Oregon shuts out Texas Tech 23-0 to win the Orange Bowl, advance in CFP
It by far wasn’t the prettiest game.
There were a combined five turnovers. Both teams converted less than half of their third downs. And one team couldn’t even score.
Still, the Oregon Ducks managed to pull out the 23-0 victory over the Texas Tech Raiders in the Capitol One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The Ducks defense deserves most of the credit as it dominated the Red Raiders. Not only did Oregon force four turnovers, of which true freshman defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. single-handedly snagged three (two interceptions and a fumble recovery), they held the Raiders to zero points and just 206 yards.
“It starts with players like Brandon,” Ducks coach Dan Lanning said. “It’s about 11 guys executing. That’s how you get an opportunity to create plays.”
Offensively, it was Ducks quarterback Dante Moore’s arm that helped Oregon to overcome Texas Tech’s devastating defense. Although the redshirt sophomore didn’t throw a touchdown and had an interception, he completed 79% of his passes for 234 yards and did just enough to get his Ducks in scoring position, something that was very necessary considering the team only finished with 64 yards on the ground despite 47 attempts.
“We saw on film that Texas Tech’s defense is really good,” Moore said of the unit that ranked third in points allowed in the FBS. The win, Moore continued, was the “biggest thing.” “Of course, everybody loves the deep throw. Everybody likes the long runs. But like coach Lanning says, you got to keep chipping away.”
The Raiders, meanwhile, could barely muster up enough offense to effectively compete. Not only did quarterback Behren Morton complete 56% of his passes for just 137 yards, he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Raiders running back J’Koby Williams experienced some success on the ground, finishing with 13 carries for 81 yards, Morton took four sacks that drove down the team’s rushing numbers to just 78 yards.
“We had a great game plan,” Morton said. “We just didn’t execute base plays.”
The first half was the definition of a defensive battle.
Oregon received the opening kickoff and drove right down the field on the arm of Moore. Despite finding their way into Texas Tech territory, the Ducks had to settle with a field goal.
That would create a trend as the Red Raiders would bend but not break. Despite Oregon’s offense dwarfing that of Texas Tech from a yardage standpoint 198 to 88, the Raiders limited the Ducks to just six points — in large part due to curbing both fourth-down attempts.
The Red Raiders, on the other hand, couldn’t find much success. Texas Tech’s first three drives ended as follows: three-and-out, three-and-out, interception. Although the Raiders finally managed to get the ball past midfield on their fourth drive, it ended in a missed field-goal attempt. The Raiders’ final two drives of the half ended in a fumble and a three-and-out
“That’s one of the top defenses in the country,” Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire said, praising the Ducks’ ability to keep “the ball in front of them” and not give up “a lot of big plays.”
Added McGuire: “You can’t turn the ball over four times. I think that led to 13 points.”
Despite a 6-0 deficit at halftime, the Red Raiders came out rather flat when play resumed. They again went three-and-out on their first series then after they forced the Ducks to give the ball back after another failed fourth-down conversion. Morton committed his second turnover of the day when edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei ripped the ball from the hands of the Red Raiders quarterback and rumbled down to the Texas Tech 6-yard line. An outside run courtesy of Ducks tailback Jordan Davison yielded the first touchdown of the day just one play later.
The Raiders tried to bounce back later in the third quarter into the fourth, putting together two good drives that put them in Oregon territory. Unfortunately, they couldn’t convert as the first series ended with a turnover on downs while the second one — arguably the Raiders’ best offensive sequence of the day as the team drove to the Oregon 9-yard line — ended when Finney picked off Morton in the end zone.
“I didn’t have good eyes,” Morton said, explaining that he “thought they were in man” before Finney dropped back into zone. “I went to throw the corner route. The corner fell off of it and made a great play.”
The Ducks responded with a 55-yard of drive that ended with a field goal to extend their lead to 16-0. Unfortunately, the Raiders failed to move the ball past their own 33-yard for the rest of the game while Davison’s touchdown with 16 seconds left was the final nail in the coffin.
With the victory, the Ducks have punched their ticket to the Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl where they will face the winner of the Rose Bowl. The Indiana Hoosiers and Alabama Crimson Tide play later Thursday.
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 3:58 PM.
