The Oregon Ducks had their chances against Illinois, but the game turned on a late touchdown that came with replay drama attached.
Illinois beat Oregon 21-10 on Saturday, and the decisive score arrived with 2:29 left in the fourth quarter when Collin Dixon came down with a touchdown from Michael Clayton II. The sequence was immediately reviewed after Ducks defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. got a hand on the ball before Dixon caught it, bobbled it, and secured it again as he went to the ground in the end zone. Officials ruled there was no indisputable evidence that Dixon lost possession when the ball hit the ground.
During the Big Ten’s broadcast presentation, the referee-replay conversation was available to viewers, and officials noted Dixon’s hand moving on the ball. Even so, they said there was no evidence of the ball moving without control. That ruling stood, and Illinois pushed the lead to 21-10, turning it into a two-score margin and putting Oregon in a tough spot late.
Oregon’s offense never really found its rhythm. The Ducks were missing wide receivers Evan Stewart, Jeremiah McClellan, Messiah Hampton, and Jalen Lott, and the shortage showed up in the red zone and on the scoreboard. Dylan Raiola finished 27 of 41 for 246 yards, while Oregon ran for 180 yards and a touchdown at 5.6 yards per carry as a team.
The raw numbers favored Oregon in a few places. The Ducks finished with 21 first downs to Illinois’ 15, but they couldn’t turn enough of that movement into points. Instead, they settled for field goals four times, and kicker Gage Hurych missed his first kicks of the season, going 1 for 4 with multiple tries from beyond 50 yards.
Things also got shaky right after halftime, when Oregon opened the period with consecutive three-and-outs and sent its defense right back onto the field.
That defense gave the Ducks a fighting chance for much of the night. Oregon forced a fumble and limited Illinois to 89 passing yards.
But the Fighting Illini made their money on the ground, rolling up 225 rushing yards and a touchdown while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. A possible interception by safety Peyton Woodyard was also wiped out by replay after the ball appeared to hit the ground and move as Woodyard went down.
Because of a TV timeout, the replay discussion in that sequence was not shown.
In the end, Illinois was the team that finished drives. Oregon was not.
The loss leaves the Ducks’ College Football Playoff hopes essentially gone, and their path to the Big Ten Championship Game would have required help from the conference’s top teams. The schedule still includes No.
24 Northwestern and No. 3 Ohio State, with the status of Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin uncertain.
Michigan, Michigan State, and Washington are still ahead as Oregon’s goals now shift from CFP talk to bowl eligibility.
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Among the names circulating are Candice Story Lee of Vanderbilt, Katie Fraumann, who has ties to Michigan, and David Benedict of UConn. Each brings a different background, but the common thread is the same: this is a hire that may define the direction of the department as much as any move on the field. For Michigan fans, the real intrigue is not only who gets the job, but how quickly that person decides the Wolverines need a different path in football. [Read more 🡒]
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The broader concern is that Michigan has already spent much of the season playing closer games than expected and surviving on the margins more often than it would like. Against Rutgers, the path is fairly clear: establish the run, control the pace and avoid giving an underdog enough chances to hang around. If the Wolverines cannot do that against the conferences weakest run defense, it would say plenty about where this offense really stands heading into the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]