EUGENE, Ore. — Dante Moore threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 5 Oregon beat No. 19 James Madison 51-34 Saturday night in a College Football Playoff opener.
The Ducks (12-1) advanced to face Texas Tech in a quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. Oregon won a playoff game for the first time since 2014, when the Ducks beat Florida State in the Rose Bowl semifinal before losing to Ohio State. The Ducks hit the Dukes for eight plays of 20 yards or more, four of which went for touchdowns.
JMU (12-2), seeded last in the 12-team field and ranked 19th by the AP, dropped Group of Five teams to 0-4 in CFP games. No. 17 Tulane fell 41-10 at No. 6 Mississippi on Saturday.
“I just think we had to be near perfect, and we weren’t,” said Bob Chesney, who coached his final game for JMU. He now will take over at UCLA as Billy Napier assumes full control of the Dukes.
The JMU fans and Marching Royal Dukes, seated in the southwest corner of Autzen Stadium, chanted “J-M-U,” as the final minutes ticked away on the first team from Virginia to qualify for the CFP.
Moore completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson less than two minutes into the game to give Oregon a lead it would not relinquish. Johnson hauled in Moore’s pass with his right hand and romped into the end zone while dragging a pair of defenders.
JMU responded with a 30-yard field goal from Morgan Suarez on its next drive, one which required 15 plays and burned 8:03. The Ducks took over from there, rattling off four straight touchdowns before the Dukes snuck in another field goal from Suarez ahead of halftime, which brought the score to 34-6.
In falling behind by a wide margin, JMU went away from its rushing attack, which ranked fifth in the nation in average yards per game entering the evening. Sun Belt Player of the Year Alonza Barnett III completed 23 of 48 passes, including a 47-yard touchdown to Nick DeGennaro on JMU’s first drive of the third quarter.
Oregon promptly responded with two touchdowns, including wide receiver Malik Benson’s second TD and a blocked punt that Jayden Limar scooped and returned 15 yards for a score. The Dukes, who frequently struggled with penalties early in the game, scored the last three touchdowns, including one by Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduate George Pettaway.
James Madison running back George Pettaway, who grew up in Suffolk, beats Oregon linebacker Brayden Platt to catch a touchdown pass Saturday night during the second half of a College Football Playoff first-round game. LYDIA ELY/AP
DeGennaro caught five passes for 90 yards and threw a 50-yard completion to Landon Ellis on a trick play. Wayne Knight rushed for 110 yards, and cornerbacks Elijah Culp and Justin Eaglin each intercepted Moore.
The victory was the Ducks’ seventh straight since losing to No. 1 Indiana, which is guided by former Dukes coach Curt Cignetti and includes several former JMU players, 30-20 on Oct. 11. JMU had won 11 in a row.
The takeaway
Oregon: Standout freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore, who missed Oregon’s last four games with a knee injury, returned to the Ducks’ lineup for the first time since Oct. 25 against Wisconsin. If Moore, the Ducks’ third-leading receiver, is available for the remainder of the CFP, it would provide Oregon’s offense with another dynamic playmaker in the open field when healthy.
James Madison: The Dukes’ run defense, which ranked second in the nation in fewest yards per game against, struggled in its second matchup of the season with a Power Four opponent — their first was a loss to Louisville. After allowing less than two total rushing yards to its opponents in three of its last four games, JMU allowed 201 yards on the ground, including 150 before halftime. … JMU totaled the most points and offensive yards against Oregon so far this year. … JMU’s loss dropped conference champions to 0-7 in CFP games during the brief 12-team era.
