Oregon Football Falls Flat Against Illinois, Loses 21-10

Oregon sputtered to arguably their worst defeat in the Dan Lanning era in losing the third game that they were favored to win. The Ducks looked great on the first drive of the game, and played miserably the rest of the way. They scored zero points in the second half, where Illinois' ball control dominated the clock and gave the Ducks no hope of staging a comeback.

Illinois won the toss and deferred, giving the Ducks the first possession of the game. Oregon marched down the field, using 11 plays to get to the endzone for their first score. The rushing game was working on this drive, taking pressure off Dylan Raiola to have to do everything. The drive was capped by Jordon Davison 's 2 yard rush into the endzone.

The Illini's first drive yielded a first down and then sputtered with no gain on a third and 7 at their own 39-yard line. Illinois punted and Oregon's second drive started on the 28-yard line. This time the Ducks went three-and-out. On Oregon's 36-yard line, Illinois got pressure on Raiola and the pass attempt was incomplete, forcing the Ducks to punt. The 48 yard punt pushed Illinois to their own 16-yard line.

Illinois got to midfield on a pair of big plays. They went no further, getting zero yards on three plays, and punted into the endzone, so the Ducks took the ball again at their 20-yard line. Oregon returned the favor, going 3-and-out after Hudson Lewis dropped what would have been a huge first down pass.

Illinois could not get anything going on their next drive. After a Teitum Tuioti sack on 2nd down, Illinois punted and Oregon's next drive started on their 38-yard line. On third and 11, Raiola was sacked for a fumble, and Illinois recovered on Oregon's 30-yard line.

But, with a great short-field opportunity, The Illini could not protect quarterback Michael Clayton II, and Tuioti sacked Clayton again.

This forced a fumble, which Matayo Uiagalelei recovered, and Oregon had a first down 19 yards up the field from where they fumbled. A pass to Dakorien Moore brought us to the end of the first quarter. Oregon – 7, Illinois – 0

The Ducks lost steam at the Illinois 32-yard line, failing to convert on 2nd and 2 and 3rd and 2. They also failed to convert a 52-yard field goal, which had the distance but sailed right of the goal post. Illinois then started their first drive of the second quarter on their 34-yard line.

Illinois started their next drive on their 34-yard line and picked up a first down to get to midfield. There, Tuioti sacked Clayton for a third time and three plays later the Illini were forced to punt on 4th and 8. The punt pushed Oregon deep in their own territory on the 9-yard line.

On 3rd and two, Jordon Davison broke through a couple of tackles for a huge 32 yard gain. On 2nd a 6 at the Illinois 47-yard line, it was Dierre Hill Jr. 's time to shine, with an explosive 41 yard run. The Ducks could not quite push the ball to the goal line, and Oregon settled for a field goal on 4th and goal and the Illinois 2-yard line. Oregon – 10, Illinois – 0

After a touchback, Illinois began their next drive on their 20 with 2:29 left in the first half. One play was all it took for the Illini to run for 75 yards and pick up a touchdown. Oregon – 10, Illinois – 7

For as much as the Ducks talk about winning the middle 8, they definitely were failing on this point. Another 3-and-out drive forced the Ducks to punt, pinning Illinois deep on their own 18-yard line. The Illini called Oregon's 3-and-out with one of their own, and also punted. The Ducks started the last drive of their half on their 30-yard line with 0:37 left on the clock. Oregon got to midfield but ran out of time, and we went into halftime with the Ducks up 10-7.

At the half, Oregon had 230 total yards to 127 for Illinois. The Ducks' passing game was anemic, with Dylan Raiola going 13-20 for 96 yards, but only passing for 35 yards in the second quarter. Oregon's rushing game was doing well, with explosive plays accounting for Jordon Davison rushing for 71 yards and Dierre Hill Jr. rushing for 66 yards.

Illinois got the ball to start the second half, and it was like Oregon put a different defense on the field. Illinois ran and ran – they ran eight times in a row to the Oregon 9-yard line and then passed the ball for an easy touchdown. Oregon – 10, Illinois – 14

Oregon's offense looked as hapless as the defense, as the Ducks crawled to another three-and-out and punted the ball. The Illini started their next drive on their 20-yard line.

Illinois only made it to midfield on their next drive, but they continued to chew up the clock. They punted the ball and the Ducks started deep in their own territory, at their 9-yard line. They could only make it to midfield, and the third quarter ended with the Ducks punting to start the fourth quarter and down four points.

After the punt, the Illini started on their 7-yard line. They made a couple of first downs, but had to punt on 4th down and 8. Oregon started their first drive of the quarter on their 19-yard line.

The Ducks pushed to the Illinois 39-yard line on the strength of their rushing game, and rushing allowed Oregon to pick up a critical 4th down conversion. But the Ducks could only get a handful of yards after that, and Oregon missed their second field goal of the day with a 53 yard attempt.

Illinois looked like they might get stopped in their own territory, but a 33-yard run put them on Oregon's side of the field and they followed with a 23-yard touchdown pass. The Ducks were hopelessly out of reach of a win. Oregon – 10, Illinois – 21

Oregon got the ball with 2:29 left in the game. They reached the Illinois 28 and could do nothing, missing the third field goal of the day. Oregon would get another possession with 27 seconds left, but also got nowhere. That took us to our 21-10 final score.

Oregon had 426 total yards to 314 for Illinois. The Ducks were horrible on third down, going 4-15 for 27%.

Dylan Raiola passed 27-41 for 246 yards. Dakorian Moore was the leading receiver, with 9 receptions for 70 yards. Jamari Johnson had 7 receptions for 69 yards, and Hudson Lewis had 5 receptions for 68 yards.

Oregon rushed for 180 yards, with Jordan Davison rushing for 92 yards on 11 carries and Dierre Hill, Jr. carrying the rock 13 times for 83 yards.