Oregon vs Illinois Instant Recap
The No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks took home field Saturday to face the visiting No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini and secured a dominant 38-9 win. Below is a drive-by-drive recap of the game as it happened.
First Quarter
Oregon received the opening kickoff and marched down the field with short passes to running back Jordan James and tight end Kenyon Sadiq before a spectacular crossing route found receiver Tez Johnson for a touchdown. The Ducks’ next drive was mostly run-based until quarterback Dillon Gabriel hit receiver Justius Lowe in stride up the seam for a touchdown making it 14-0 with 6:05 left in the first.
Illinois’ ensuing possession quickly ended in an errant deep ball from quarterback Luke Altmeyer that landed in the hands of Oregon safety Tysheem Johnson with 5:00 left in the first quarter. The Fighting Illini broke a nice run on their next drive that set up a 37-yard field goal.
*Five takeaways from Oregon’s dominant win over Illinois*
Second Quarter
Oregon’s next possession was highlighted by nice catch-and-runs from Sadiq and tight end Patrick Herbert that led to a left-side keeper touchdown for Gabriel that made it 21-3 early in the second. Running back Noah Whittington took an inside handoff to the goal line and laid one of the nastiest trucks I’ve ever seen on an Illinois safety, scoring to make it 28-3 Oregon with 6:09 left in the half.
The Ducks made the two-minute drill look easy as they picked their way down the field roughly 10 yards at a time en route to a goal line reception for Whittington that netted six, bring it to 35-3 with 0:29 remaining in the second.
Top 10
- 1Live
Drew Allar out
Penn State QB will not return in second half vs. WIsconsin
- 2
'Fire Gus'
UCF fans chant at Gus Malzahn after loss vs. BYU
- 3
Refs be hatin'
Jaxson Dart wasn't shy to call out officials for the controversial decision
- 4Trending
Pregame scuffle
LSU and Texas A&M get chippy on the field during warmups
- 5
Will Howard wants revenge
Will Howard is already talking about his motivation vs. Penn State
Third Quarter
A deep strike from Altmeyer to receiver Zakhari Franklin set the Illini up inside Oregon’s 10 from where they failed to convert on a fourth down try. Their next series consisted mostly of short passes in the flat but eventually got them in the endzone on a short-yardage carry, making it 35-9.
Fourth Quarter
Oregon’s ensuing possession ended in an ugly interception from Gabriel on a deep ball that sailed a bit and may have involved a route miscommunication. The Ducks then ran the ball steadily downfield, leading to a field goal from kicker Andrew Boyle that made it 38-9 with 9:04 to go.
Altmeyer threw a desperate pass on the following drive that was picked off by cornerback Sione Laulea to give the Ducks possession back with 8:18 remaining in the game. Quarterback Austin Novosad came in the game and essentially knelt it out to give the Ducks an emphatic 38-9 victory.
