Everyone can finally take a deep breath as the final whistle has sounded and the Oregon Ducks survived the season opener, beating Boise State 34-27 in a true nail-biter. The Ducks made mistakes early that made this a battle, as the Broncos took a 17-14 lead into the locker room and never relented.
When the Broncos took a 17-7 lead over the Ducks in the 1st half, it was clear that Oregon needed someone to step up and calm everyone down. Just like Dan Lanning would hope for, his veteran quarterback rose to the occasion, lifting the Ducks to a win over the Broncos.
Dante Moore met the hype when Oregon needed him most
If there's one thing that you can point to as the reason the Ducks won the game, it was the play of their Heisman candidate quarterback. Dante Moore looked poised even when things were going wrong, finishing the game 28 of 37 for 378 yards and 3 touchdown passes without a turnover.
The 378-yard performance marks a new career high or Dante Moore in passing yards, and he did it the hard way. Aside from Dakorien Moore's electric 62 yard touchdown and Jeremiah McClellan's 51-yard screen, the Ducks marched down the field on most of their drives.
The Ducks take their first lead of the game, courtesy of Jeremiah McClellan 🦆@oregonfootball
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 5, 2026
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/yILu7T3yFm
From the final drive of the first half on, Oregon's offense scored on 6 of its last 9 drives, and the final drive ended with the Ducks throwing the ball out of bounds to secure the win.
The biggest area Oregon needed Dante Moore to grow in was limiting his turnovers after throwing 10 interceptions last season. If Moore didn't play a clean game on Saturday, Oregon likely would have lost the game, but the veteran QB took care of the ball and made the most of his chances.
The team is going to head back to practice this week, and Dan Lanning is certainly going to remind them of how close they were to losing this game. Oregon has some clear issues to clean up, but anytime you can leave with a win and a learning lesson, it's a chance to improve down the line.
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