Game Report: No. 9 Oregon Ducks 18, No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes 16

A closer look at the Oregon Ducks’ 18-16 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium:

Turning point

Iowa went on a most unlikely 93-yard, near seven-minute drive to take a 16-15 lead. Quarterback Mark Gronowski’s 3-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-goal play provided the go-ahead touchdown.

But star Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, who hadn’t completed a pass in the second half, led his team on a winning drive.

He completed five passes as Oregon took the football from its 25 to the Iowa 21 with seven seconds to go. His biggest throw was a 24-yarder to Malik Benson down the right sideline to the Iowa 27, a perfect pass that somehow eluded the extended arm of Iowa cornerback T.J. Hall, who appeared to have great coverage.

Another completion took the ball to the 21. Sappington took it home from there, nailing his third field goal in the game.

His others in the rainy conditions were 40 and 46 yards.

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By the numbers

1 — Career touchdowns for Iowa tight end Drew Vonnahme. It came Saturday.

58 — Yardage on a Drew Stevens fourth-quarter field goal for Iowa.

84 — Average rushing yards allowed per game by Iowa’s defense going into Saturday.

261 — Rushing yards for Oregon in the game.

Notebook

* Iowa went on 12-play, 93-yard drive to take a 16-15 lead. The biggest play on the drive was a 40-yard completion from Gronowski to tight end Vonnahme on a third-and-5 play, taking the ball from the Iowa 12 to the Oregon 48.

Iowa converted on fourth down later in the drive, when Gronowski connected with Reece Vander Zee for 15 yards to the Oregon 26 on a fourth-and-3 play.

* Iowa kicker tied the school and Kinnick Stadium record for longest field goal with a 58-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Tim Douglas also had a 58-yard field goal for Iowa in 1999. Michigan State’s Jonathan Kim also had one in 2023.

* Oregon started the scoring in this game with a first-quarter safety.

Iowa lined up to punt from its own 39. Hawkeye long snapper Bryant Worrell, who had a high snap on his first try, completely airmailed one over punter Rhys Dakin’s head, bouncing toward the end zone. Dakin scooped the ball from his 2 into the Iowa end zone, then kicked it out of it.

That was the first safety against Iowa since Penn State got one in 2017.

* Utah senior high school quarterback Tradon Bessinger announced online Saturday that he has committed to play college football for Iowa.

Bessinger, from Kaysville, Utah, was a previous commit of Boise State who took an official visit to Iowa two weeks ago when the Hawkeyes beat Minnesota. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals, he also had offers from Arkansas and Minnesota.

Recruiting visitors for Saturday’s game included Iowa City Regina junior running back Savion Miller.

Injury report

Wide receiver Jarriett Buie and offensive lineman Lucas Allgeyer were listed as “Out” on the pregame injury report for Iowa.

Leading receiver Dakorien Moore missed the game for Oregon. The true freshman was injured during the week in practice.

Tight end Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon’s second-leading pass catcher, also sat out injured. As did starting right tackle Alex Harkey.

Ducks wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. then left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury after catching a pass for 22 yards.

Next game

Iowa heads to the West Coast next Saturday. The opponent is No. 19 Southern California at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Opening kickoff is 2:30 p.m., and the game will be televised either by CBS or Big Ten Network.

USC played Friday night, beating Northwestern at home, 38-17. The Trojans have a 7-2 record and remain in the College Football Playoff race.

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