Dylan Raiola waited until the fourth quarter to flip the game, then turned his old team into the latest victim of a late Oregon rally.
The former Nebraska quarterback, now wearing Oregon colors, came off the bench Saturday night and delivered the winning blow with 28 seconds left, firing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson as the Ducks edged the Huskers 17-14 in Eugene, Ore. Raiola then watched Oregon cash in the 2-point conversion to seal the comeback.
Raiola’s final drive had a little bit of everything. He briefly thought he had the game-winning score moments earlier when he found Dakorien Moore for a 4-yard touchdown with 33 seconds remaining, but the play was overturned on review. He came right back and finished the job with Johnson in the back of the end zone.
“Everyone was dialed in,” Raiola said about the final drive. “We just kept preparing until the end and JJ had a cute little toe-drag touchdown to win the game.”
Oregon was staring at a 14-6 deficit when Raiola entered in the fourth quarter. His first possession ended with Gage Hurych’s 37-yard field goal, and from there the Ducks kept hanging around just long enough to let the finish swing their way.
Anthony Colandrea had put Nebraska in position to win for most of the night. He completed 18 of 33 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for 33 yards and another score. His second-half run to the pylon on a 6-yard scramble, diving at the end of the third quarter, pushed Nebraska’s lead to 14-6.
But Nebraska couldn’t finish the job for the second straight week. After losing to Indiana 20-17 last weekend, the Cornhuskers again let a fourth-quarter lead slip away.
“Obviously, we have a pretty devastated football team in there - a bunch of guys that showed up and competed. And, for the second week in a row, we just came up short,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “I thought it was one of the finer defensive performances I’ve been around, with short fields and not much help, and in the end it just kind of wore out.”
The game stayed stuck in neutral for a long stretch. It was scoreless until late in the second quarter, when Colandrea hit Kwazi Gilmer in the back corner of the end zone. Before that, both teams kept punting - 13 times in the first half - and each side had one turnover.
Oregon needed a jolt, and it finally got one from Raiola. He was 11 of 18 for 59 yards in the fourth quarter, while the Ducks’ offense as a whole had barely moved all night.
Before Brock Thomas was replaced, Oregon had only 91 total yards. Thomas, the third-string quarterback and a former walk-on, went 9 of 20 for 54 yards and an interception.
Dante Moore, Oregon’s starter, remained unavailable after sustaining a concussion in the Ducks’ 41-27 win over USC on Sept. 26.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning said Thomas understood the move.
“I just think that shows so much remarkable courage from a guy like that to be in that situation, and it’s got to be disappointing that moment to know, `Hey, I’m good with it. Let’s do whatever we got to do to win,'” Lanning said.
Oregon improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Nebraska fell to 5-2 and 2-2 in conference play.
Nebraska plays Oct. 31 at Washington. Oregon visits Illinois next Saturday.
In Other News...
Matt Rhule Sends Clear Message After Nebraskas Painful Oregon Finish
Nebraska came up just short against Oregon, falling 17-14 in a game that turned late when junior quarterback Dylan Raiola entered in the fourth quarter and hit tight end Jamari Johnson for the winning touchdown. Afterward, Matt Rhule made it clear he was not interested in turning the loss into a referendum on his quarterback or his program, instead framing it as the kind of game that can teach a team where it still needs to grow.
Rhule pointed to fatigue and Oregons effective run game as part of the reason the Cornhuskers were unable to close it out, while also brushing aside any notion that the late kickoff was an excuse. For Nebraska, the bigger takeaway may be the standard these matchups provide, since Rhule emphasized the value of lining up against strong programs even when the result stings. [Read more 🡒]
Washington Gets A Clear Opening As Nebraska Brings Real Concerns
Nebraskas latest loss was another frustrating one in a season that keeps slipping at the edges, with the Cornhuskers falling 17-14 to Oregon after letting a fourth-quarter lead get away for the second straight game. The timing only adds to the concern, because the issues have started to look familiar: special teams havent been steady, the rushing attack has faded in recent weeks, and the injury list has made it harder to patch things together.
A bye week now gives Nebraska a little breathing room before Washington comes to Lincoln, but it also leaves a clear set of problems to sort through. The Huskies will see a team that has been competitive late into games and still found a way to lose them, which makes the next stretch feel especially important for a group trying to stop the slide and reset before the home matchup arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Defense Did Enough But One Problem Still Cost Them
Nebraska had every chance to turn a solid defensive effort into one of its biggest wins of the season, but the offense never quite matched what the defense gave it. The Cornhuskers led entering the fourth quarter and kept Oregon within reach for most of the afternoon, yet the Ducks were able to survive a tight, physical game and leave with a 17-14 victory.
The issue for Nebraska was up front, where the offensive line struggled to consistently hold up and let the game slip away despite the way the defense kept battling. Oregon got late help from Dylan Raiola, who came off the bench and sparked the comeback, leaving Nebraska to wonder how different things might have looked with even a little more protection and consistency on offense. [Read more 🡒]