It may have taken until the fourth quarter to finally put Maryland away. Still, Oregon football improved to 10-0 on the season and avoided a late-season trap against a Terrapins team that is looking to make it to the postseason and save Mike Locksley's job. The Ducks would pull away in the fourth quarter and win 39-18.
At one point in the fourth quarter, Oregon was up just 29-18 and the Terrapins got the ball back, but the Ducks tacked on a field goal and eventually a touchdown and it was all over.
Dillon Gabriel now has Oregon two games away from earning a spot in that Big Ten title game in year one as a member of the conference. The Ducks are also two wins away from locking up a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Here are my thoughts on the Ducks' comfortable win over Maryland.
1. Dillon Gabriel is officially a college football legend
While Dillon Gabriel might now officially be a college football legend after breaking the all-time total touchdowns record, his Heisman Trophy campaign may have officially come to an end.
Gabriel accounted for his record-breaking 179th career touchdown on Saturday night but his overall performance against a subpar Maryland team was probably not enough to keep him in Heisman race. He finished with just 183 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 28 yards.
I spoke earlier this week about what kind of numbers Gabriel might need to put up in the final three games to win the Heisman Trophy and he put up about half the yardage needed.
A college football legend, yes, but likely no Heisman Trophy in his immediate future.
2. Welcome back, Jordan Burch
Much to fans' surprise, Jordan Burch returned on Saturday night and finally appeared on the defensive side of the ball for Oregon after missing the past month, or so.
But it was his play on special teams that stole the show.
Jordan Burch on the fake punt for 36 yards was not on my bingo card today!! He was Big Yellow 1️⃣ a giant among men running down that field. I was hoping for a Whittington steamroll @oregonfootball pic.twitter.com/Jj5QSrWshW
— Jay Henry (@jayhenry79) November 10, 2024
Other than this 36-yard run on a fake punt that really helped the Ducks put the Terrapins away, Burch had three tackles, a sack, and two pass breakups. While he did spend some time in the medical tent, he returned with the rest of the defensive linemen and there doesn't seem to be further injury news for him.
Welcome back, Jordan Burch. This team missed you.
3. It's good to get this one out of the way
Every year, there seems to be a clunker of a game awaiting every playoff contender. Oregon had a couple at the beginning of the season but I'll attribute those to just trying to gel as a team but the Ducks have been on a roll lately.
They didn't look quite so dominant through 45ish minutes on Saturday night. The Terrapins stood no chance against Oregon and yet they were down just 29-18 in the fourth quarter and it felt like they were a play away from really making the Ducks sweat. Oregon ended up scoring 10 straight to end the game but it was still not the greatest performance for Dan Lanning's team.
Gabriel played alright but was nothing special, Jordan James was non-existent, and the defense gave up nearly 300 yards to a struggling offense.
This clunker is out of the way. Better now than in the playoff.