20-Play Drive Lifts Oregon Over Nebraska 17-14 as Dylan Raiola Beats His Old School

Photo: Eric Evans / GoDucks.com. Dan Lanning and Dylan Raiola after Oregon's win over Nebraska at Autzen Stadium, Oct. 17, 2026.

Dylan Raiola came off the bench in the fourth quarter and led a 20-play, 82-yard drive against the school he played two seasons for, and Oregon beat Nebraska 17-14 on Saturday night at Autzen Stadium to move to 4-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten. The drive ended with Raiola's 4-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson in the back of the end zone with 28 seconds left, a catch Raiola called "a cute little toe-drag touchdown," per AP.

Three quarters of nothing

Oregon had 50 yards at halftime and 91 yards on 40 plays through three quarters, per GoDucks. Dante Moore missed his second straight game with the concussion from the Sept. 26 win at USC, so third-stringer Brock Thomas, a former walk-on, got the start and went 9-of-20 for 54 yards with an interception, per AP.

The two teams punted 13 times in the first half. Anthony Colandrea hit Kwazi Gilmer for 17 yards with four seconds left before the break, and Nebraska led 7-0. Gage Hurych kicked two 36-yard field goals in the third to get the Ducks within 7-6. Then the Thomas interception handed Nebraska a short field, and Colandrea dove for the pylon on a 6-yard scramble with seven seconds left in the quarter. That made it 14-6, Huskers.

Two drives, 37 plays

Raiola came in to start the fourth. His first drive went 17 plays and 69 yards, ate 7:42 of clock, and ended in Hurych's third field goal, a 37-yarder that made it 14-9 with 7:18 left, per ESPN's scoring summary. The defense answered with a three-and-out.

The next drive went 20 plays and 82 yards and took 5:03 off the clock. Oregon converted twice on third down and twice on fourth down along the way, per GoDucks, and went 3-for-3 on fourth downs for the night, per ESPN. Dierre Hill Jr. carried 14 times for 67 yards.

Moore looked like he had the winner with 33 seconds left. Replay took it away. On the next snap, Raiola found Johnson from 4 yards out, and Raiola hit Hudson Lewis for the two-point conversion, per ESPN's scoring summary.

That one drive accounted for more than a third of Oregon's 242 total yards. Raiola finished 11-of-18 for 59 yards and the touchdown. The offense that managed 91 yards in three quarters put up 151 yards on those two fourth-quarter drives.

The defense kept the door open

Oregon held Nebraska to 242 yards and 3.6 yards per play, and the Huskers ran 33 times for 78 yards. Teitum Tuioti had two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Ify Obidegwu picked off Colandrea. Bear Alexander led the team with seven tackles, per the ESPN box score.

"Our guys didn't flinch; they just responded," Dan Lanning said, per GoDucks.

Lanning said Thomas understood the decision to pull him. "I just think that shows so much remarkable courage from a guy like that to be in that situation," he said, per AP.

This comes after

Raiola came off the bench in the comeback at USC, earned the start against UCLA, and got benched in that one after going 6-of-19, per GoDucks. Oregon lost that game 17-15 on Oct. 10, per AP. A week later he got the fourth quarter against Nebraska and gave the Ducks their only touchdown of the night.

Nebraska has now lost a fourth-quarter lead two weeks in a row after a 20-17 loss to Indiana, per AP. "For the second week in a row, we just came up short," Matt Rhule said.

Our view

This W was ugly and it counts the same. Lanning called it "a gritty, ugly win." "A lot of people don't necessarily get second chances," Lanning said.

Dante Moore's status is still the question for the back half, per GoDucks. Oregon goes to Illinois next Saturday, with Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Washington after that. Go Ducks.

Sources

• GoDucks: Raiola Sparks Ducks To Comeback Victory (50 yards at half, 91 yards on 40 plays through three, 17-play and 20-play drives, two third-down and two fourth-down conversions, Hill 14 carries for 67 yards, 242 yards and 3.6 per play allowed, Raiola benched vs. UCLA after 6-of-19, Moore status, Lanning quotes)
• AP via ESPN: Raiola's 4-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left gives Oregon a 17-14 win over Nebraska (Thomas 9-of-20, 54 yards, INT, 13 first-half punts, Raiola toe-drag quote, Lanning on Thomas, Rhule quote, Nebraska's loss to Indiana, next at Illinois)
• ESPN game page and box score: Nebraska at Oregon, Oct. 17, 2026 (scoring summary with drive plays and yards, Hill 14-67, fourth-down conversions, Tuioti sacks and the Obidegwu interception)
• AP: No. 21 UCLA downs No. 13 Oregon 17-15 (Oct. 10 result)