Late JMU rally sets Ducks up for fiery 10 days of practice

Saturday night at Autzen Stadium, Oregon built a 34-3 lead in the second quarter with a display of offensive dominance and explosiveness, five touchdowns in five drives.

They were lethal, scoring in 1:38, 2:37, 1:34, 1:18 and 1:45, all in five plays of less. They averaged 16.6 yards per play, gaining 349 yards in the first 26 minutes of the game. JMU could not contend with their speed.

Big blocks by Dakorien Moore and Kenyon Sadiq sprung Dierre Hill for a 56-yard touchdown run. Dante Moore went over the top for touchdown throws of 41 yards to Jamari Johnson and 46 yards to Malik Benson. Hill lined up wide for a screen pass, got a block from Dakorien, zoomed up the sideline for 40.

For the game Dante Moore was 19-27 for 313 yards and four touchdowns and two interceptions, adding another score on a five-yard keeper. He threw four gorgeous deep balls for scores, and both the telecast and social media talked about his potential to be the No. 1 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft.

Dante Moore entices NFL scouts with touch and accuracy

In the third quarter he added another lightning strike to Benson, this one for 45 yards. For the game the Ducks had six runs of 10 yards or more, totaling 140 yards on chunk rushing plays. Moore connected on eight passes of 16 yards or more, gashing the Dukes for 246 of his 313 yards on those plays.

Then they put on the brakes. After taking a 48-13 lead with 7:05 to play in the third quarter the defense held JMU three and out, Benson returning the punt nine yards to the opponent's 45. Moore found Jeremiah McClellan on passes of 13 and 22 yards down to the 9, first and goal. Jordon Davison ran for one.

On second and 8 Moore missed Sadiq in the end zone. On third and 8 under a heavy blitz, he threw a dangerous crossfield pass off his back foot to Johnson, who fell down coming out of his break. Dukes defensive back Justin Eaglin picked it off, returning it 61 yards to the Oregon 36 before Jay Harris blasted him out of bounds.

Six plays later on first and goal from the 24, a redshirt freshman safety was beaten on a wheel route by JMU running back George Pettaway for a touchdown, the first of three straight touchdown drives for the visitors.

The Ducks drove 29 yards for one fourth quarter field goal as the James Madison offense rolled up 194 yards and two scores in the period.

It's important to put those late scores in perspective. Oregon went deep to the bench after building the five-touchdown lead. A group of young players saw the field, many of them for their most extensive action of the season:

Naeem Offord 48 plays

Blake Purchase 44 plays

Ashton Porter 31 plays

Terrance Green 28 snaps

Daylen Austin 24 snaps

Jericho Johnson, Matthew Johnson, Nasir Wyatt, Aydin Breland, Kingston Lopa, and Tionne Gray all played. Elijah Rushing saw the field. Will Straton took a snap.

Oregon's young linebackers saw their most significant action:

Brayden Platt 13 plays

Dylan Williams 10 plays

Gavin Nix 5 plays

Duck fans watching the game expressed alarm and concern over the sloppy finish. They wanted to see a decisive, wire-to-wire domination that established the Ducks as a playoff favorite. Instead, the coaching staff made a commitment to development.

Give the Dukes credit also. They played hard, all the way to the finish, starters in to the final whistle. They emptied the playbook and used every element of a tricky offense, taking advantage of some bad tackling.

Dante Moore said after the game, "Everyone knows how Coach Lanning is. He's a psycho. He's gonna push us at practice. He's gonna put that fire under us."

A blowout breeds complacency. Dan Lanning and his staff set the Ducks up for dissatisfaction and hunger to be better, and still won by three scores.