No. 1 Oregon (13-0) outpaced No. 3 Penn State (11-2) 45-37 in a Big Ten Championship Game shootout that came down to the final minutes Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Ducks scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and jumped out to a 28-10 lead, but Penn State battled back to stay within striking distance a game that included a combined 984 yards of offense. The Nittany Lions had the ball near midfield with a chance to tie and two minutes remaining, but a Drew Allar deep shot turned into an Oregon interception that effectively put the game away.
Penn State amassed 518 yards of offense to Oregon’s 466, with running backs Kaytron Allen (124) and Nick Singleton (105) both eclipsing 100 yards on the ground. Allar was 20-39 for 226 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Tight end Tyler Warren led Nittany Lion receivers with seven catches for 84 yards.
For the Ducks, quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns, while Tez Johnson caught 11 passes for 181 yards and a score. Noah Whittington and Jordan James both ran for over 80 yards.
Penn State’s defense had six tackles for loss, including one sack. Kobe King led all defenders with 10 tackles and one TFL.
Penalties and turnovers hurt the Nittany Lion effort. Penn State had six penalties for 65 yards, all in the first half — including four 15-yard penalties — while Oregon had three for 24. The Ducks did not turn the ball over.
Penn State will now wait to find out its seeding in the College Football Playoff. The Selection Show starts at noon Sunday on ESPN.
Oregon secured a first-round playoff bye as the No. 1 seed in the 12-team field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Oregon wasted little time getting on the board. The Ducks took the opening drive 84 yards in nine plays, capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Dillon Gabriel to tight end Kenyon Sadiq, to take a 7-0 lead at the 10:40 mark of the first quarter.
After Penn State picked up a first down on third down with a 7-yard throw from Drew Allar to Tyler Warren, Nick Singleton broke free for a 41-yard run to the Ducks 22. The Nittany Lions could only gain six more from there, though, and Ryan Barker came on to make a 33-yard field goal that narrowed the Oregon lead to 7-3 with 7:30 left in the first.
The Ducks continued to tear up the Nittany Lion defense on their second possession as a 26-yard run by Noah Whittington immediately had Oregon across midfield. Penn State had Oregon stopped on fourth and 1 from the 40, but a facemask penalty for the second straight drive gave the Ducks another 15. Mixing up the pass and run game, Oregon moved to the 2, where Gabriel again found Sadiq open in the end zone.
Oregon extended its lead to 14-3 with 3:21 left in the first after the 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Penn State answered with big plays on its ensuing drive. Allar hit Warren for a first down on the opening play, then on third and 15 connected with Harrison Wallace III 16 to midfield. After a 28-yard throw to Warren, Allar hit Singleton behind coverage down the middle for a 22-yard touchdown pass.
The seven-play, 75-yard drive took just under two minutes and cut Oregon’s lead to 14-10.
After a personal foul penalty against Penn State on the kickoff and a 26-yard pass from Gabriel to Johnson, Oregon closed out the quarter at the Nittany Lion 36.
2nd Quarter
Gabriel opened the second quarter with a 31-yard pass to Johnson to put the Ducks at the Penn State 7. Three plays later Gabriel found tight end Terrance Ferguson in the end zone, and Oregon moved ahead 21-10 with 13:04 remaining in the first half.
Penn State couldn’t overcome another personal foul penalty on its next drive Riley Thompson came on for the night’s first punt after a three and out. Oregon took over at its own 31, but the Nittany Lion defense was finally able to get a stop, forcing three and out and a punt that Ross James sent 55 yards to the Penn State 11.
Oregon, however, was soon back in business. Dontae Manning picked off Allar’s second-down pass and returned it to the 1, then Jordan James punched it in for the score. The Ducks expanded their lead to 28-10 with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Nittany Lion offense settled down and responded on its next possession. A pass interference call on third down moved the chains, and Kaytron Allen and Singleton broke through for runs of 24 and 17 to get Penn State deep into Duck territory. Allar then connected with Omari Evans for a 22-yard touchdown pass, and Penn State narrowed the deficit to 28-17 with 6:49 left in the half.
The Nittany Lion defense came up big on Oregon’s next possession, highlighted by Audavion Collins’ pass break up on third down, to force a punt.
Penn State went to work from its own 36, and a 15-yard Singleton run got the Nittany Lions across midfield. After a 3-yard Allen run to convert on fourth down, Allar hooked up with Warren again, this time for 19 yards, to get into the red zone.
A pair of runs by Allen and Singleton picked up another first down, and after the two-minute warning Allar kept it for a 7-yard burst into the end zone. Oregon’s lead was down to 28-24 with 1:53 before halftime.
Keyed by a 25-yard pass from Gabriel to Johnson and runs of 9 and 11 by James and Gabriel, Oregon got into the red zone as the half wound down. But the Nittany Lion defense shut down the drive at the 14, and Oregon settled for a 32-yard Atticus Sappington field goal to take a 31-24 lead into the locker room.
The two teams combined for 537 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes — with Penn State outgaining Oregon 283 to 254 — and set a record for most points scored in the first half of a Big Ten Championship Game with 55. The Nittany Lions had five penalties for 65 yards to Oregon’s two for 9, and one turnover to none for the Ducks.
3rd Quarter
Behind four Allen carries for 23 yards and a 14-yard Allar pass to Warren, Penn State took the opening possession of the second half to the Oregon 23. But the drive stalled and Barker’s 40-yard field goal attempt went wide, sending the Nittany Lions away empty handed.
Oregon took advantage. Gabriel’s 17-yard pass to Traeshon Holden moved the Ducks across midfield, then the veteran QB threw on the move to Johnson for a 48-yard touchdown. Though the Ducks clearly had an ineligible man downfield on the scoring play, one of several questionable non-calls on the night, Oregon was back in front by two touchdowns, 38-24, with 7:36 left in the third.
Penn State picked up a first down on its next possession but couldn’t do much else. Thompson’s 49-yard punt pinned the Ducks at their own 9.
Oregon leaned heavily on its run game to move to the Penn State 45 but stalled there and punted to put the Nittany Lion offense at its own 3.
A hands to the face penalty against Oregon on first down gave the Nittany Lions breathing room. Allen then took off on a 32-yard run to the Oregon 47 and broke off a 26-yard carry to the Ducks 19 as the third quarter expired.
4th Quarter
The Nittany Lions opened the final quarter with backup QB Beau Pribula running 18 yards to the goalline, and Allen scored easily from a yard out on the next play. Penn State’s two-point conversion attempt failed, and the Nittany Lions trailed 38-30 after a six-play, 97-yard drive, their longest of the season.
Oregon responded in kind. Converting two third-and-long situations and a fourth-and-short, Oregon went on a six-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 4-yard James touchdown run to move ahead 45-30 with 7:28 remaining in the game.
Allar opened Penn State’s ensuing possession with a 22-yard run, then on third and 16 hooked up with Wallace for a first down. Another 13-yard pass to Wallace and a 13-yard Allar run moved the Nittany Lions into the red zone.
Facing fourth and 10 from the Oregon 14 with under four minutes left, Allar threw a dart to Wallace in the end zone for the touchdown. Barker’s point after made it a one-possession game with Oregon ahead 45-37.
The Nittany Lion defense came up big on Oregon’s next possession, stuffing two runs and forcing a Gabriel incompletion. The Ducks punted and Penn State had the ball at its own 37 with a chance to tie.
After the two-minute warning, Allar took a deep shot that was picked off at the Oregon 16 by Nikko Reed. The Ducks took over and ran out the clock to secure a 45-37 victory and the Big Ten championship in their first season in the conference.
