored with 9:27 left in the third quarter on Oct. 12 — more than two full games' worth of clock time.
Oregon closed the scoring Saturday with a 44-yard field goal by Andrew Boyle in the fourth quarter.
"I thought both sides of the ball started off fast tonight; that's always a positive for us," Lanning said. "Do feel like we had a little bit of a lull in the second half where we could have been a little bit cleaner — hurt ourselves with a couple penalties that extended drives for them. But overall, pleased with our team's performance, and I think we continue to see this team have growth and look for opportunities to get better."
Team Stats
ILL
ORE
Total Yards
293
527
Pass Yards
161
298
Rushing Yards
132
229
Penalty Yards
10
30
1st Downs
18
27
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
28:45
31:15
1st Quarter
ILL 0, ORE 7
ORE - Johnson,Tez 31 yd pass from Gabriel,Dillon (Sappington,Atticus kick) 9 plays, 83 yards, TOP 04:05
ILL 0, ORE 14
ORE - Lowe,Justius 34 yd pass from Gabriel,Dillon (Sappington,Atticus kick) 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 02:41
ILL 3, ORE 14
ILL - Olano,David 38 yd field goal 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 02:00
2nd Quarter
ILL 3, ORE 21
ORE - Gabriel,Dillon 7 yd run (Boyle,Andrew kick), 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 04:14
ILL 3, ORE 28
ORE - Whittington,Noah 18 yd run (Sappington,Atticus kick), 6 plays, 54 yards, TOP 03:13
ILL 3, ORE 35
ORE - Whittington,Noah 2 yd pass from Gabriel,Dillon (Sappington,Atticus kick) 8 plays, 89 yards, TOP 02:03
3rd Quarter
ILL 9, ORE 35
ILL - Valentine,Ca'Lil 4 yd run (), 16 plays, 95 yards, TOP 06:42
4th Quarter
ILL 9, ORE 38
ORE - Boyle,Andrew 44 yd field goal 7 plays, 40 yards, TOP 03:05
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
18
TD
3
YDS
291
INT
1
CMP
2
TD
0
YDS
7
INT
0
Players Mentioned
K
/ FootballQB
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WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
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