Oregon 34, Northwestern 26: Five field goals could not keep pace with four touchdowns
Northwestern outgained Oregon and held the ball for nearly 36 minutes, but Dylan Raiola's three touchdown passes won it for the Ducks.
No. 20 Northwestern did nearly everything it needed to at Autzen Stadium on Saturday. The Wildcats outgained the Ducks 456 to 441, held the ball for 35:54, and committed no turnovers. They also scored two touchdowns to Oregon's four.
Jackson Kleather kicked five field goals, two of them from 49 yards. Every one of those drives ended short of the end zone. Oregon answered with Dylan Raiola, who threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns. The last was a 75-yard strike to Dakorien Moore, 11 seconds after Northwestern had pulled within a point. Oregon won 34-26.
How it was won
Northwestern led for most of the first three quarters. Kleather opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal at 9:35 of the first. Aidan Chiles then found Griffin Wilde for a 64-yard touchdown to make it 10-0. Gage Hurych got Oregon on the board with a 27-yarder before the quarter ended.
The second quarter traded kicks: Kleather from 37 and Hurych from 44 made it 13-6. Chiles ran in from 5 yards at 1:53 for a 20-6 lead. Oregon needed only 64 seconds to respond, with Raiola hitting Moore from 10 yards out to make it 20-13 at the half.
Kleather's first 49-yarder pushed the lead to 23-13 early in the third. Raiola cut it to three with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson at 8:46. On the first play of the fourth quarter's scoring, Brandon Smith ran in from 2 yards at 14:19. That gave Oregon its first lead, 27-23.
Kleather's second 49-yarder made it 27-26 at 10:31. On the next possession, Raiola found Moore for 75 yards. Neither team scored over the final 10:20.
Chiles finished 22 of 38 for 281 yards and a touchdown. He also led Northwestern on the ground with 93 yards on 14 carries. Wilde caught five passes for 146 yards, and Caleb Komolafe added 67 yards on 16 carries. The Wildcats converted 7 of 17 third downs. That figure, together with five field goals, tells the story of the afternoon.
Raiola completed 22 of 31. Moore caught seven passes for 128 yards and two scores. Evan Stewart had four catches for 71 yards. Smith ran for 82 yards on eight carries. Oregon had 17 first downs and went 6 of 14 on third down. The Ducks lost the game's only turnover.
Against the number
Oregon closed as a 4-point favorite, and the 8-point margin covered. Oregon's moneyline closed at -180, with Northwestern at +150.
The total closed at 47.5. The teams combined for 60 points, so the over cleared with room to spare. The over was already in hand once Johnson scored late in the third. Full closing prices are on the game page.
What's next
Northwestern falls to 6-2. The loss ends a four-game winning streak that included wins over Penn State, Michigan State and Rutgers. Both of the Wildcats' losses have come on the road, the other a 29-23 defeat at No. 5 Indiana. They return home to host Iowa on Saturday, November 7.
Oregon improves to 5-3 and bounces back from a 21-10 loss at Illinois. The Ducks have gone loss, win, loss, win over their last four games. The schedule gets harder next week, with a trip to No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday, November 7, on CBS.
