EUGENE, Ore. — Dante Moore threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 2 Oregon overcame a slow start to down resilient Boise State 34-27 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday.
After trading field goals to tie the game at 27 in the fourth quarter, Dakorien Moore scored on a 62-yard reception to give the Ducks the lead for good with 7:51 left to play.
Oregon has won 16 straight season openers at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks have 39 straight wins at home against nonconference opponents, the longest streak in the nation.
“I think, you know, we’ve learned a lot this offseason. There’s been times our practice where the offense has started super slow, and coach (Dan) Lanning said, 'Hey, it’s adversity. What you gonna do?' So it all just comes back to how we respond,” Dante Moore said.
He opted to stay at Oregon after throwing for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns last season when the Ducks went 13-2.
Oregon was hurt by 10 penalties for 90 yards, but had 497 total yards on offense comparted to Boise State's 274.
“We won the game with total yards and some situations, but we didn’t really win the critical situations,” Lanning said. “They won some of those critical situations. They played better in special teams than us today. They did better on fourth down. We kind of gave them an opportunity, a chance to hang around.”
Boise State returned quarterback in Maddux Madsen, who threw for 181 yards and three scores in the opener after finishing last season with 2,334 yards passing and 18 touchdowns.
The Broncos, who join the rebuilt Pac-12 this year, went 9-5 last season in the Mountain West and fell to Washington 38-10 in the LA Bowl.
Boise State, which went into the game as 24 1/2 point underdogs, scored on the first series of the game, with Madsen hitting Cam Bates with a 13-yard scoring pass to cap an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The Ducks tied it on Jordon Davison's 1-yard dive early in the second quarter.
After Evan Stewart muffed a punt and the Broncos recovered, Sire Gaines scored on a 37-yard reception to give Boise State the lead again. Canaan Moore added a 29-yard field goal to extend it with 2:48 left before halftime.
With 19 seconds left, Dante Moore found Jamari Johnson with a 27-yard pass to close the game to 17-14 at the break.
The half was reminiscent of the last meeting between the teams in 2024. The Ducks fell behind 20-14 at halftime but pulled out a 37-34 win with a field goal as time expired.
After Gage Hurych's 26-yard field goal, Oregon went ahead on Jeremiah McClellan's 8-yard TD catch. But the Broncos tied it up again before the end of the third quarter on Madsen's 7-yard scoring pass to Matt Wagner.
Hurych and Canaan Moore traded field goals in the fourth quarter before Dakorien Moore's touchdown.
“You put your all into something, you put all the chips on the table, and you come up short — it hurts,” said Broncos coach Spencer Danielson. “You put your toe in and you've got your eyes other places, you can walk away easier because you can make excuses. We're not going to make any excuses. We've got to find a way to be better."
Pac-12 Connection
Boise State is one of six football programs making its debut in the rebuilt Pac-12 this season, joining Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State, along with holdovers Washington State and Oregon State.
Oregon, meanwhile, was among the teams that bolted when the conference fell apart amid realignment in the summer of 2023. Since joining the Big Ten in 2024, the Ducks have twice made the College Football Playoff field.
The Pac-12 is no longer a Power Four conference, but the league’s teams still have a shot at the CFP as a Group of Six member.
Up Next
Boise State hosts Memphis next Saturday, while the Ducks head to Oklahoma State.
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