Saturday, November 29
Seattle, WA
12:30 PM
University of Oregon
11-1 , 8-1
26
at
14
Washington
8-4 , 5-4
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Oregon
3
10
6
7
26
Washington
0
7
0
7
14
Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Rivalry Win Puts Playoff Berth In Sight
11/29/25 | Football
Oregon won at Washington on Saturday to all but wrap up a return trip to the College Football Playoff.
SEATTLE — Vanquishing a rival to all but clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff made for a celebratory atmosphere on the Oregon sideline as the clock ticked down to zero Saturday.
The Ducks broke open a tight game with Malik Benson's 64-yard touchdown and clinched it with Dillon Thieneman's interception, beating rival Washington in Husky Stadium, 26-14. No. 6 Oregon seems all but certain to not only make the College Football Playoff but host a game at Autzen Stadium in the first round, after going 11-1 in the 2025 regular season and finishing Big Ten play at 8-1.
Undefeated regular seasons by Ohio State and Indiana denied the Ducks a second straight shot at the Big Ten title. As UO players and staff celebrated in the waning moments of Saturday's game and during their trip to the locker room, that all seemed just fine with them.
"Those locker rooms are fun," UO coach Dan Lanning said as he settled into his seat for the postgame press conference. "… Moving forward, our team's banged up; it'll be great for us to be able to get healthy. I think everybody at this point in the season is dealing with that, but there's only 12 teams in the nation they get to keep playing, right? I mean, some others can play, but in the real one. And we get the opportunity to do that."
The Ducks are on track to make the College Football Playoff for the third time, and to make consecutive appearances for the first time. The CFP selection committee will announce updated rankings Tuesday, then finalize them Dec. 7 following conference championship games.
"I told the players before the game, I said, 'History is great, but what's more fun is writing history,' right?" Lanning said. "We got to write some history today."
Benson's catch-and-run in the fourth quarter was the highlight for an inconsistent Saturday by the UO offense. Oregon's defense and special teams made it enough, with the Ducks holding UW to 283 yards while sacking the quarterback four times, and Atticus Sappington making four field goals — including a career-long effort of 51 yards.
Linebacker Bryce Boettcher, a Eugene native, spent the week educating his teammates about Oregon's last trip to Seattle — a loss in 2023 — and then led the UO defense with 10 tackles, becoming the first Duck to surpass 100 in a season since 2021.
"It feels pretty good," Boettcher said. "It's stuff you dream about —season on the line, coming up here to UW, (I was) 1-3 against these guys in my career at Oregon. They're a good football team, and to end in that fashion with these guys by my side, it's pretty dang special."
While Boettcher got his defensive teammates up to speed on the history of the UO-UW rivalry throughout the week, center Iapani Laloulu took that responsibility on offense. He spent the week not only rehabbing the ankle injury he suffered the week before, but talking with newcomers like Benson about the history of the rivalry.
"I got well educated on things like that," Benson said. "Just to know what this game means to Oregon fans, I'm just glad I could put my stamp on it, and my team could put our stamp on it."
UO quarterback Dante Moore started Saturday's game 2-of-6 but by the end was 20-of-29 for 286 yards and the touchdown to Benson, plus a rushing score in the first quarter. Oregon's run game was largely limited, but the Ducks held dual-threat UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in check and came up with two timely turnovers.
Moore's rushing touchdown early in the second quarter gave the Ducks a 10-0 lead, and Sappington's second field goal made it 13-0 before Washington finally found the end zone just before halftime.
The only scoring in the third was two more Sappington field goals, the second his 51-yard bomb.
"It's awesome coming up here in a tough environment, and that's a great team," Sappington said. "They held us to a lot of field goals, but at the same time it's my job to go out there and deliver, and I was just super blessed that coach Lanning trusted me to go out there and bang the kicks."
After an Oregon punt early in the fourth quarter, Washington drove to another touchdown that made it 19-14 with 8:54 to play. Moments later, the Ducks were facing third-and-nine, when Moore found Benson over the middle of the field and Benson did the rest, knifing through the UW defense for a 64-yard scoring play.
"Malik, knowing he's gonna get his depth, he's gonna be a playmaker with the ball in his hands, I had to find a way to give it to him," Moore said. "At the end of the day, I threw him the pass but he did most work, and I'm thankful to have him as a receiver."
With Oregon up 26-14, the UO defense forced UW to turn it over on downs. The Ducks drove down into the red area looking to score a clinching touchdown, but couldn't. So Thieneman clinched it himself, picking off a pass with 1:20 left.
Now, not only Benson but Thieneman too has a prominent place in the history of the UO-UW rivalry.
"To come into the game and make an impact like I did, it means the world," Thieneman said.
The Ducks now have a couple of weeks to rest up and prepare for the playoff. The first round features one game on Friday, Dec. 19, and three more the following day. Based on results around the country this week, it seems highly possible Oregon will end up ranked somewhere between fifth and eighth in the final CFP rankings, earning a home game in Autzen Stadium on one of those first-round dates.
Would playing for another Big Ten title have been sweet? Sure. But the Ducks have bigger goals. And they remain in play after Saturday's win in Washington.
"Getting some rest is gonna be good for my guys," Benson said. "But it's gonna be scary once we get all of our guys back."
The Ducks broke open a tight game with Malik Benson's 64-yard touchdown and clinched it with Dillon Thieneman's interception, beating rival Washington in Husky Stadium, 26-14. No. 6 Oregon seems all but certain to not only make the College Football Playoff but host a game at Autzen Stadium in the first round, after going 11-1 in the 2025 regular season and finishing Big Ten play at 8-1.
Undefeated regular seasons by Ohio State and Indiana denied the Ducks a second straight shot at the Big Ten title. As UO players and staff celebrated in the waning moments of Saturday's game and during their trip to the locker room, that all seemed just fine with them.
