No. 1 Ducks Remain Undefeated, Dominate No. 20 Illinois 38-9

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The No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten Conference) handled business at home against the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini (6-2, 4-2) by a score of 38-9 on Oct. 26. Oregon was voted as the No. 1 team in the nation after last weekend, and many fans were worried they would repeat the performance they put on the last time they were No. 1. In 2012, just a week after Oregon was voted No. 1, they lost at home to No. 13 Stanford. This time, however, it was a dominant performance. The game was out of hand by halftime, where Oregon had a 35-3 lead. The Ducks were 22.5-point home favorites and covered the spread handily.

Game Summary

Much like last week, Oregon received the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown on the first drive. Dan Lanning's Ducks showed no signs of a "trap game" after that. After going up 7-0, the Ducks forced a three and out. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel marched the Ducks down the field and capped off the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Justius Lowe, who has been earning more snaps with his play as of late. Despite only being a sophomore, Lowe has started to make an impact for the Ducks in 2024.

Illinois got on the board following the Lowe touchdown reception with a field goal to make it 14-3. However, Oregon responded again. Gabriel capped off a 65-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown rush where he pulled out a read option to the left. Gabriel, at this point, had 3 total touchdowns. Oregon's defense would stay dominant for the remainder of the half by only allowing 3 points. Noah Whittington had an 18-yard touchdown run where he trucked a defender in his way to the end zone, and Gabriel added one more touchdown pass before the end of the half on a pitch pass to Whittington for 2 yards. At halftime, Gabriel had 275 yards and 4 total touchdowns with zero interceptions. He would, however, throw an interception later in the game but the game was way out of reach at that point.

Gabriel Enters Heisman Race

Going into this weekend, Gabriel's Heisman Trophy odds via Draftkings were +380, which was behind Miami's Cam Ward and Boise State's Ashton Jeanty. After only averaging 3.8 yards per carry on Friday night, Jeanty allowed both Ward and Gabriel to make a statement. Gabriel did just that. His numbers could have been much more inflated if they didn't tone down the offense after the 35-3 halftime lead. Gabriel finished 18-of-26 with 4 total touchdown's and 1 interception late in garbage time.

Turning Point for the Ducks

This one is short and simple. Much like last week, the turning point might as well be the opening kickoff. Oregon came out of the gates, hitting all cylinders and scoring on the opening drive. The Ducks defense was stout, but one of the most key moments for them might have been when the Ducks responded to the Illini field goal with another touchdown, making it 21-3. A key first-half interception by Tysheem Johnson helped Oregon set the tone for the day as well. After the win, Gabriel's odds shot up to +200 on Draftkings. No tied for first with Ward, and Jeanty's odds fell to +360.

What It Means for the Ducks

This just adds to the solid resume the Ducks have thus far. This is the Ducks' third-ranked win this season, and they improved to 5-0 in the B1G. Each game becomes more crucial down the stretch, considering both No. 3 Penn State (6-0, 3-0) and No. 13 Indiana (8-0, 5-0) are undefeated, making a three-way tie possible. This was the toughest game left on the Ducks' schedule (on paper) outside of possibly some tough road environments at Michigan (4-3, 2-2) and Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1).