No. 1 Ducks finish strong, outlast pesky Badgers
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Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Oregon had yet to score a touchdown when “Jump Around” blared throughout Camp Randall Stadium, signaling the start of the fourth quarter in Wisconsin.
The top-ranked Ducks trailed and faced fourth-and-nine. Oregon coach Dan Lanning considered taking a delay of game and punting. Instead, he put his trust in quarterback Dillon Gabriel. And once again, the Heisman Trophy contender delivered.
Unable to find an open receiver, Gabriel scrambled left before threading a pass through a trio of Wisconsin defenders into the chest of tight end Terrance Ferguson for the first down. Three plays later, the Ducks scored their only touchdown of the night.
That was all need they needed. Oregon survived Saturday night with a 16-13 victory over Wisconsin to remain unbeaten.
According to ESPN Research, the Ducks are the only team in the country to win three times this season after trailing by at least six points in the fourth quarter. They’re also just the seventh team in the AP Poll era (since 1936) to start 11-0 with three wins by three or fewer points. Oregon also rallied for wins against Boise State and Ohio State by a combined margin of four points.
“It’s hard to win,” said Gabriel, who passed for 219 yards. “Big plays need to happen in big moments. … winning games are hard, and we have a team that knows how to win. That just speaks volumes about the guys we have.”
The Ducks didn’t make it easy.
Oregon twice settled for field goals in the first half after promising drives. Gabriel also had a pass tipped and intercepted on first-and-goal.
With Oregon’s offense scuffling, the Badgers gradually took control with a methodical rushing attack led by Tawee Walker, who finished with 97 yards.
The Badgers led 13-6 to begin the fourth quarter and seemed headed for their first win over a No. 1 team since toppling Ohio State in 2010.
But momentum swung back in Oregon’s favor after “Jump Around,” Wisconsin’s famed tradition. The Ducks played the song all week during practice to prepare them for the road trip.
To begin the fourth quarter, Lanning told Gabriel to take the delay of game if the Badgers showed zone coverage against Oregon’s triple slant play.
“(They) were in the look that we liked and then they actually checked out of that look,” Lanning said. “But our guys did a good job of executing the scramble drill. … we probably had a little good luck there — and an impressive play by Dillon to keep it alive and find somebody down the field.”
Two possessions later, the Ducks later added the game-winning field goal. Gabriel’s eight-yard scramble on third down helped set up the chip-shot, 24-yard attempt for Atticus Sappington, who nailed the kick with just over 2 minutes to play.
Oregon’s defense did the rest, forcing a turnover on downs, then a tipped interception on Wisconsin’s final drive.
The Ducks will have a bye before facing Washington in the regular-season finale. If they win, they’ll have a chance to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs with another victory in the Big Ten championship game.
“We can handle critical moments,” Lanning said. “We can handle when it’s tough and at some point, that experience is going to pay off for us. It certainly paid off for us tonight.”
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Kyle Bonagura
Colorado coach Deion Sanders named Kaidon Salter the Buffaloes’ starting quarterback on Tuesday, ahead of the team’s opener Friday against Georgia Tech.
“The kid has a ton of experience, dual threat, can throw the heck out of the ball as well,” said Sanders. “He’s the guy. He’s the guy at this point.”
Salter, who transferred to Colorado after three years as a starter at Liberty, was the presumed starter but had been competing with five-star true freshman Julian Lewis.
“He’s done it before,” said Sanders. “This is not his first time running out the tunnel and getting the start. … I like what he did in the spring, and he’s growing and growing and growing.”
Sanders credited offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and volunteer assistant coach Byron Leftwich for their work with Salter.
“I defer to those two coaches to allow me to understand what I see as valid,” said Sanders, who added that he is hopeful Lewis will also get game reps.
Salter appeared in two games for Liberty in 2021, before starting most of the team’s games of over the next three years. During that span, he threw for 5,889 yards with 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also ran for 2,006 yards.
He will replace Shedeur Sanders, who started the past two years for Colorado, before being drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
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Jake Trotter
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State coach Ryan Day has one message for freshman quarterback Julian Sayin, who will be making his first career start for the No. 3 Buckeyes against top-ranked Texas on Saturday.
