EUGENE, Ore. — Dante Moore threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score, and No. 5 Oregon beat No. 12 James Madison 51-34 on Saturday night in a College Football Playoff opener.
The Ducks (12-1) advanced to face No. 4 Texas Tech in a quarterfinal game at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. Oregon won a playoff game for the first time since 2014, when the Ducks beat Florida State in the Rose Bowl semifinal before losing to Ohio State.
James Madison (12-2) dropped Group of Five teams to 0-4 in CFP games. No. 11 Tulane fell 41-10 at No. 6 Mississippi as well Saturday.
Moore completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson less than two minutes into the game to give Oregon a lead it would not relinquish. Johnson hauled in Moore’s pass with his right hand and romped into the end zone while dragging a pair of defenders.
James Madison responded with a 30-yard field goal from Morgan Suarez on its next drive, one that required 15 plays and burned 8:03. The Ducks took over from there, rattling off four straight touchdowns before the Dukes snuck in another field goal from Suarez ahead of halftime, which brought the score to 34-6.
In falling behind by such a wide margin, James Madison went away from its rushing attack, which ranked fifth in the nation in average yards per game entering the evening. Sun Belt Player of the Year Alonza Barnett III completed 23 of 48 passes, including a 47-yard touchdown pass to Nick DeGennaro on James Madison’s first drive of the third quarter.
Oregon promptly responded with two touchdowns, including wide receiver Malik Benson’s second TD and a blocked punt that Jayden Limar scooped and returned 15 yards for a score. James Madison scored the last three touchdowns.
The victory was the Ducks’ seventh straight since losing to No. 1 Indiana 30-20 on Oct. 11. James Madison had won 11 in a row.
The takeaway
- Oregon: Standout freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore, who missed Oregon’s last four games with a knee injury, returned to the lineup for the first time since Oct. 25 against Wisconsin. If Moore, the Ducks’ third-leading receiver, is available for the remainder of the CFP, it would provide Oregon’s offense with another dynamic playmaker in the open field.
- James Madison: The Dukes’ run defense, which ranked second in the nation in fewest yards against per game, struggled in its second matchup of the season with a Power Four opponent. After allowing fewer than 2 rushing yards to its opponents in three of its last four games, James Madison allowed 201 yards on the ground, including 150 before halftime.