When we last saw the Ducks in action on the football field they had dispatched the Badgers of Wisconsin in a bit of a clunky showing. With two weeks to digest that somewhat puzzling performance and a very
worthy opponent awaiting them coming off a bye there was tons of anticipation for Saturday’s road test at Iowa. Adding to the buildup of the game was the first college football playoff rankings being unveiled during the week that all of a sudden made this game a top 20 match-up with the No.9 Ducks taking on the No. 20 Hawkeyes.
The day got off to an uneasy start for Ducks fans as message board rumors about potential injuries swirled around the internet. Here was the official injury report reported by the team to the Big Ten
Injuries suck, but they are as much a part of football as coaches running onto the field to frantically call a timeout. To be able to secure a win, in one of the hardest places to play in the B1G, the Ducks would need to adjust and move on. Here is how they responded:
1st Quarter
Oregon won the coin toss and elected to defer their choice to the 2nd half. Iowa’s dangerous return man returned the opening kick-off to the 21 yard line. Iowa’s offence couldn’t do anything and promptly went 3 and out. Iowa’s punter was forced to make an athletic catch on a high long snap which resulted in a awkward punt that gave the Ducks good field position for their first drive of the game.
Oregon came out throwing put couldn’t complete a pass and was also forced to punt. James Ferguson Reynolds punt went into the end zone and Iowa would essentially pick up their 2nd drive of the game where their first one ended.
On Iowa’s 2nd possession the Hawkeyes were able to stay ahead of the chains by running the ball setting up a 3rd and short. Surprisingly Iowa elected to throw on 3rd down and couldn’t complete the short pass bringing on the punt team again. This time the snap was too high for Iowa’s best receiver, I mean punter, and the punter had to play some kind of combination of basketball and soccer to try and concede the safety instead of giving the Ducks a free touchdown. What I thought was the definition of Iowa football was costing them early in this game as the Ducks took the rare 2-0 lead and would get the ball for their second possession off an Iowa free kick.
Off the free kick Oregon again took over in good field position on their own 33 yard line for their 2nd possession and instead of throwing the ball Oregon elected to come out running with Noah Whittington. 4 straight Noah Whittington runs and the Ducks quickly picked up 2 first downs which then set-up an explosive pass to Gary Bryant Jr. to put the Ducks in a position to score. But just as things started to look promising the drive turned disaster. when Gary Bryant Jr. needed help to get off the field and could not put any weight on his right leg. A couple of stuffed runs and false start put the Ducks in 3rd and long where Phil Parker was able to draw something up to confuse Dante Moore into throwing a red zone interception. A drive the Ducks had the ball 1st and 10 at the 18 resulted in zero points and Iowa getting the ball at the 20 yard line.
Iowa’s 3rd drive was similar to their 2nd drive, as they were running the ball and staying ahead of the chains. But a miscommunication in the Iowa backfield put them in 3rd and 14 which may as well be an auto punt for the Hawkeyes. The Ducks 3rd possession would start on their own 18. Two nice runs by Noah Whittington gave the Ducks a first down before the wave to the Children’s Hospital.
2nd Quarter
To start the 2nd quarter Oregon kept the ball on the ground and picked up another first down. But then Iowa was so focused on stopping the inside running game that Oregon was able to hit an explosive play action pass to Jamari Johnson. Then the freshmen duo of Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill got Oregon’s first two explosive runs of the game. A Dierre Hill patience to lightning speed run gave the Ducks their first Touchdown of the game.
The Hawkeyes would get the ball down 2 possessions and in desperate need of points. Just as they did all game Iowa was slowly and methodically running the ball and staying on schedule. Then on a 1st down at mid-field a play action pass got a receiver wide open for an explosive play that got Iowa down to the 3 yard line. The very next play the Hawkeyes would toss a quick pass to the outside and just like that it was a 2 point game again.
Oregon would start their 4th drive of the game at the 25 yard line with 5:43 left to play in the second quarter. A great opportunity for the offence to win the middle 8.
But the most B1G call by the referee’s possible put Oregon behind the chains in 1st and 23. The offence did well to at least gain 2o yards of field position to allow James Ferguson Reynolds to put the ball to the Iowa 27 yard line were Iowa would start their next drive looking to get a quick stop to give the Ducks offence one more possession before half-time.
On 2nd and long Gronowski hit a wide open tight end over the middle to get the Hawkeyes to midfield. An incompletion followed by a Gronowski run up the middle would set-up a key 3rd and medium on the otherside of the 2 minute timeout.
A perfectly timed and executed blitz got the Ducks off the field with a chance to get the ball again with 2 timeouts and 1:43 to go in the half.
