Ducks' Moore breaks through in 2OT upset of PSU

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- For the archetypal clip each night, Dante Moore was overwhelmed. The Oregon backmost paused his triumph thigh and bent over, staring down astatine the Beaver Stadium writer portion trying his champion to cod himself and clasp backmost the tears.

In the moments instantly aft his Oregon squad pulled disconnected a 30-24 double-overtime triumph implicit No. 3 Penn State, Moore was emotionally spent. Ducks ccoach Dan Lanning, however, was practically vibrating aft the stunning finish, brimming with pridefulness that his No. 6 Ducks had what it took to triumph what helium considers the champion crippled helium has ever been a portion of successful his career.

What it took was unbelievable poise from each subordinate successful his program, particularly from Moore, his sophomore backmost making conscionable his 5th vocation roadworthy start.

The Ducks had the luxury of elite acquisition astatine the backmost presumption implicit Lanning's archetypal 3 seasons successful Eugene betwixt Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel. On Saturday night, they showed everyone what they person successful Moore.

"I deliberation we've got the champion backmost successful assemblage football," Lanning said.

Moore threw for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns, rushed for 35 yards, avoided turnovers and sacks and stayed successful power successful beforehand of an announced assemblage of 111,015, the second-largest successful Penn State history. Lanning and his coaches enactment each their spot successful Moore successful a crippled loaded with high-pressure moments, including 18 3rd downs and 7 4th downs successful which the Ducks went for it, converting 5 of them.

"It's things you commune and imagination astir arsenic a kid," Moore said.

Lanning told his players each week agelong that the mindset indispensable to decision the Nittany Lions was decease by a 1000 cuts. No 1 play was going to sound retired their foe. Every play and each chopped mattered. That's precisely however their conflict played out.

Early successful the 4th quarter, the Ducks went for the termination connected a fourth-and-1, and moving backmost Jordon Davison sliced done the Nittany Lion defence for an 8-yard touchdown that, with a 17-3 lead, looked apt to enactment distant the crippled for good. But it would instrumentality galore much cuts to yet instrumentality down Penn State.

The Nittany Lions' discourtesy came to beingness with 142 yards and 2 touchdown drives successful the 4th fourth to unit overtime. Then they needed conscionable 3 plays to punch successful the archetypal touchdown successful overtime.

Moore answered with a seven-play march that required him to prime up a fourth-and-1 with the crippled connected the enactment by himself with a antagonistic run. He picked up 3 yards to convert, past deed choky extremity Jamari Johnson connected a shovel walk connected the pursuing play to necktie the score.

Then, connected the archetypal play of the adjacent drive, Moore evaded unblocked Penn State walk rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton and fired a sidearm propulsion to Gary Bryant Jr. for a speedy 25-yard score. The Ducks' two-point effort failed, but each it took was 1 much cut. Oregon information Dillon Thieneman intercepted Penn State's Drew Allar connected his archetypal walk of the 2nd overtime.

"Every chopped matters, and yet you deed the jugular," Lanning said. "That was it close there."

For Moore, it was a breakthrough infinitesimal that has been hard earned. The erstwhile No. 2 wide enlistee was benched during his freshman play astatine UCLA successful 2023, transferred to Oregon and spent past twelvemonth retired of the spotlight...