Three quarters of nothing. Then the best quarter of the season.
Oregon 17, Nebraska 14: down 14-6 with 90 yards of offense after three quarters, Oregon went to Dylan Raiola, went for it on fourth down three times, made all three, and won on a touchdown with 28 seconds left.
Fantastic win. We had no fun whatsoever, right up until the last five minutes. For three quarters the offense was as bad as we have seen it: 90 yards, seven punts, a lost fumble, an interception. The defense kept it at 14-6 anyway. Then Dylan Raiola, benched against UCLA a week ago while a lot of Ducks fans wanted him gone, came off the bench and led two drives of 17 and 20 plays. Davison and freshman Brandon Smith ran through people, freshman Jalen Lott caught a fourth down with the season on it, and Jamari Johnson caught the winner. Our opinion: in that fourth quarter, Oregon's players wanted it more. The other half of the night is in here too, because the fans have it right: why Thomas started, who calls the plays, and why it took three quarters to find out.
The play: Fourth and 3 at the Nebraska 33, 1:33 left, Oregon down 14-9. Raiola hit freshman Jalen Lott over the middle for 4 yards and a first down. Six plays later, on fourth and 1 at the 6 with 38 seconds left, Jordon Davison went straight ahead for 2. On the next snap but one, Raiola found Jamari Johnson for 4 yards and the touchdown at 0:28, then threw the two-point conversion to freshman Hudson Lewis (ESPN play-by-play).
The fourth quarter
Oregon started the fourth quarter down 14-6 with 90 yards of offense, and Nebraska had just scored a touchdown with seven seconds left in the third. What came next was the best quarter of football we have watched this season.
Dylan Raiola took over on Oregon's first drive of the fourth quarter, which started at the Oregon 12. It went 17 plays and 69 yards, ate 7:42 of clock, and ended in Gage Hurych's third field goal: 14-9 with 7:18 left. The defense forced a three-and-out. Then Oregon took over at its own 18 with 5:17 left, and went 82 yards in 20 plays. A week earlier he had been pulled for Thomas against UCLA, and the week in between was not kind to him. Raiola was 11 of 18 for 59 yards, the touchdown and the two-point conversion; on paper that is a quiet line, and it is also every throw Oregon needed (ESPN box score).
The winner: on first and goal at the 4 with 38 seconds left, Raiola's pass to Dakorien Moore was broken up by Victor Evans III. On second down he found Jamari Johnson over the middle for the touchdown, then hit freshman Hudson Lewis for the two points that meant a Nebraska field goal could only tie (ESPN play-by-play).
Lanning went for it
The first big call came before any of them. Down 14-6 with a quarter left, Lanning went back to Dylan Raiola, the quarterback he had pulled for Brock Thomas in the fourth quarter against UCLA a week earlier (ESPN play-by-play, Oct 10 and Oct 17). Then: three fourth downs, three conversions, all in the fourth quarter (ESPN box score).
Fourth and 1 at the Oregon 44, 10:19 left, down 14-6. Not in field-goal range, on his own side of the field. Jordon Davison for 5.
Fourth and 3 at the Nebraska 33, 1:33 left, down 14-9. Raiola to freshman Jalen Lott for 4 and the first down.
Fourth and 1 at the Nebraska 6, 38 seconds left. A field goal there makes it 14-12 and loses the game. Davison for 2.
Not every fourth down was a go. Early in the first quarter, on fourth and 1 at Oregon's own 29, Oregon punted after a Nebraska timeout (ESPN play-by-play), and plenty of fans had questions about that sequence and about the clock late in each half. Our opinion anyway: this felt like a huge night for Lanning. After a home loss to UCLA and a week of questions about this offense, and after three quarters that answered none of them, he made the gutsiest calls of his season, every one of them open to second-guessing, and every one of them worked.
The drive
So much had to go right, and all of it did. Oregon took over at its own 18 with 5:17 left, down 14-9, against a Nebraska defense with two timeouts left (ESPN play-by-play).
5:17, own 18. Raiola to Dierre Hill Jr. for nothing. Then Hill for 8.
4:16. Raiola to freshman Jalen Lott for 12 and a first down.
3:12. Raiola to Dakorien Moore for 9 and another first down. Hill for 6, Hill for 4, Hill for 3.
1:57. A deep shot to freshman Gatlin Bair, broken up. Nebraska used its third timeout at 1:38.
Fourth and 3 at the Nebraska 33, 1:32 left. Raiola to Lott over the middle for 4. First down.
