No. 5 Oregon beats No. 19 James Madison 51-34 in College Football Playoff opener

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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Had the first College Football Playoff game at Autzen Stadium ended at halftime, it would have been a clinical performance by No. 5 Oregon.

Even with a lackluster second half, the Ducks breezed by No. 19 James Madison for a 51-34 win on the heels of four touchdown passes by Dante Moore, who also ran for a score.

“The whole team understands this wasn’t our best game,” Moore said. “But, at the end of the day, we won the football game.”

The Ducks (12-1) advanced to face Texas Tech in a quarterfinal game 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.

James Madison (12-2) dropped Group of Five teams to 0-4 in CFP games. No. 17 Tulane fell 41-10 at No. 6 Mississippi as well Saturday.

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.

James Madison 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.

“The first couple of drives were great,” Moore said. “We executed, we knew a lot of their defensive schemes coming into this game. (Offensive coordinator Will Stein) and the offensive crew did a great job dissecting their defense. But overall, it was a great game.”

In falling behind by such a wide margin, James Madison went away from its rushing attack, which ranked fifth in the nation in average yards per game entering the evening. Coach Bob Chesney lamented James Madison’s struggles on the ground outside of a 49-yard rush by running back Wayne Knight.

“There’s bigger runs that happen for us throughout the year where you get through the offensive line, you get into that second level and you’re gone,” Chesney said. “And here, you get to that second level, and just the strength of those guys, being able to put you back into the ground.”

With James Madison chasing the lead most of the night, Sun Belt Player of the Year Alonza Barnett III completed 23 of 48 passes, including a 47-yard touchdown pass to Nick DeGennaro on James Madison’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. James Madison scored the last three touchdowns, which left a sour taste for Lanning and the defense.

“There’s a standard here,’ Lanning said. “There’s certainly a standard for performance. Our players know that. They know what championship football looks like and the second half didn’t look like that.”

The victory was the Ducks’ seventh straight since losing to No. 1 Indiana 30-20 on Oct. 11. James Madison had won 11 in a row.

While the Dukes outscored Oregon in the second half, it wasn’t enough to mount an improbable comeback. It was sufficient to provide Lanning ample bulletin board material ahead of the Ducks’ next game, though.

“Everyone knows how Coach Lanning is,” Moore said. “He’s a psycho. He’s gonna push us at practice. He’s gonna put that fire under us.”

Oregon’s pass defense entered the contest third in the nation in fewest yards allowed per game (144.3). Barnett eclipsed that total with ease, nearly doubling it up. James Madison put up the second-most passing yards that any team has against Oregon this season, second only to USC’s 330 yards on Nov. 22.

The Ducks’ stout secondary that has shown its holes in recent weeks, and Texas Tech’s 10th-ranked passing offense could be primed to pounce in the Orange Bowl.

Chesney wrapped up his last game as James Madison’s head coach before taking over at UCLA for the 2026 season. In two years with the Dukes, Chesney went 21-6 with the lone Sun Belt Conference title in program history.

Former Florida coach Billy Napier has already been hired to replace Chesney, who spoke glowingly of his time with the program after his final game leading the Dukes.

“I think that when we came in here two years ago, we knew that this was a program that was steeped in tradition and believed in itself and had a community to support it,” Chesney said, “and I think that it’s only gotten better.”

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. After allowing less than two total rushing yards to its opponents in three of its last four games, James Madison allowed 201 yards on the ground, including 150 before halftime.

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