Updated 6:58 pm PT
The Oregon Ducks played the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a first-time ever meeting between these teams today. The weather could not have been better, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 60s – perfect fall football weather.
Rutger won the toss and deferred to the second half.
On the third play of Oregon’s first drive, a crazy fumble following a screen pass to Gary Bryant Jr. was recovered by Rutgers and they had 1st and 10 on Oregon’s 33-yard line. The Knights went three-and-out
and had to settle for a field goal to get on the board first. Rutgers 3, Oregon 0.
The Ducks started their second drive on their 25. This time, the third play of the drive resulted in a Noah Whittington run for a touchdown. Whittington ran 68 yards, and was nearly untouched. Oregon 7, Rutgers 3.
The Knights started their next drive on their 25, and went three-and-out while losing a yard. Their punt had the Ducks starting on their own 13-yard line.
Oregon drove the length of the field, with two monster passes to Kenyon Sadiq highlighting the drive.
The Ducks attempted a successful two-point conversion that was negated by a penalty, and kicked the PAT instead. Oregon 14. Rutgers 3.
Rutgers put together a good drive on their next possession, starting at their 25, that included a successful fourth down conversion. On their next play, the Knights had their own pass pop up in the air, where it was intercepted by Blake Purchase. The interception was good, but Oregon committed a dead-ball personal foul and started their next drive on their own 21-yard line.
After the start of the second quarter. Oregon ran a direct snap to Jordon Davison for a big run gain, and that was followed by a flea flicker from Dante Moore to Sadiq for Oregon’s next touchdown. Oregon 21, Rutgers 3.
Rutger drove to midfield on their next drive, only to cough it up on their own 46-yard line by Aaron Flowers, giving the Ducks a short-field opportunity for another score.
Oregon started their next drive on Rutgers’ 49-yard line. After a couple of rushing plays, Moore found a wide-open Dakorien Moore for a 34-yard touchdown pass, and Oregon was up 28-3.
The Knights were not able to generate anything on their next drive. They punted on fourth down, and the Ducks started on the Oregon 28-yard line.
Oregon could not be stopped. Another nice pass from Moore to Moore was followed by Noah Whittington rushing for 26 yards and his second TD of the night.
Oregon was up 35-3 with 6:54 left to go until halftime. Rutgers again pushed to midfield and then totally whiffed on what would have been a TD throw, had the throw been anywhere near a wide-open receiver. The Knights successfully converted on 4th and 3 to get to Oregon’s 33-yard line. At the 2:00 mark, Rutgers had penetrated the deepest they had been in Oregon territory, but were faced with 4th and 5 on the Oregon 28-yard line. The Knights’ pass was incomplete, and Rutgers turned the ball over on downs.
Dante Moore completed a 56-yard pass to Jamari Johnson that put the Ducks on Rutgers’ 15-yard line. The Knights promptly committed two offsides penalties, and Moore flicked a 5-yard pass to Whittington for Oregon’s next score. Oregon 42, Rutgers 3.
That would be our score at halftime. Oregon tallied 441 yards to 117 for Rutgers. Dante Moore was 14-18 for 279 yards and 4 TDs. Kenyon Sadiq was the leading receiver with four receptions for 80 yards and 2 TDs. Noah Whittington had 120 yards on 10 carries.
Rutgers took the ball to begin the second half. They were only able to get a single first down before punting to the Ducks, and Oregon started their first drive of the second half on their 13-yard line.
All Oregon needed was Jordon Davison on this drive. Davison blew past the Knights for a 67-yard run, and then was handed the rock on the next play for a 20-yard score.
The PAT was good and Oregon held a 49-3 lead. Rutgers could only get to midfield before Aaron Flowers picked up his second interception. The Ducks had the ball on their own 47-yard line.
For Oregon’s next drive, I have no idea why Moore was still under center. Oregon pushed to the 9-yard line of Rutgers, and a TD was negated by a holding penalty. Moore then threw an interception and the Knights had the ball on their 15-yard line.
Rutgers was not able to take advantage of the turnover, and punted after another three-and-out. The Ducks started on their 42, and ran the ball three times for their next score, with Dierre Hill Jr. running 35 yards for a TD. Oregon was now up 56-3 and we weren’t even to the 4th quarter.
After another fruitless three-and-out drive, Rutgers punted and the Ducks started on their 14-yard line with Brock Thomas at the helm. Thomas did well, but Oregon could only advance to the 26-yard line of the Knights, and Gage Hurych attempted a 44-yard FG try, which was no good.
It seemed that the next drive for the Knights was a no-go, but that was before they punted and Dakorien Moore fumbled the punt for an Oregon turnover at the Oregon 30-yard line. Rutgers pushed to the 7-yard line of Oregon, then ran the ball in for their first touchdown.
With the ball back and 6:40 left in the game, the Ducks were content to run the clock out as much as possible. At the RU 14-yard line with 1:15 to go, Oregon took a couple of knees and ended the game, 56-10.
Visit us again when we update with final game stats and interviews!
Updated 6:58 pm PT
