Saturday Night was a tale of two different games as Oregon looked lifeless for the first 3 quarters of this game before coming alive in the 4th quarter. The Ducks' defense was outstanding the entire night, giving the inept offense a chance to make this a game once Dan Lanning made the quarterback switch. When Dylan Raiola finally entered the game, Oregon took all the momentum, and ended up scoring a late touchdown to steal a win.
Everyone will remember this as the game Dylan Raiola beat his former team, and Jamari Johnson for making the game winning touchdown grab. The defensive performance will be right there with the Raiola storyline, as it was a dominant defensive showing. While there are plenty who will be remembered for the game, several Ducks delivered performances that helped win the game.
The 5 unsung heroes who helped Oregon knock off Nebraska
Chris Hampton - Defensive Coordinator
Oregon fans love to bash Dan Lanning for the decision to hire Drew Mehringer, but it also looks like for all the shortcomings on offense, Lanning made the right choice at defensive coordinator. For the second straight week, the Ducks defense was given no wiggle room, yet they kept an inept offense in the game. Hampton was a subject of criticism in the early portion of the season, but the defense has started to live up to the preseason hype.
Hudson Lewis - Wide Receiver
Lost in the excitement of the Ducks scoring the go ahead touchdown was the fact that Oregon needed to make the 2-point conversion to take a 3 point lead and force Nebraska to score a touchdown to win. On the pivotal play, it was another true freshman who came up big as Dylan Raiola found Hudson Lewis, who delivered in his first high pressure moment.
Jalen Lott - Wide Receiver
After earning high praise throughout the offseason, Oregon fans were excited to see 5-star freshman Jalen Lott this season, but hand surgery this offseason proved to be a setback. Lott made his debut against UCLA, and with Evan Stewart out with an injury against Nebraska, one of the younger wide receivers was going to have a chance to step up. Lott's 3 catches for 23 yards won't jump off the box score, but Dylan Raiola trusted him on 3rd down once and 4th down on the final drive of the game, and the freshman delivered.
Brandon Smith - Running Back
Jordon Davison appeared to get put in the doghouse after his second fumble in scoring position over the last two weeks. The running back who helped the Ducks weather that storm was true freshman Brandon Smith who got extended playing time in this game. Smith ran for 29 yards on 6 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, tied for the team lead with Dierre Hill Jr.
Gage Hurych - Kicker
The struggles all around to start the season has taken some shine away from how great Oregon's kicking game has been. Oregon couldn't afford to squander any chance to score points, and Gage Hurych was nails once again, making all 3 field goal attempts. Hurych hasn't missed this season, and has been one of the few players who's exceeded all expectations this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google