On Saturday, October 17, 2026, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, Oregon defeated Nebraska by a score of 17-14. In leading the Ducks to victory over his former team, quarterback Dylan Raiola, who transferred to Oregon from Nebraska, orchestrated a last-second comeback drive. With 28 seconds left on the clock, Raiola completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson for a comeback win.
It was a defensive battle with both sides' offenses having troubles most of the night. Neither team scored in the first quarter, and Nebraska had already punted eight times before the break in the first half.
Both teams ended up with exactly 242 yards of offense.
It was all defense for Oregon to begin with. Oregon's D forced four three-and-outs and three sacks. As per On3, the Oregon front seven caused the Nebraska offensive line trouble on drop backs one after the other.
Nebraska scored just before halftime. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea orchestrated an impressive 10-play, 65-yard drive, and ended it by throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kwazi Gilmer with four seconds remaining on the clock in the second quarter. The touchdown reception was looked at by the replay official and upheld. Nebraska had a 7-0 lead going into halftime.
The offense of Oregon was silent in the second half, but kicker Gavin Hurych kept them within reach with three field goals from distances of 36, 36, and 37 yards. The first two put the Huskers ahead with scores of 7-6. Colandrea put the score back in the favor of the Huskers after making a six-yard dive in 19 seconds, with 14-6 being the score with a six-play, 52-yard drive.
Hurych completed his third field goal at 7:22 minutes of the fourth quarter putting the score at 14-9. Both an interception by Colandrea and a kneel by the punter resulted in the possession of the ball in the red zone of Nebraska by the Ducks.
Raiola came into play with 5:31 on the clock when Oregon was behind 14-9. This drive lasted 20 plays, covered 82 yards, and took 5 minutes and 3 seconds from the clock.
The important parts of this drive were:
- Fourth-and-1: Running back Davison got by three Nebraska defenders for five yards.
- Scored touchdown: Raiola's pass to Dakorien Moore was called a touchdown at first but overturned later.
- Third-and-6: Two-minute timeout after which Raiola connected with true freshman Jalen Lott over the middle of the field.
- Fourth-and-3: Again, Raiola passed to Lott to continue this drive.
The score: From the four-yard line, Raiola completed a pass to Johnson to get the touchdown with 28 seconds on the clock, and then he connected with H. Lewis to complete the two-point conversion, making the score 17-14.
Raiola went 11/18 for 59 yards and a touchdown, and Dierre Hill Jr. rushed 14 times for 67 yards. Raiola, who scored the winning touchdown against his former team, was also a hero in another game three weeks ago, according to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
The box score showed a very even game:
- Total yardage: 242 yards for both teams.
- Rushing: Oregon 129 yards, Nebraska 78 yards.
- Passing: Nebraska 164 yards, Oregon 113 yards.
- Turnovers: Oregon 2, Nebraska 1.
- Penalties: Nebraska 6 for 55 yards, Oregon 4 for 35 yards.
- Punts: Nebraska 9, Oregon 7.
Colandrea was responsible for almost all of Nebraska's offensive production. He threw for 164 yards on 18 of 33 passing attempts with one touchdown and one interception while also throwing for a touchdown.
One felt that his ability to move around made the offense work at all and that his rapport with Gilmer was what made the night for Nebraska. Gilmer had a game-high 74 receiving yards.
For Oregon, this win prevented consecutive losses for the first time under the leadership of new head coach Dan Lanning.
In addition, the Ducks managed to avoid another loss and proved that even in offensive drought, they can manage to win. For Nebraska, this is the second consecutive loss, after the one they suffered against Indiana last week.
Their record becomes 5-2 for the season, while the Cornhuskers were 5-0 before losing to Indiana.
Nebraska goes back home to face Washington on October 31, then they go to Illinois on November 7.
The upcoming schedule of the Cornhuskers consists of games against Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa, so there are still some opportunities for rebuilding the season.
