Malik Benson had a season-long 64-yard touchdown catch with 7:55 to go in regulation and fifth-ranked Oregon beat Washington 26-14 on Saturday to all but cement a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The wide receiver caught a pass from Dante Moore around midfield, split two Huskies defenders and raced to the end zone to give Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten, No. 6 CFP) a 26-14 lead.
Demond Williams Jr. threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Boston with 8:54 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit for Washington (8-4, 5-4) to 19-14. But the Ducks responded quickly with Benson’s catch-and-run.
Aside from the fourth quarter, it was an offensively challenged game on a cool fall day in the Pacific Northwest.
Oregon’s Atticus Sappington made four field goals, one from a career-long 51 yards. Sappington got the Ducks on the board with a 46-yard field goal to cap Oregon’s first drive of the game, and he converted another kick with 3:18 to go before halftime. Those kicks sandwiched Moore’s one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Moore completed 20 of 29 passes for 286 yards.
Sappington added two more kicks in the second half, including a 37-yarder on Oregon’s first drive of the third quarter and the 51-yarder on the Ducks’ ensuing drive.
Sappington’s previous career-long of 48 yards came on Sept. 16, 2023, when he was kicking at Oregon State.
The victory was Oregon’s nation-best 12th straight true road win under coach Dan Lanning, and the second win overall in five years against the Huskies.
Washington, which leads the series against Oregon 63-50-5, dropped its second home game of the season.
WHAT WE LEARNED
The Ducks’ secondary showed its worth one final time in the regular season. Oregon, which entered the game allowing the third-fewest passing yards per game in the country, limited Williams to his fewest passing yards in a game all season while intercepting the sophomore quarterback twice.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS