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College Football

3 takeaways from Oregon’s narrow win over Wisconsin to remain unbeaten

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Oregon traveled to Madison in Week 12 for the first Big Ten matchup between the Ducks and Wisconsin. It proved to be a special night inside Camp Randall Stadium, but it was far from enjoyable for Dan Lanning’s group.

Early on, it was clear that Oregon was out of sorts on the road. The Badgers came up with an early takeaway and the Duck offense never seemed to find its groove with the normally accurate and efficient passing attack.

It ultimately led to Wisconsin staking itself to a 10-6 halftime lead and kicking a field goal in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, the Badgers could not get anything going after that with Oregon’s defense shutting things down.

In the end, the Ducks held on for a 16-13 win to remain undefeated and likely hold onto their No. 1 ranking. Here are the key takeaways from Saturday night:

Dillon Gabriel’s red-zone miscues continue

Trying to talk about a flaw in Gabriel’s game feels like nitpicking. But for a team with title aspirations, any mistake could be a major one when the margin for error shrinks in the Playoff.

Gabriel entered Saturday’s game with a 22-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The only problem with that is Gabriel’s issue with picks in the red zone.

Those issues cropped up again in the first quarter vs. Wisconsin when Gabriel threw an interception with Oregon looking to add to an early 3-0 lead. While the turnover came extremely early in the game, it felt like this turnover set the tone for the rest of the game.

Overall, Gabriel now has 4 red-zone interceptions on the season. According to the NBC broadcast, that is the most in FBS, and it’s something he will need to control as Oregon heads into the make-or-break portion of the season.

Oregon defense delivers in 2nd half

Overall, it’s not quite accurate to say Oregon’s defense struggled in this one. The Ducks gave up just 3 drives over 50 yards, but 2 of those drives led to 10 points across the end of the first half and start of the second half.

Fortunately, the Ducks put a stop to things the rest of the way.

After Wisconsin’s field goal with 4:43 left in the 3rd, the remaining drives for the Badgers produced a pair of 3-and-outs and another turnover on downs with Wisconsin needing points. Those 3 drives produced -7 yards for Wisconsin as the Ducks rode 10 unanswered points in the 4th quarter.

The defense also stood tall one final time after a risky choice by Dan Lanning. With the Ducks unable to pick up a first down in the red zone, Lanning dialed up a fake field goal instead of keeping the offense on the field or trying for 3 more points.

The fake was stuffed by the Badgers, but the defense did the rest. Matayo Uiagalelei picked off a deflected pass on Wisconsin’s 2nd play of that drive, effectively ending the game.

Jordan James delivers MVP performance offensively

It was clear Oregon needed someone to turn to with Gabriel scuffling a bit and the receiver room further diminished with an injury to Justius Lowe. James stepped up in a major way, especially down the stretch.

James would score the game-tying touchdown in the 4th quarter to set the stage for the dramatic finish, and he nearly gave the team a go-ahead touchdown as well.

Overall, James finished the game with 121 rushing yards and a touchdown while also adding 2 catches for 25 yards. It set a new season-high for carries, but that doesn’t tell the entire story.

James was limited in the game against Maryland last weekend with 7 carries and just 9 total touches with his lowest output of the season. His status for Week 12 was up in the air all week, but he was not on the availability report and stepped up in a big way.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.