Second-Half Surge Fuels Win Over No. 20 Northwestern

Saturday, October 31

Eugene, OR

12:30 PM

University of Oregon

5-3 , 3-2

Northwestern

6-2 , 3-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Northwestern	10	10	3	3	26
Oregon	3	10	7	14	34

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

10/31/26 | Football

Box Score Oregon 34, #20 Northwestern 26 Postgame Notebook Photo Gallery

Oregon went on the attack offensively and tightened things up defensively to come from behind and win Saturday.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — At halftime Saturday, Oregon trailed on the scoreboard and its top two running backs were receiving medical attention.

A roller coaster of a season could have been heading toward another stomach-turning drop. But on a spooky Halloween afternoon at Autzen Stadium, the Ducks showed no fear. And now a season of dramatic twists has another one to add to the ledger.

An aggressive offense and a disciplined defense fueled a second-half comeback Saturday as the Oregon football team knocked off No. 20 Northwestern, 34-26, before a sell-out crowd of 55,673. Former UO coach Chip Kelly's Northwestern offense gave the Ducks fits in the first half, but new UO offensive coordinator Jay Johnson pushed all the right buttons in the second half while Oregon's defense clamped down to complete the come-from-behind win.

"We're down by two scores a lot of that game; there's a lot of people that fold up in that moment," UO head coach Dan Lanning said. "There was zero quit from our guys."

The Ducks (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) trailed by two touchdowns late in the first half, at which point their last touchdown had been on the opening drive of the game a week earlier at Illinois. But they ended that cold stretch by scoring just before halftime Saturday, the first of three scoring passes on the day for Dylan Raiola — the Ducks' third different starting quarterback in the team's last three wins this season.

Dakorien Moore Touchdown

The biggest turning point, though, was Oregon's lone rushing touchdown of the day, on fourth down from the 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Injuries forced the Ducks to turn to their fourth-string running back, freshman Brandon Smith, who powered it in behind a resurgent offensive line for a 27-23 lead that Oregon never surrendered.

"You could see the way we were playing, the way we were calling the game and just how we were attacking, we weren't going to go down without swinging," said Raiola, who was 22-of-31 passing for 336 yards and three scores, the last a 75-yard exclamation point to Dakorien Moore after the Wildcats had closed within 27-26 in the fourth. "I think that kind of got lost a little bit (in recent weeks). I don't think we completely lost it, but we got back to our DNA, and I'm proud — I'm proud of our guys."

Most of the first half Saturday was defined by one stat: third-down conversions by Northwestern. The Wildcats were 6-of-8 to open the game on third down, the last of those coming on their touchdown to take a 20-6 lead late in the first half. The mobility of quarterback Aiden Chiles and the creativity of the playcalling by Kelly were conspiring to put Oregon on its heels.

Defense Sack

But the two stops the Ducks did get on third down during that stretch were key — both forced Northwestern to settle for field goals in the red area, which proved critical in what ended up being a one-score game. And the Wildcats would convert just one third down after halftime, as the UO defense tightened up its discipline and did a better job containing Chiles.

"This whole week was about execution — being in the right play, doing your job," said UO safety Koi Perich, who had seven tackles to lead the Ducks along with Brandon Finney Jr. and Jerry Mixon. "Obviously, we weren't doing that in the first half, and they were converting. Whether it was the DBs getting out of position, the QB scrambling, or them just making a play. Ultimately, it's just us doing our job, and we did that a little better in the second half."

Oregon's offense, meanwhile, found its rhythm when it had to play with tempo late in the first half. To that point the Ducks' only points were on two field goals by Gage Hurych, in a nice bounceback effort from three misses at Illinois. But after Northwestern went up 20-6 with 1:53 left in the first half, the Ducks had to play fast. They had to go on the attack. And they landed their first big punch.

Dylan Raiola

It came on a beautiful fade route from Raiola to Moore, whose catch in the back corner of the end zone held up under the scrutiny of a replay review, on a day he caught seven balls for 128 yards and two scores. The Wildcats still had 49 seconds to work with, but the UO defense got a stop on third down to keep the score 20-13 heading into halftime.

"I kept telling our players, it's really going to be about who can play harder for longer," Lanning said. "And I felt like that really showed up today."

The only turnover of the game, a fumble by the Ducks on the opening drive of the second half, gave Northwestern good field position. But again the UO defense got a stop on third down to force a field goal, and the Ducks quickly drove to another touchdown on another fade route, this one to tight end Jamari Johnson to get Oregon within 23-20.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Northwestern Wildcats at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on October 31, 2026 (Eric Evans Photography)

The Oregon Ducks take on the Northwestern Wildcats at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on October 31, 2026 (Eric Evans Photography)

At that point the UO running back was Smith, in for injured starters Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. His shifty change-of-pace ability fueled an eight-carry, 82-yard performance off the bench.

"We see it every day in practice," UO left tackle Fox Crader said. "He's a young guy that, every chance he gets, he's executed. He makes a lot of stuff happen in practice that we're like, this kid's special. So we're not surprised at all. "

It was Smith who gave the Ducks the lead, finally. All week long, Lanning had talked about the Ducks' desire to get back to a more aggressive mentality; not every fourth-down call of his tenure has been successful, but it's been part of Oregon's identity. And it showed up in that moment, with Smith scoring on a 2-yard run three plays into the fourth quarter for a 27-23 lead.

Brandon Smith

"Our mindset was, hey, we're either going to punch this in, or they're going to have to drive (98) yards bringing it back," Lanning said. "Obviously we were able to punch it in, and that was a big, big, big play in that game."

The run came behind an Oregon offensive line that, for the first time all season, started the same five guys and leaned on them throughout the game.

"A big part of O-line play is just having chemistry with the guys you're out there on the field with — knowing each other's weaknesses, each other's strengths," Crader said. "So you know, we were able to go out there and execute. Obviously we've got to watch the film, got a lot to clean up. But it felt good out there. Feels good with this group for sure."

That sentiment was a theme for the Ducks postgame. No doubt, film analysis will show lots that could be cleaned up. But after getting back to their roots in the second half, they were feeling good. And now November looms with much still in front of the Oregon football team.