1:18. Raiola to Moore for 9, out of bounds at the 20. Davison for 5 and a first down at the 15. Hill for 7 to the 8, and Oregon's first timeout at 0:53.
Fourth and 1 at the 6, 38 seconds left. A field goal loses. Davison up the middle for 2 and a first down.
0:33, first and goal at the 4. Raiola for Moore, broken up by Victor Evans III.
0:28, second and goal. Raiola to Jamari Johnson over the middle. Touchdown. Then Raiola to freshman Hudson Lewis for two: 17-14.
Twenty plays, 82 yards, 5:03 of clock, two fourth-down conversions. Nebraska got the ball back with 28 seconds left, completed a 27-yarder to the Oregon 48, and the game ended with Nyziah Hunter tackled at the Oregon 40.
Video: Big Ten Football
The physical part
Our read: this game turned when Oregon started winning collisions. Dierre Hill Jr. carried 14 times for 67 yards and caught 4 more, and on the winning drive he ran it six times for 30 yards.
Jordon Davison's line says 12 carries for 29 yards. Two of those carries were fourth-down conversions, the second at the 6 with 38 seconds left, straight up the middle into a defense that knew it was coming.
Brandon Smith, a freshman, had 6 carries for 29 yards, and two of them were 13-yard runs on the field-goal drive that got Oregon back within a score (ESPN play-by-play).
Studs
Dylan Raiola: 11 of 18 for 59 yards, the winning touchdown, the two-point throw, two runs for 8 yards, no turnovers. A week after being benched against UCLA.
Jamari Johnson: 5 catches, 35 yards and the touchdown that won it.
Jalen Lott: a freshman. 3 catches for 23 yards, including the fourth-and-3 conversion with 1:33 left and a 12-yarder on the winning drive.
Brandon Smith and Jordon Davison: see above.
Hudson Lewis: a freshman receiver, and the two-point catch.
Teitum Tuioti: 2 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Bear Alexander: 7 tackles, the team high.
Ify Obidegwu: the interception.
Gage Hurych: 3 for 3 on field goals. Bailey Ettridge: 7 punts, 43.6 average.
The defense kept it close enough
Nebraska had 234 yards and averaged 2.4 a carry (ESPN box score). In the second half its six drives went -9, -2, 9, 52, -3 and 35 yards, and the one that scored started at the Nebraska 48 right after an interception. After Hurych's field goal made it 14-9, the defense forced a three-and-out that gave the offense the ball back with 5:17 left. Matayo Uiagalelei and Nasir Wyatt were in Anthony Colandrea's face on Nebraska's first snap after the winning touchdown.
The first three quarters
We are not going to pretend they did not happen. Oregon's first 12 drives produced 90 yards, seven punts, a lost fumble, an interception and two field goals, one of them set up by a Nebraska fourth-down disaster (ESPN drive chart). Brock Thomas, who started, went 9 of 20 for 54 yards with an interception. Thomas was not the only problem; nothing around him worked either. The questions about how this offense is called have not gone away just because the last 15 minutes were great.
What Duck fans are saying
We read the r/ducks postgame thread after the final. Ducks fans are thrilled, exhausted, and not letting the coaches off the hook, sometimes all in the same comment.
The start. The loudest question was why Thomas started at all. "Why we rolled out with Brock I will never know," wrote u/Anatty07, and "Raiola is a stud. He should have been in way sooner," wrote u/clarkision. Fair. Our read stays that going back to Raiola down eight was a hard call to make, but plenty of fans think it should have been made at kickoff, or at halftime.
The relief quarterback. Raiola has now won at USC and against Nebraska off the bench, and the thread noticed. "We've inadvertently invented the relief QB" (u/MallyFaze). "Dylan, when he comes off the bench is undefeated" (u/DazzlingCandidate497). And the strategy, offered half seriously: "start a different QB and then let Dylan Raiola take over late" (u/PositiveFriendlyGuy).
The play-caller. The most upvoted comment we saw was three words, in capitals: "FIRE DREW MEHRINGER" (u/bigbirdie65). Fans also questioned the clock and timeouts at the end of each half, and an early fourth and 1 at Oregon's own 29: Oregon punted there only after a Nebraska timeout (ESPN play-by-play), and fans in the thread said Oregon had lined up to go for it.
The defense. Nobody is arguing about this part. Two straight weeks, two Big Ten offenses held down, and Chris Hampton is getting his flowers.
