The Ducks needed a play, and Jalen Lott delivered it like a veteran.
Late in the fourth quarter, with Oregon staring at a fourth down and the game - maybe the season - hanging in the balance, the freshman receiver found space in the middle of the field and came down with a slant that kept the drive alive. Dakorien Moore and Jamari Johnson were part of the formation, but Nebraska was clearly keyed on where Dylan Raiola might go.
Raiola fired late, Lott took the hit from a defender coming across his side, and still secured the ball just past the first-down line. That catch extended what became the winning drive for the Ducks.
For a player who had been on campus just long enough to make noise in practice, it was the kind of moment that turns heads fast. Lott finished with three catches for 23 yards in his second game on the field, and two of those receptions came on Oregon’s final march.
It wasn’t a spotless night. Early in the game, Lott dropped a pass from Brock Thomas as another Nebraska defender closed in.
But with a freshman receiver playing in only his second game, the ups and downs come with the territory. Dan Lanning isn’t backing off his confidence in the five-star talent from Frisco, Texas - if anything, he sounds even more convinced the Ducks have something special.
“Super impressive," Lanning said of Lott. "I mean, obviously, I think the first one he touched, which he got back.
Could have been a big play opportunity for us, and a tough catch. But we expect him to make big plays like that.
We've seen it a lot in practice, so having a healthy version of him is beneficial.”
That belief was built long before Saturday night. Lott arrived over the summer after missing spring practice, and he wasted no time flashing in workouts. The staff didn’t wonder whether he’d play this season; the only question was when.
His path to the field hit a snag when a minor corrective surgery on his left hand during fall camp kept him in street clothes at the start of his college career. He kept working while he recovered and stayed around the team, but lost reps are lost reps, especially in a wide receiver room with real depth. That made his climb steeper.
When Jeremiah McClellan went down early in the season with a foot injury, the opening widened for Messiah Hampton. Not long after that, Lott finally got his first game action against UCLA, catching one pass before fading back into the background. Nebraska was a different story.
With Evan Stewart unavailable, Lott was pushed into a starting role over receivers who had logged months of work with the program through spring, summer, and fall camp. And on a drive that stretched 20 plays, the Ducks leaned on him when it mattered most. Raiola trusted him after the early drop, throwing his way twice on the final drive, and Lott responded.
“Talk about a culture that you have no choice but to live up to the standard," Raiola said of Lott. "When you come to a place like this, nobody really cares how long you've been here or when you got here.
It's either ‘you know it or you don’t.’ I think that's the beauty of it.
People are expected to know, and that's not going without saying: I'm proud of (Lott) for how he's handled it, how he knew what to do in the game, and being able to execute on some key plays for us.”
Now the next test comes at Illinois, where Oregon will again be without McClellan and Stewart. Lott should be in line for another major role, no matter who’s throwing him the ball. He’s learning from the veterans around him and from wide receivers coach Ross Douglas, and his role looks set to keep expanding in the second half of the season.
The Ducks head to Illinois on Saturday, with kickoff set for noon PT on Big Ten Network.
In Other News...
Oregon Turns To A Familiar QB For A Crucial Illinois Test
Dan Lanning is making a familiar move at quarterback as Oregon prepares for a crucial road test against Illinois, turning back to Dylan Raiola after Brock Thomas got the start last week. Raiola has already shown he can settle a game in a hurry, having come off the bench and helped spark a late comeback win over Nebraska, and now the Ducks are asking him to carry that momentum into a matchup that could shape the rest of the stretch.
Illinois presents a defense that has had trouble against the pass, which gives Oregon a clear reason to lean on Raiolas arm and poise. It will be his second start, and for a Ducks team looking for stability at the position, the challenge is less about whether Raiola has flashed upside and more about whether he can do it again when the stakes are a little higher. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lanning Weighed In On Playoff Expansion At A Tough Time For Oregon
Dan Lanning has made it clear he is in favor of a larger College Football Playoff, and the timing of his comments adds an interesting layer for Oregon. The Ducks are in the middle of a season that has not put them anywhere near the current bracket picture, so a proposed 24-team field would change the stakes around the sport in a way that would matter to plenty of programs, including ones trying to climb back into the conversation.
For Lanning, the appeal is straightforward: fewer teams would be left arguing over the final spots, and more programs on the edge of the race would still have something to play for late in the year. Oregon, meanwhile, has to keep its focus on the next challenge, a road trip to face Illinois, and Lanning has already pointed to the Illinis offensive strengths as a key part of the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Faces A Huge Test As QB Question Looms Against Oregon
Illinois gets Oregon at home after coming off an overtime win, but the matchup comes with a major wrinkle at quarterback. The Ducks bring a 4-2 record into the game, yet they have had to navigate some recent uneven play and injury concerns under center, which has made their offense less predictable than it looked earlier in the season.
For Oregon, the defense has remained the steady part of the operation, and that matters against an Illinois team turning to true freshman Michael Clayton II at quarterback. The Illini are facing questions on both sides of the ball, so this feels like the kind of game where the quarterback situation could shape everything from the opening series to the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]