Dante Moore helped Oregon earn a clutch victory over Iowa on Saturday, leading them on a game-winning drive to defeat the Hawkeyes 18-16.
It wasn’t pretty for Moore and the Ducks. Dealing with injuries and playing in the rain at Iowa, the conditions were in favor of the defensive-minded Hawkeyes, who hold a top-five defense in the country. Moore completed just 13 passes for 112 yards, no touchdowns and an interception on the afternoon, but came through when his team needed him most late in the fourth quarter.
After Oregon led Iowa for much of the game, the Hawkeyes earned their first lead of the game with a three-yard touchdown run from quarterback Mark Gronowski. Now trailing 16-15, Oregon was left with less than two minutes to try and come back to win the game.
Moore delivered. Though it was far from his most prolific game, Moore went 5 of 6 on the final drive to lead the Ducks down the field and put Atticus Sappington in position to kick the game-winning 39-yard field goal.
Moore made easily his best play of the game on that final drive, perfectly hitting receiver Malik Benson on a 24-yard tight window throw that put them in field goal position. The football just narrowly floated in above the defender’s arm and into the hands of Benson, who hauled in the pass.
Dante Moore with a PERFECT throw.
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“I feel like the two-minute drive, I told myself, ‘Hey, forget the things that happened in the past. It’s next play mentality,’” Moore told Jenny Dell of CBS Sports after the game.
It was Moore’s most clutch moment of the season outside of leading Oregon to a double overtime victory over Penn State in September. Moore was far from efficient for most of the game, but being able to rebound from a tough afternoon and make a throw like that while trailing in the final two minutes showed another impressive ability for the young quarterback whose name is quickly rising up draft boards.
Thanks to Moore’s clutch abilities, Oregon moves to 8-1 on the season, the third-best overall record in the Big Ten behind Indiana (10–0) and Ohio State (9–0). The Ducks will finish out their regular season with matchups against Minnesota, USC and Washington over the next three weeks.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dante Moore Propels Oregon to Comeback Win Over Iowa With Perfect Tight-Window Pass.