“Just win,” Day said Tuesday. “Find a way to win.”
All eyes will be on Sayin and new Texas starting quarterback Arch Manning in the showdown at Ohio Stadium. It’s a rematch of last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal when both players watched from the sideline as Will Howard and Ohio State eliminated Quinn Ewers and Texas on the way to winning the national championship.
Both Sayin and Manning were five-star recruits coming out of high school. Manning started two games in Austin last season when Ewers suffered an injury; Sayin attempted only 12 passes last year in mop-up duty.
Day said the Buckeyes aren’t putting “crazy expectations” on Sayin, who beat out Lincoln Kienholz for the starting nod in the preseason.
“Take care of the ball. … If you need to throw it away, throw it away,” Day said of his discussions with Sayin heading into Saturday. “Don’t worry about anything else other than winning the game. That’s the most important thing — that’s the job of the quarterback.”
Ohio State will debut eight new starters after losing the bulk of last season’s championship defense to the NFL. Day said facing Manning will pose a “tremendous” challenge for the revamped defense.
“Athletic; a big, strong arm; smart; quick release; accurate — all of the above,” Day said of Manning. “I mean, he checks every box.”
It’s August and no games have been played, but that’s not keeping ESPN’s college football reporters from predicting the 12 schools that will make up the College Football Playoff beginning in December.
Ohio State won the inaugural 12-team bracket last season, despite starting as the No. 8 seed, demonstrating that the playoff truly gives new life to any team that gains entry.
There’s a slight alteration to the format this year. The tournament will still comprise the top five conference champions and seven at-large schools. But the top four seeds — and the first-round bye that comes with each of those seeds — will no longer go to the four highest-ranked conference champions (last season that was Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State). This season the committee has moved to a straight seeding model, so the four highest-ranked schools in the committee’s final top 12 will get the top four seeds.
Ahead of Week 0, here are the slates our reporters picked. Let the chase begin:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Clemson 2. Penn State 3. Texas 4. LSU 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Miami 9. Alabama 10. Iowa State 11. Nebraska 12. Boise State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Ohio State 4. Clemson 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Alabama 8. Oregon 9. LSU 10. Arizona State 11. Miami 12. Boise State
Bill Connelly: 1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. Texas 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Texas A&M 8. Clemson 9. Oregon 10. Boise State 11. Miami 12. Kansas State
Heather Dinich: 1. Penn State, 2. Clemson, 3. Texas 4. LSU 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Alabama 9. Miami 10. Oregon 11. Kansas State 12. Boise State
David Hale: 1. Ohio State 2. Texas 3. Clemson 4. Penn State 5. Notre Dame 6. Georgia 7. Oregon 8. LSU 9. Texas A&M 10. Kansas State 11. Miami 12. Toledo
Eli Lederman: 1. Penn State 2. Texas 3. Clemson 4. Ohio State 5. Notre Dame 6. Alabama 7. Oregon 8. Georgia 9. Arizona State 10. LSU 11. Miami 12. Boise State
Max Olson: 1. Texas. 2. Penn State. 3. Notre Dame. 4. Clemson. 5. Alabama. 6. Oregon. 7. Georgia. 8. Ohio State. 9. Texas Tech. 10. LSU. 11. Utah. 12. Boise State
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Clemson 4. Georgia 5. Alabama 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. Miami 10. Iowa State 11. Boise State 12. Illinois
Mark Schlabach: 1. Texas 2. Clemson 3. Penn State 4. Georgia 5. Ohio State 6. Alabama 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. Miami 10. LSU 11. Arizona State 12. Boise State
Jake Trotter: 1. Texas, 2. Clemson, 3. Penn State, 4. LSU, 5. Ohio State, 6. Notre Dame, 7. Georgia, 8. Oregon, 9. Illinois, 10. South Carolina, 11. Texas Tech, 12. Tulane
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State, 2. Georgia, 3. Texas 4. Penn State 5. Notre Dame 6. Clemson 7. Oregon 8. LSU 9. Arizona State 10. Miami 11. South Carolina 12. Boise State
Dave Wilson: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Clemson 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Alabama 8. Oregon 9. LSU 10. Arizona State 11. Miami 12. Boise State
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