“This team certainly has the makings of a team that can make a run in the College Football Playoff.”
Those were the words of FOX Sports Lead College Football Analyst Joel Klatt following Oregon’s 34-14 win at Northwestern on Saturday.
Dante Moore threw for 178 yards and a touchdown, Dierre Hill Jr. added a 66-yard scoring run, and Jayden Limar and Jordon Davison had rushing touchdowns to help the Ducks (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) win their road opener.
The Wildcats (1-2, 0-1) forced an Oregon punt on the game’s first drive but didn’t have much of an answer the rest of the game. The Ducks led 17-0 at the half after scoring on their next three possessions to improve to 11-0 against conference foes since joining the Big Ten last season.
No. 4 Oregon Ducks vs. Northwestern Wildcats Highlights
Oregon took advantage of the game’s first turnover – Bryce Boettcher’s interception of a deflected pass in the first quarter – and scored the game’s first touchdown a few plays later when Limar ran it in for a 1-yard touchdown.
After a field goal, Moore connected with Kenyon Sadiq for a 24-yard touchdown just before the half.
Hill’s long run midway through the third quarter – on Oregon’s first play of the second half – and a short touchdown run by Davison later in the period turned the game into a rout.
Moore, making the third start in his Oregon career, completed 16 of 20 passes in the win. The redshirt sophomore signal-caller owns a 78.1% completion percentage through three weeks.
Lanning, who has the Ducks off to the program’s third straight 3-0 start, was asked about his quarterback’s ceiling following the game.
“It’s unbelievably high,” Lanning told FOX Sports Reporter Jenny Taft. “We go with the quarterback and we’ve got a really good one here.”
Preston Stone was 11-for-21 for 135 yards with two interceptions for Northwestern. Caleb Komolafe (53 yards) had a 1-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to avert a shutout and Dashun Reeder added a 79-yard run on his lone carry in the final two minutes.
“I got a little sour taste in my mouth with the way we ended,” Lanning said. “We gotta be able to win the fourth quarter. Ultimately, I saw some good plays and some stuff we can build on.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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