The honest summary. "Lose this game and the team would've quit" (u/pawsitivecatz). And from u/DTSC: "Fantastic win, I had no fun whatsoever."
Our call, graded
We said Oregon 23, Nebraska 20, revised down from 35-17 on Oct 10. We had the winner and the three-point margin right, and both scores too high.
By the numbers
| Stat | Oregon | Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| Final | 17 | 14 |
| Total yards | 242 | 234 |
| Rushing yards | 129 | 78 |
| Third down | 3 of 17 | 7 of 17 |
| Fourth down | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Penalties | 4-35 | 6-55 |
| Possession | 30:23 | 29:31 |
The takeaway: Oregon had 90 yards of offense on its first 12 drives and 151 on its last two (ESPN drive chart). Same defense, same opponent. The difference was a quarterback change, three fourth-down calls and a running game that started winning collisions.
How it was scored
- Nebraska 7-0, Anthony Colandrea 17-yard pass to Kwazi Gilmer, upheld on replay review (2Q 0:04)
- Nebraska 7-3, Gage Hurych 36-yard field goal, after Nebraska lost 15 yards on fourth and 4 at its own 34 (3Q 12:09)
- Nebraska 7-6, Hurych 36-yard field goal (3Q 7:16)
- Nebraska 14-6, Colandrea 6-yard run, six plays after Brock Thomas was intercepted by Dwayne McDougle III (3Q 0:07)
- Nebraska 14-9, Hurych 37-yard field goal, the end of a 17-play, 69-yard drive with Dylan Raiola at quarterback (4Q 7:18)
- Oregon 17-14, Raiola 4-yard pass to Jamari Johnson, Raiola pass to Hudson Lewis for two, the end of a 20-play, 82-yard drive (4Q 0:28)
- Dan Lanning still has never lost two games in a row at Oregon: all ten of his losses since 2022 were followed by a win, including this one after UCLA (this site's game-by-game archive, 62 games).
- Oregon went 3 of 3 on fourth down, all three in the fourth quarter, and 3 of 17 on third down (ESPN box score).
- Oregon outscored Nebraska 11-0 in the fourth quarter.
- Gage Hurych was 3 for 3 on field goals, from 36, 36 and 37 yards.
Sources (9)
Pregame analysis, written before kickoff
The way we play, it's maybe not all the time the coolest thing, the visual, but we're going to try to be physical.Matt Rhule
What we said before kickoff Matchups, the Nebraska scouting report and the players we were watching, left up as written.
Key Matchups
Nebraska in 2026
Oregon beat Nebraska 17-14 on Oct 18. This scouting was written before kickoff. Through Oct 3, Nebraska was 5-0: 49-21 over Ohio (Sept 5), 56-7 over Bowling Green, 34-7 over North Dakota, 31-13 at Michigan State and 48-23 over Maryland (Oct 3). Through Oct 3 it averaged 43.6 points and 475.6 yards, allowed 14.2 points a game, and had 16 sacks and eight takeaways against two giveaways. The AP calls it the program's best start since 2016. Maryland was the first team to really test this defense, and for a half it won: the Terps led 23-14 and had 300 yards by halftime. Then Dwayne McDougle III returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown, Nebraska scored the last 34 points, and Maryland finished with 395. Anthony Colandrea ran for 108 yards, the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, and Kwazi Gilmer caught 11 passes for 147 yards and two scores, all without freshman Jamal Rule, who missed the game injured. The honest caveat: four of the five wins came at home, three of them nonconference and one against FCS North Dakota, and Nebraska was flagged 16 times for 132 yards against Maryland. Our read: the defense is real, the offense has shown it can win without its best runner, and defending national champion Indiana in Lincoln on Oct 10 was the measuring stick. Indiana won 20-17, Nebraska's first loss (ESPN box score, Oct 10, 2026). Sources: ESPN box scores and team statistics (through Oct 3, 2026; Indiana box score Oct 10, 2026); AP game recap via ESPN (Oct 3, 2026); Huskers.com game recap (Oct 4, 2026).
Nebraska Snapshot
Head Coach: Matt Rhule
All-time series: 3-6 (Nebraska leads) Winsipedia
By the Numbers, so far in 2026
Oregon: 7 games in 2026. Nebraska: 7 games in 2026, per ESPN (through 2026-10-28).
What We Were Watching For
Written before kickoff. Left up as-is.
Watch the highlights, the pressers and the rest of Game 6 (15) →
The Call, graded: our Oregon vs Nebraska score prediction
4 for 7 on winners, 23.3 points off a game.Right winner, twelve points off across the two scores.