"Those locker rooms are fun," UO coach Dan Lanning said as he settled into his seat for the postgame press conference. "… Moving forward, our team's banged up; it'll be great for us to be able to get healthy. I think everybody at this point in the season is dealing with that, but there's only 12 teams in the nation they get to keep playing, right? I mean, some others can play, but in the real one. And we get the opportunity to do that."
The Ducks are on track to make the College Football Playoff for the third time, and to make consecutive appearances for the first time. The CFP selection committee will announce updated rankings Tuesday, then finalize them Dec. 7 following conference championship games.
"I told the players before the game, I said, 'History is great, but what's more fun is writing history,' right?" Lanning said. "We got to write some history today."
Benson's catch-and-run in the fourth quarter was the highlight for an inconsistent Saturday by the UO offense. Oregon's defense and special teams made it enough, with the Ducks holding UW to 283 yards while sacking the quarterback four times, and Atticus Sappington making four field goals — including a career-long effort of 51 yards.
Linebacker Bryce Boettcher, a Eugene native, spent the week educating his teammates about Oregon's last trip to Seattle — a loss in 2023 — and then led the UO defense with 10 tackles, becoming the first Duck to surpass 100 in a season since 2021.
"It feels pretty good," Boettcher said. "It's stuff you dream about —season on the line, coming up here to UW, (I was) 1-3 against these guys in my career at Oregon. They're a good football team, and to end in that fashion with these guys by my side, it's pretty dang special."
While Boettcher got his defensive teammates up to speed on the history of the UO-UW rivalry throughout the week, center Iapani Laloulu took that responsibility on offense. He spent the week not only rehabbing the ankle injury he suffered the week before, but talking with newcomers like Benson about the history of the rivalry.
"I got well educated on things like that," Benson said. "Just to know what this game means to Oregon fans, I'm just glad I could put my stamp on it, and my team could put our stamp on it."
UO quarterback Dante Moore started Saturday's game 2-of-6 but by the end was 20-of-29 for 286 yards and the touchdown to Benson, plus a rushing score in the first quarter. Oregon's run game was largely limited, but the Ducks held dual-threat UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in check and came up with two timely turnovers.
Moore's rushing touchdown early in the second quarter gave the Ducks a 10-0 lead, and Sappington's second field goal made it 13-0 before Washington finally found the end zone just before halftime.
The only scoring in the third was two more Sappington field goals, the second his 51-yard bomb.
"It's awesome coming up here in a tough environment, and that's a great team," Sappington said. "They held us to a lot of field goals, but at the same time it's my job to go out there and deliver, and I was just super blessed that coach Lanning trusted me to go out there and bang the kicks."
After an Oregon punt early in the fourth quarter, Washington drove to another touchdown that made it 19-14 with 8:54 to play. Moments later, the Ducks were facing third-and-nine, when Moore found Benson over the middle of the field and Benson did the rest, knifing through the UW defense for a 64-yard scoring play.
"Malik, knowing he's gonna get his depth, he's gonna be a playmaker with the ball in his hands, I had to find a way to give it to him," Moore said. "At the end of the day, I threw him the pass but he did most work, and I'm thankful to have him as a receiver."
With Oregon up 26-14, the UO defense forced UW to turn it over on downs. The Ducks drove down into the red area looking to score a clinching touchdown, but couldn't. So Thieneman clinched it himself, picking off a pass with 1:20 left.
Now, not only Benson but Thieneman too has a prominent place in the history of the UO-UW rivalry.
"To come into the game and make an impact like I did, it means the world," Thieneman said.
The Ducks now have a couple of weeks to rest up and prepare for the playoff. The first round features one game on Friday, Dec. 19, and three more the following day. Based on results around the country this week, it seems highly possible Oregon will end up ranked somewhere between fifth and eighth in the final CFP rankings, earning a home game in Autzen Stadium on one of those first-round dates.
Would playing for another Big Ten title have been sweet? Sure. But the Ducks have bigger goals. And they remain in play after Saturday's win in Washington.
"Getting some rest is gonna be good for my guys," Benson said. "But it's gonna be scary once we get all of our guys back."
Team Stats
ORE
UW
Total Yards
392
283
Pass Yards
286
129
Rushing Yards
106
154
Penalty Yards
58
39
1st Downs
17
18
3rd Downs
6
5
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
34:58
25:02
1st Quarter
ORE 3, UW 0
ORE - Sappington,Atticus 46 yd field goal 7 plays, 43 yards, TOP 01:57
2nd Quarter
ORE 10, UW 0
ORE - Moore,Dante 1 yd run (Sappington,Atticus kick), 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 06:52
ORE 13, UW 0
ORE - Sappington,Atticus 32 yd field goal 12 plays, 62 yards, TOP 05:53
ORE 13, UW 7
UW - Boston,Denzel 3 yd pass from Williams Jr.,Demond (Gross,Grady kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:08
3rd Quarter
ORE 16, UW 7
ORE - Sappington,Atticus 37 yd field goal 11 plays, 56 yards, TOP 05:53
ORE 19, UW 7
ORE - Sappington,Atticus 51 yd field goal 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 03:54
4th Quarter
ORE 19, UW 14
UW - Boston,Denzel 13 yd pass from Williams Jr.,Demond (Gross,Grady kick) 13 plays, 69 yards, TOP 05:54
ORE 26, UW 14
ORE - Benson,Malik 64 yd pass from Moore,Dante (Sappington,Atticus kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 00:59
Game Leaders
CMP
20
TD
1
YDS
286
INT
0
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
ILB
/ Football
OL
/ FootballQB
/ Football
K
/ Football
DB
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