MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — After coach Dan Lanning said his defense didn't play up to par in their first playoff game, the Oregon Ducks unleashed a postseason performance not seen in more than a century.
Oregon blitzed Texas Tech from start to finish in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday, forcing four turnovers while racking up four sacks and seven tackles to lose in a 23-0 victory, the first bowl game shutout in school history since the 1917 Rose Bowl against Penn.
The Ducks held the Red Raiders to season lows in passing yards (215), rushing yards (78) and first downs (nine) in the first shutout by an AP top-five team since 2018. Texas Tech was also one of the nation's top teams in turnover margin entering the game at plus-17, but finished the game at minus-3.
“They've earned this opportunity,” Lanning said of his defense. “I told them to go get their pound of flesh today. They did it today.”
The Ducks advance to the CFP semifinals at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, where they will face the winner between Indiana and Alabama on January 9. According to ESPN Research, the other two teams that also shut out their CFP opponents won the national championship (Alabama in 2015 and Clemson in 2016).
In fact, it was a stark contrast to the Ducks' first-round win over James Madison on Dec. 20, when Oregon's defense allowed 509 yards of total offense and 31 second-half points in a 51-34 victory.
“Our defense had a lot to prove,” said linebacker Teitum Tuioti, who had two sacks. “We all knew that wasn't the standard. We're glad we were able to get a shutout. That means a lot, especially after that JMU game. People were looking down on us.”
Tuioti said the emphasis in practice between games was on forcing turnovers, not only to get the ball back for the offense but also to keep Texas Tech off the field. The Red Raiders came into the game with one of the most explosive offenses in the country, ranking No. 5 in the nation in scoring offense and total offense behind quarterback Behren Morton.
But from the start, Oregon made its presence felt as Texas Tech ran just six plays in the first quarter. On the Red Raiders' third drive, Oregon freshman Brandon Finney Jr. intercepted Morton for the first of his three steals (two interceptions and a fumble recovery). Texas Tech didn't record a first down until nearly 18 minutes into the game and had a season-low three first downs and 88 yards in the first half.
Still, Texas Tech only trailed 6-0 at halftime. The turning point came early in the third quarter, when after an Oregon turnover, Texas Tech had the ball at its own 31-yard line. However, that quickly changed, as Matayo Uiagalelei had a Morton fumble returned to the 6-yard line.
The Ducks turned the turnover into a touchdown and Texas Tech never had much of a chance after that.
“We always say, ‘Get the ball back.’ That's really going to change the game for our offense, for the whole team,” Uiagalelei said. “I had a chance, I shot, I got the ball out and it bounced back to me.”
“Best defense we've faced this year,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “They did a great job defending us. I think they did a good job of keeping the ball in front of them, not giving up a lot of big plays. We've been a big-play offense, an explosive offense. They kept the ball in front of them. But you can't turn the ball over four times.”
Texas Tech also entered the game as the most hyped defense, but it was Oregon that left the game with a defensive performance to remember – a change of pace for a team accustomed to its offense stealing the headlines. While Oregon's offense had its own issues, the defensive players felt good carrying the load.
Especially after his last game.
“It's not necessarily something we need to prove to others, but rather to ourselves,” Uiagalelei said. “We know that wasn't the standard in the second half of last week. We didn't finish the way we wanted to. We knew coming into this game finishing would be very vital to the success of this game. So with that in mind, there was definitely fuel.”
