Oregon Ducks at Iowa Hawkeyes

No. 6 Oregon escapes with 18-16 win over Iowa on Sappington's field goal with 3 seconds left

Dante Moore led a 10-play, 54-yard drive to set up Sappington's third field goal of the game, connecting with Malik Benson for a 24-yard gain to get the Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten, No. 9 CFP) into range for the winning kick.

“That moment was made for me,” Sappington said. “I truly believe that.”

It was the third field goal of the game for Sappington on the slick field. He kicked a 46-yarder at the end of the first half that gave Oregon a 12-7 halftime lead, and a 44-yarder late in the third quarter that increased the Ducks' lead to 15-7.

“When you have two pretty big-time field goals to change the game early on, obviously your confidence is high,” Sappington said. “For me, it was just like, focus on the kick. Breathe.”

Running back Noah Whittington said he was praying before Sappington's kick and said he wasn't sure if he wanted to look at the play until Moore told him to watch.

“When Te told me that, I thought, 'Why wouldn't I watch?'” Whittington said. “I've seen him make those kinds of kicks all of the time.”

“I was just proud of the way we handled the moment,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “I had guys coming up to me during the game saying, ‘Coach, breathe.’ That was what I had been telling them all week. And for them to be able to come up and say the same thing to me, it just tells you they believed in what we were doing.”

Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski’s 3-yard touchdown run capped a 12-play, 93-yard march that gave the Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2, No. 20 CFP) their first lead, 16-15 with 1:51 to play. Iowa went for 2, but Gronowski’s conversion pass was incomplete.

Moore completed five passes for 47 yards during the winning drive on what was otherwise a challenging day for the Ducks' offense. He finished with just 112 yards passing and one interception.

Whittington had 118 rushing yards for the Ducks, who extended their road winning streak to 11 games, the longest in the FBS. Oregon had 261 rushing yards against an Iowa defense that ranked 10th nationally, giving up 83.9 yards per game.

“We went into the game knowing we could win in the trenches,” Whittington said. “All week, we said we could run in the trenches. And we ran in the trenches.”

The matchup between two of the country’s top scoring defenses lived up to the numbers. Iowa ranked fourth, allowing 12.4 points per game, while Oregon was sixth at 13.5.

The Ducks got a 19-yard touchdown run from Dierre Hill Jr. in the second quarter. Oregon also got a safety when Iowa punter Rhys Dakin was called for an illegal kick after trying to knock the ball out of the back of the end zone after a bad snap.

Gronowski threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Vonnahme in the second quarter. The Hawkeyes also got a 58-yard field goal from Drew Stevens in the fourth quarter that matched the longest kick in program history.

Takeaways Oregon: The Ducks controlled the game offensively, outgaining the Hawkeyes 373 yards to 278. Their most efficient drive against Iowa’s defense was their last.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes saw their CFP hopes dashed. Iowa had won 21 of its last 23 games in November. The Hawkeyes had almost a seven-minute edge in time of possession.

“Sometimes that’s football,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “When you play a team like Oregon, you’ve got to be right there. There’s nothing easy. This was a game we were hoping it could be. And we couldn’t get it done.”

Up next Oregon: Hosts Minnesota on Friday.

Iowa: At Southern California next Saturday.