We revised this call on Oct 10 from Oregon 35, Nebraska 17. This is the one we are graded on.
How did you call it?
Pre-game analysis written before the game was played. Coach: Matt Rhule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Oregon beat Nebraska 17-14 on Saturday, Oct 17, 2026 at Autzen Stadium, Eugene. Oregon is 4-3.
Oregon won, 17-14. Oregon trailed 14-6 entering the fourth quarter, went 3 of 3 on fourth down and won on Dylan Raiola's 4-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson with 28 seconds left (ESPN box score).
Fourth and 3 at the Nebraska 33, 1:33 left, Oregon down 14-9.
Oregon won 17-14 at Autzen Stadium on Oct 17, 2026. Oregon trailed 14-6 entering the fourth quarter and scored the last 11 points; Dylan Raiola threw the winning 4-yard touchdown to Jamari Johnson with 28 seconds left (ESPN box score).
Brock Thomas started and went 9 of 20 for 54 yards with an interception. Dylan Raiola played the fourth quarter and went 11 of 18 for 59 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion (ESPN box score). Dante Moore was OUT on Oregon's availability reports.
Thomas went 9 of 20 for 54 yards with an interception through three quarters, and Dylan Raiola replaced him on Oregon's first drive of the fourth quarter with Oregon down 14-6 (ESPN box score and play-by-play). Dan Lanning said after the game that the coaching staff made the change to "create a spark," and that he told Thomas "it's not necessarily anything that you did." Thomas's answer, per Lanning: "I completely understand, coach. I love you. I want to do whatever's best for the team." Lanning called it "remarkable courage." Source: Dan Lanning postgame press conference (GoDucks video, Oct 17, 2026; quotes from our transcription of the recording).
Dylan Raiola. He started at Illinois on Oct 24 and played the whole game in a 21-10 loss, 27 of 41 for 246 yards (Oregon Athletics official box score); Brock Thomas did not play. Dante Moore was OUT on all four availability reports for Illinois. The current statement is on the Dylan Raiola page and the injury tracker.
Three of three, all in the fourth quarter: Jordon Davison on fourth and 1 at the Oregon 44, Raiola to Jalen Lott on fourth and 3 at the Nebraska 33, and Davison on fourth and 1 at the Nebraska 6 with 38 seconds left (ESPN play-by-play).
Freshman receiver Hudson Lewis caught it from Dylan Raiola after the winning touchdown, making it 17-14 with 28 seconds left (ESPN scoring summary).
The win on Oct 17, 2026 made Oregon 4-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten (ESPN). Oregon then lost 21-10 at Illinois on Oct 24 and fell to 4-3 and 2-2.
Oregon plays Northwestern on Oct 31, 2026 at 12:30 PM PT on Peacock.
No. Nebraska is 5-2. It started 5-0, beating Ohio 49-21, Bowling Green 56-7, North Dakota 34-7, Michigan State 31-13 and Maryland 48-23, its best start since 2016 per the AP, then lost 20-17 at home to Indiana on Oct 10 (ESPN box score) and 17-14 at Autzen to us on Oct 17.
Anthony Colandrea, a transfer from UNLV, where he was the 2025 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year. He started his first two seasons at Virginia. Through five games at Nebraska he has 1,142 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions (ESPN, through Oct 3, 2026). Raiola transferred to Oregon in January 2026.
Oregon beat Nebraska 17-14 at Autzen Stadium on Oct 17, 2026 (ESPN box score). Before that, Oregon won 42-35 at Autzen on Sept 9, 2017. Nebraska leads the all-time series 6-3 in 9 meetings.
Yes. Dylan Raiola transferred from Nebraska to Oregon in January 2026. He backed up Dante Moore through Oregon's first three games, then came in for him at USC on Sept 26 and went 19 of 25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-27 win. Raiola had 4,819 career passing yards and 31 TDs at Nebraska before the transfer.
Nebraska leads the all-time series 6-3 in 9 meetings. The last meeting was Oregon's 17-14 win at Autzen on Oct 17, 2026; before that, 42-35 on September 9, 2017. The series dates back to 1952. Series record per Winsipedia (April 2026), plus the 2026 result.
Nebraska is unranked in the AP Top 25. Nebraska is 5-2 in 2026, most recently a 17-14 loss at Oregon Ducks, coached by Matt Rhule.
Three fourth downs and a 20-play drive. Which moment had you off the couch?
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