Oregon Beats No. 20 Northwestern 34-26 as Dylan Raiola, Dakorien Moore Connect

For three quarters, No. 20 Northwestern did almost everything it wanted at Autzen Stadium. It held the ball, moved the chains and led for most of the afternoon. Then Dylan Raiola needed one throw to change the game, and Oregon took it from there.

Oregon beat Northwestern 34-26 on Saturday in Eugene, scoring 14 points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to turn a 23-20 deficit into a two-score lead. Raiola threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-31 passing, and Dakorien Moore caught two of those touchdowns, including a 75-yard strike on the first snap after Northwestern had pulled within a point.

The Ducks improved to 5-3 and 3-2 in the Big Ten, a week after a 21-10 loss at Illinois. Northwestern fell to 6-2 and 3-2 in conference play, ending a run that had the Wildcats in the national rankings and in the middle of the Big Ten race.

Northwestern sets the tempo

Northwestern came in off a 42-14 win over Rutgers in which Aidan Chiles accounted for five touchdowns, and the Wildcats picked up where they left off. Their opening drive went 11 plays and 63 yards before Jackson Kleather made a 37-yard field goal at 9:35 of the first quarter.

The next one took four plays. Chiles found Griffin Wilde for a 64-yard touchdown with 5:57 left in the opening quarter, and Northwestern led 10-0. Oregon's first answer was modest, an eight-play, 27-yard drive that ended with a 27-yard field goal at 2:01.

The second quarter followed the same pattern. Northwestern held the ball for 6:11 on a 12-play drive that ended in another 37-yard Kleather field goal, and Oregon answered with a 44-yard kick. Then Chiles took over. The Wildcats went 75 yards in 12 plays, and Chiles finished it on a 5-yard keeper with 1:53 left in the half for a 20-6 lead.

Oregon finds a pulse before halftime

That 14-point cushion did not last to the locker room. Raiola moved Oregon 61 yards in seven plays in 58 seconds, and the drive ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Moore with 49 seconds left. Instead of a two-touchdown halftime lead, Northwestern went to the break up 20-13.

The Wildcats still controlled the third quarter early. After Damon Walters recovered a Moore fumble, Kleather added a 49-yard field goal at 12:22 for a 23-13 lead, but Oregon answered with its cleanest drive of the day: seven plays, 80 yards and a 17-yard Raiola touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson at 8:46. It was 23-20, and the game had changed shape.

The turning point: one snap, 75 yards

Oregon took its first lead early in the fourth quarter. The Ducks went 76 yards in 10 plays, and Brandon Smith ran it in from 2 yards out with 14:19 left to make it 27-23.

Northwestern responded the way it had all day, with patience. The Wildcats drove 44 yards in eight plays and Kleather hit from 49 yards again with 10:31 to play, cutting the deficit to 27-26.

Oregon needed 11 seconds to undo all of it. On the first play after the kickoff, Raiola went deep for Moore, and the play covered 75 yards for a touchdown at 10:20. Instead of a one-point game with plenty of time left, Northwestern trailed 34-26.

Northwestern still had time, and it had a chance. The Wildcats drove into Oregon territory on their next possession, but the drive stalled, and Kleather missed a 42-yard field goal with 5:14 left, the only miss of the day for the Northwestern kicker. An Oregon punt gave Northwestern one more try from its own 29 with 2:56 to play, but the Wildcats went backward. A false start left them facing third-and-19 from their own 20, and Chiles' pass on that down was broken up. Northwestern punted with 1:54 left. Facing third-and-8 at its own 37, Raiola found Jamari Johnson for 18 yards and a first down, and Oregon ran out the clock.

The stars beyond the box score

Raiola was the difference. The Oregon quarterback completed 22 of 31 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and averaged 10.8 yards per attempt. Raiola was not perfect, but the big throws came at the right moments: the touchdown before halftime, the third-quarter drive that pulled Oregon within three and the 75-yard shot that broke the game open.

Moore finished with seven catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and the fumble that set up a Northwestern field goal was the only blemish. Smith added 82 rushing yards on just eight carries, including a 35-yard burst, and the go-ahead touchdown run was the reward for a drive Oregon badly needed. Jamari Johnson caught two passes for 35 yards, including the third-quarter touchdown and the 18-yard grab on third down that let Oregon run out the final minute.

For Northwestern, Chiles was excellent in defeat. The quarterback threw for 281 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-38 passing and ran for 93 yards and another score on 14 carries, and Wilde caught five passes for 146 yards, including the 64-yard touchdown. Kleather made four of five field goals, including two from 49 yards.

On defense, Jerry Mixon led Oregon with seven tackles, and D'Antre Robinson recorded the game's only sack. Northwestern defensive back Alijah Jones led all players with eight tackles.

The numbers that matter

Northwestern won most of the categories that usually decide games. The Wildcats outgained Oregon by more than a dozen yards, ran 74 offensive plays, held the ball for 35:54 and committed no turnovers. They had 22 first downs to Oregon's 17 and ran for 175 yards on 36 carries.

Oregon's edge was efficiency. The Ducks averaged more than 7 yards per play to Northwestern's 6.2, Raiola averaged 10.8 yards per pass attempt and Oregon converted 6 of 13 third downs. Northwestern went 7 of 17 on third down, and its four field goals, plus the miss, came on drives that stalled in Oregon territory.

Discipline also mattered. Oregon was flagged once for 5 yards, while Northwestern had five penalties for 35 yards, including the false start on Northwestern's final possession that pushed a third down back to third-and-19.

The full details are in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

For Oregon, this was a needed response to a rough week. The loss at Illinois dropped the Ducks to 4-3, coach Dan Lanning relieved offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer of duties the next day, and on Monday Lanning said quarterback Dante Moore is not expected to return to game action this season while recovering from a concussion. A win over a ranked team, with Raiola throwing like this, steadies all of that.

The result also reshapes the middle of the Big Ten race. Northwestern started the day 3-1 in conference play, one loss behind unbeaten UCLA and Ohio State. Now the Wildcats sit at 3-2, in a crowded group with two league losses, and Oregon climbed into that same pack.

For Northwestern, the loss will sting because the Wildcats did so much right. They won time of possession, avoided turnovers and outgained a team that was favored by four. They settled for field goals too often, though, and four Kleather kicks were not enough against an offense that scored touchdowns in bunches.

The last word

Northwestern played the kind of game that usually wins on the road, long drives, no turnovers and a quarterback making plays with arm and legs. Oregon played the kind that wins anyway: big plays at the right time. On Saturday, the big plays won.

Sources: Official box score and play-by-play via ESPN. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Oregon Athletics (file photo).