Oregon's 17-14 Win Over Nebraska Draws Scrutiny Over Two Replay Calls

Oregon won 17-14 over Nebraska at Autzen Stadium on Saturday night, and the officiating has drawn as much attention as the comeback. Two calls helped decide which team had the ball and how many points it had. As Oregon Ducks On SI laid out, both went Nebraska's way in a game Oregon didn't lead until the last minute.

The first came at the end of a first half with 13 punts. Anthony Colandrea threw to Kwazi Gilmer in the back right corner of the end zone for a 17-yard score with Oregon defensive back Na'eem Offord tight in coverage. The officials on the field called it a touchdown. The replay angles did not clearly show whether Gilmer's right foot touched down in bounds before he landed on the end line. Because the call on the field was a touchdown, replay needed clear evidence to overturn it. The score stood, and Nebraska led 7-0 at halftime. Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira agreed on the broadcast: "I don't think you can prove it didn't, so you have to stay with the call."

The second came with less than six minutes left. Running back Isaiah Mozee caught a checkdown and lost the ball as he was tackled near the line of scrimmage. Oregon's Davon Benjamin recovered it. The officials ruled Mozee down and did not review the play. A fumble would have given the Ducks the ball in the red zone. Instead, Nebraska kept it and punted on the next snap.

Oregon came back anyway. ESPN's recap reports that Dylan Raiola, who played two seasons at Nebraska, replaced Brock Thomas after Thomas threw an interception with Oregon down 7-6. Nebraska scored a touchdown six plays after that interception to go up 14-6. Raiola's first drive ended in Gage Hurych's 37-yard field goal. His second ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jamari Johnson with 28 seconds left, and a two-point conversion put Oregon ahead. Raiola finished 11 of 18 for 59 yards. Hail Varsity noted that Oregon had the ball for 12:45 of the fourth quarter, and Nebraska picked up one first down in that span.

What it means for Oregon at Illinois

The win puts Oregon at 4-2 and 2-1 in Big Ten play. It ended a run in which the Ducks lost 17-15 to UCLA a week earlier. The offense is still the concern. Oregon has scored 17 and 15 points in its last two games, and through three quarters on Saturday it managed just 91 total yards. The Ducks play at Illinois on Saturday on BTN. They will need to settle on a quarterback, Thomas or Raiola, before then.

The board for Oregon at Illinois has Oregon favored by 9.5 points across 11 venues. Novig has the Ducks at -355 on the moneyline and Illinois at +326. The best Illinois moneyline price is +350 at Hard Rock Bet. On the spread, Novig lists Oregon -9.5 at -111 and Illinois +9.5 at -102. BetRivers offers Illinois at +11 for -114. The total is 51.5, with the over at -113 on Novig and -108 at BetMGM, and the under at +104 on Novig. Sportsbook hold runs from 4.0% to 6.1% on the moneyline and up to 7.0% on the total. Oregon's last two games produced 32 and 31 combined points, well below that number.

Nebraska falls to 5-2 after its second straight three-point loss, following the 20-17 defeat to Indiana. The Huskers host Washington on October 31.