The Oregon Ducks pulled off a thrilling 30-24 double-overtime win over the No.3-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
Oregon went ahead 17-3 at one point in the fourth quarter and survived a late Penn State comeback that had the score tied at the end of regulation.
The result means that the Ducks jumped from No. 6 to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 rankings. Conversely, the Nittany Lions dropped four places to No. 7 in the latest poll.
In what was a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Conference Championship Game, the Ducks won in the second overtime following a Dillon Thieneman interception of a Drew Allar pass. The game was attended by 111,015, who had been stunned into jeers and boos as the Oregon Ducks led 17-3 in the 4th quarter after back-to-back touchdowns by Dierre Hill Jr. and Jordon Davison.
This was following a sluggish, back-and-forth first half that ended 3-3. However, Oregon took control in the third quarter, with a reversed fumble by Chaz Coleman and Zakee Wheatley proving pivotal. Penn State rallied with two Drew Allar-to-Devonte Ross touchdowns (35 yards and 7 yards) to tie the game at 17.
With the victory, Oregon improved to 5-0 (2-0 Big Ten) and picked up its FBS-leading 23rd straight regular-season win. The Ducks are now 12-0 in Big Ten regular-season play, while coach Dan Lanning earned his first road win over a top-five opponent.
“Never lost our composure one second. Highs and low in this game. That's a great football team. Threw some punches; we punched more and hit a haymaker at the end,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said afterwards, per ESPN.
Oregon shut down Penn State’s run game in the first half, holding Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton to just 18 rushing yards. However, Lanning will be disappointed with the way his team allowed the Nittany Lions back into the game after dominating for more than three quarters.
The Ducks will now face the No. 8-ranked Indiana Hoosiers on October 11.
