No. 7 Ducks Have Last Word Against Broncos

Saturday, September 7

Eugene, Ore.

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

2-0 , 0-0

Boise State

1-1 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Boise St.

Oregon

Tez Johnson Punt Return Touchdown Lanning Running

Photo by: Rian Yamasaki

09/08/24 | Football

Box Score FINAL STATS: No. 7 Oregon 37, Boise State 34 Photo Gallery

In a game of wild momentum swings, Oregon beat Boise State on Saturday with a field goal on the final play of the night.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — A game full of wild momentum changes saw the pendulum swing in Oregon's favor in the end Saturday night, as the No. 7 Ducks beat Boise State with a field goal as time expired at sold-out Autzen Stadium, 37-34.

After Tez Johnson's punt return for a touchdown gave the Ducks a 27-20 advantage in the third quarter, the Broncos took the lead with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns set up by UO fumbles. But Oregon tied it back up with another special teams touchdown, on a kickoff return, and the special teams came through yet again when Atticus Sappington made a 25-yard field goal on the final play.

"We tried to shoot ourselves in the foot as much as we could — that's obvious," said UO quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who was 18-of-21 passing for 243 yards and two touchdowns, ran for a score but also lost a fumble. "There's a lot for sure to clean up. But you talk about responding to adversity and seeing guys come together within a game, (despite) the emotional roller coaster some may be on. I just love how we stayed consistent, and I love the guys and how they played."

Gabriel's fumble set up Ashton Jeanty's third touchdown of the night — and ninth in two games this season — giving Boise State a 34-27 lead with 10:15 to play. Noah Whittington took the ensuing kickoff the distance for Oregon, and though he dropped the ball while crossing the goal line, teammate Jayden Limar picked it up in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Boise Broncos at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on September 7, 2024 (Isaac Wasserman / Eric Evans Photo)

The Oregon Ducks take on the Boise Broncos at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on September 7, 2024 (Isaac Wasserman / Eric Evans Photo)

The teams then traded punts, and Oregon's defense got a three-and-out to give the Ducks possession with 3:36 to play. Gabriel completed three passes to get the ball past midfield, Jordan James ran for some hard yards to get the ball inside the 10-yard line and Sappington finished it off for the win — on a night he also missed an extra point and had a kickoff sail out of bounds.

"I think special teams was probably the difference for us," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "I'm really proud of our guys to show some resiliency. It was kind of a comeback game in a lot of ways."

The victory was Oregon's 34th straight in nonconference home games, extending the longest active streak in the nation. The Ducks will bring a 2-0 record into next week's game at rival Oregon State.

Saturday's game saw a carryover of some issues from Oregon's season-opening win over Idaho. Boise State sacked Gabriel on the game's opening possession — one of four times he was sacked in the game — and a defensive stop on that drive preceded a Broncos field goal for the game's first points.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Boise Broncos at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on September 7, 2024 (Isaac Wasserman / Eric Evans Photo)

But Saturday also saw Oregon fix some issues from the opener. After few explosion plays against the Vandals, the Ducks had several Saturday, including a 67-yard completion from Gabriel to Evan Stewart that set up Gabriel's rushing touchdown for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, after Jeanty's first rushing touchdown put Boise State back in front, Gabriel completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Stewart for a 14-10 lead. The Broncos were ahead at halftime, 20-14, but the Ducks tied it in the third quarter on yet another explosive play — a 59-yard Traeshon Holden touchdown reception from Gabriel, after which the PAT was no good — and Johnson made it 27-20 later in the third with an 85-yard punt return.

"It was really good making big plays today," Johnson said. "Because they all mattered."

To that point, Oregon had mostly contained Jeanty, limiting him to 96 yards on 18 carries — a week after he ran for a school-record 267 yards at Georgia Southern. But after a UO fumble early in the fourth quarter Saturday, Jeanty went 70 yards for a score on the next play. And when Gabriel fumbled on a run play that resulted from confusion about the snap count, Jeanty scored again three plays later to give the Broncos a 34-27 lead with 10:15 to play.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Boise Broncos at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on September 7, 2024 (Isaac Wasserman / Eric Evans Photo)

But he averaged just three yards per carry on his final three runs, finishing with 192 yards on 25 carries. The win was Oregon's first ever over Boise State, in four all-time matchups.

"He's kind of low to the ground, and he runs hard and doesn't go down at first contact," said UO defensive lineman Jordan Burch, who had eight tackles, two pass breakups and a sack. "We had to strike blocks, stay in our gaps. I think we did a good job at that towards the beginning; we kind of slipped up middle of the game, but I feel like we did all right throughout the game."

Jeanty's final carry came on a three-and-out for the Broncos that gave Oregon possession with 3:36 to play, having previously tied the game on Whittington's long kick return and Limar's recovery of the ball in the end zone. The Ducks moved the chains twice and crossed into BSU territory with three passes and one run, and got into the high red area on a pass interference penalty.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Boise Broncos at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on September 7, 2024 (Isaac Wasserman / Eric Evans Photo)

After initially looking to score a touchdown, they shifted gears and let James grind out yards while running out the clock to set up Sappington for the winner. Gabriel took a knee to center the ball at the BSU 7-yard line, Lanning called time out with 2 seconds left, and Sappington came in to hit the walk-off winner.

"It's pretty surreal," he said. "That's one of the best moments I've ever had in my entire life."

For the Ducks, the game-winning kick provided a second straight win on a day they felt they could have played much better.

"I have a sense of relief because of the result," Lanning said. "But (still) trying to focus on the process. And there's a lot of things that I think that we can go attack and fix."