The Ducks elected to play things somewhat safe with 2 Noah Whittington runs to start the drive. But Whittington was able to run behind some great blocking to get a quick 38 yards and move Oregon into Iowa territory. Oregon still seemed content to not risk anything and keep the lead going into the half. The Ducks did pick up another 1st down to the Iowa 31 but burned the majority of the time they had left in the half to get there. With 12 seconds in the half and at the Iowa 28 Oregon probably needed to execute 1 more play to get into more comfortable Atticus Sappington range. Oregon elected to run a screen that got blown up. Some nice moves from Whittington at least got the ball back to the line of scrimmage. For any additional points Sappington would need to hit a season long 46 yard field goal. Atticus came up big and Oregon would take a 5 point lead into the locker room and the opportunity to get the ball to start the 2nd half.
At the half Oregon lead in all 3 of the team charting statistics:
Net Success Rate: +2% Oregon
Net Explosiveness Rate: +14% Oregon
Net Yards Per Play: +2.67 Yards Oregon
The first drive of the second half would be critical in the determination of the outcome of the game. If Oregon could stretch their lead to a two possession before Iowa could even touch the ball it would go a long way in driving home a win. An empty possession and the Hawkeyes would have life.
3rd Quarter
After penetration to snuff out a run on First Down, Iowa was able to force a 3rd and 6 and then bat the ball at the line of scrimmage to force a very quick 3 and out to get the ball back.
Iowa got the ball and was running their offence in the exact manner that they wanted too. Efficiency running to barely stay ahead of the chains. Oregon did force a 3rd and long but Gronowski was able to roll out hit a receiver on the sideline to move the chains. Combined with illegal hands to the face called on Oregon and Iowa was into the red-zone. The 2nd play into the Red Zone Brandon Finney put his hat on the ball and forced a fumble on an Iowa mis-direction run to stop the Hawkeye drive in it’s tracks and give the ball back to Oregon.
On 2nd down deep in their own territory Stein unleashed a read option for Dante that Iowa did not see coming and it lead to a huge play that flipped the field. The Ducks methodically moved the ball into Iowa territory and had a 3rd and 2 inside the red zone. An unfortunate tangle of legs at the line of scrimmage though tripped Dante Moore and Oregon couldn’t even attempt to run the 3rd down play. For the drive to end with points Atticus Sappington would need to hit a 40 yard field goal, which he did with ease to give Oregon an 8 point lead with just under 16 minutes to play in the game. A stop from the Defense on the next Iowa drive would be huge as they were slowly running out of time to run their methodical rushing attack.
A rare pass before 3rd down fell incomplete and it looked like the Ducks had set-up the all important 3rd and long. But a DPI call on Ify Obidegwu who must have been defending Iowa’s 9 foot tall receiver for it to be deemed catchable moved the chains for Iowa and the Hawkeyes would have the ball just short of mid-field to start the final quarter.
4th Quarter
The first series of downs saw Oregon be stout against the run and force a 3rd and long. Gronowski scrambled away from Matayo to throw the ball away and avoid taking a sack which ended up being huge as Iowa was able to hit a 58 yard field goal with ease to cut the lead back down to 5 points with just under 13 minutes to go. The 3rd possession of the half for the Ducks offence and it was the 3rd opportunity for the Ducks to really stretch the lead and put Iowa in an uncomfortable position.
Oregon was doing a great job running the ball against Iowa’s will and got to the edge of field goal range. But a costly holding penalty forced a 4th and long outside of field goal range. Oregon would have to settle for a punt that would pin Iowa inside their own 10 yard line with just over 8 and half minutes to play. The Duck defense would need to come up with a huge stop.
Iowa was as stubborn as a mule refusing to give up and Oregon just could not get the big stop the Hawkeyes marched 89 yards to get to the Oregon 3 yard on 3rd and goal at the 2 minute warning. The Ducks would need to make two plays to hold Iowa out of the end zone and preserve the lead
On 3rd and goal Iowa went with a jump pass to no one. One play to determine the game it was going to come down to this. Iowa went 5 wide and the QB draw was the most obvious thing to possibly expect and that’s exactly what Iowa did to get the lead with 1:51 remaining in the game. The Hawkeyes would go for 2 the ball would be tipped up into the air and of course directly into the hands of an Iowa receiver. The Hawkeye pass catcher was out of bounds though meaning the lead would remain at 1 point. Oregon had an opportunity to win the game in regulation with a field goal. They had just under 2 minutes and all of their timeouts remaining.
It was time for Dante Moore to become an Oregon legend. After struggling all day with his 3 leading receivers out of the game could he lead the Ducks on a game winning drive in hostile territory to keep Oregon at 1 in the loss column.
That’s exactly what he did remaining calm cool and collected in a pressure packed situation. Going into the final drive Oregon had 3 successful pass plays all game long. On the final drive they had 5 including a huge play fit into a keyhole to Malik Benson to get the Ducks into field goal range. Atticus Sappington would nail his 3rd field goal of the game to give the Ducks the lead and leave Iowa with only 3 seconds which ran out on the ensuing kickoff.
What a GUSTY win for the Ducks with a lot of guys missing and every factor going against them. Unbelievable.
