Oregon (2-1) suffered its first loss of the season, 35-32, at the hands of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0), in a tightly contested game in front of 90,414 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
With 39 seconds remaining the game, Oregon faced a fourth-and-18 from the Nebraska 48 yard line. Dakota Prukop fielded the snap but couldn’t find a receiver. The pocket collapsed on him, yielding only a three-yard gain and giving possession of the ball back to Nebraska with less than 40 seconds remaining.
Oregon jumped on Nebraska to start the game. They led 8-7 after the first quarter and held a 20-7 lead before Nebraska scored in the final 10 seconds of the first half making it 20-14 at the break.
Nebraska came out revitalized in the second half, scoring three touchdowns to take a 28-20 lead before Kani Benoit raced 41 yards to the end-zone at the end of the third, sending the game to the fourth with Nebraska up 28-26.
In true Oregon fashion, the Ducks went for two after each of their five touchdowns. Unfortunately for Oregon, it only converted on it’s first attempt — a Charles Nelson run — in the first quarter to make the score 8-0.
Tony Brooks-James got things started for Oregon in the fourth, capping a 10-play, 97-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run putting the Ducks up 32-28 with 10:31 left in the game. That would be Oregon’s last score of the afternoon.
After a three-and-out from Nebraska, followed by a three-and-out from Oregon, Nebraska put together an 11 play drive, ending in a Tommy Armstrong Jr. 34-yard run. Armstrong was Nebraska’s leading rusher, netting 96 yards on 16 carries. He also completed 17 of his 33 pass attempts for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
Oregon tried to put together one final drive, but several unfortunate dropped passes and costly penalties brought their drive to an end.
On the day, Oregon committed 13 penalties, costing them 126 yards. A number of pass-interference calls kept Nebraska drives alive, leading to scores on several occasions.
Prukop finished the day 14-of-23 for 146 yards. He also rushed for 90 yards but did not record a touchdown.
The Ducks played the majority of the game without Royce Freeman, who suffered an apparent leg injury in the first quarter. Fortunately for Oregon, their backup running backs were ready to play. Kani Benoit (six carries, 100 yards, one touchdown), Taj Griffin (eight carries, 68 yards, one touchdown) and Brooks-James (seven carries, 37 yards, three touchdowns) accounted for all five of Oregon scores.
Devon Allen was also among those who left the game with an injury. He came out in fourth with a leg injury after a missed tackle on special teams.
Oregon totaled 473 yards to Nebraska’s 428, but penalties, injuries and shoddy defense ended up being their downfall.
The Ducks fall to 2-1 on the season and host Colorado next week. The Buffs gave Michigan a run for their money in Ann Arbor, but Michigan pulled away in the second half to top Colorado 45-28.
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris