Last updated: Nov. 8 at 3:09 p.m. PT
The Oregon Ducks were truly in a defensive battle against the Iowa Hawkeyes as the two top-20 teams fought through the cold and rain.
With the score seemingly stuck at 12-7, the Oregon defense continued to fight, holding the Iowa offense to just one touchdown. As the Hawkeyes continued a drive down the field, star outside linebacker Teitum Tuioti was slow to get up.
Tuioti was clutching his right arm before he headed off the field, struggling to put weight on it when he tried to get up.
Oregon forces turnover with star LB on sidelines
Tuioti was walked to the sidelines, and just a play later, the Ducks seemingly forced a turnover with a big hit by freshman defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. on Iowa wideout Kaden Wetjen. Then, Bear Alexander recovered the fumble, so it was unclear if Tuioti would return to the game.
Before the fumble, Tuioti was standing on the sidelines with his helmet on, and the commentators noted that in such a close game, it might take a broken bone sticking out for the linebacker to miss out on any more snaps than necessary.
When he exited the game, even momentarily, Tuioti had earned four total tackles (two solo), one sack, and one tackle for loss.
Of course, Tuioti isn't the only star linebacker on Oregon's roster, playing alongside captain and Eugene local Bryce Boettcher, who quickly became a beloved part of the team as a walk-on for both the Ducks football and baseball programs.
Boettcher had the second-most tackles on the team when the Ducks forced the fumble, with seven total tackles (five solo), one sack, and one tackle for loss. Junior linebacker Jerry Mixon led Oregon with 11 total tackles (eight solo) and 0.5 tackles for loss.
With just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, No. 9 Oregon had the ball back with a 12-7 lead over No. 20 Iowa.
After Dante Moore and the Ducks' offense took the ball down the field for a successful field goal attempt to go up 15-7, the defense was back on the field as was OLB Tuioti.