EUGENE, ORE. – Upon first glance at the Gophers’ 2025 football schedule, three road games stood out as, “those are gonna be a handful.”
- Ohio State
- Iowa
- Oregon
The trip to Ohio State ended in a 42-3 Buckeyes win that seemed inevitable because of the difference in talent between the Gophers and the defending national champions.
The trek to Iowa ended in a 41-3 Hawkeyes win in what seemed like a no-show for the Gophers, who two years earlier had won at Kinnick Stadium.
On Friday, the Gophers ventured to Oregon, where the eighth-ranked Ducks are in the thick of the College Football Playoff race and still have designs on defending their Big Ten championship.
In front of an announced 58,830 at raucous Autzen Stadium, Oregon scored touchdowns on its first two possessions and had two more TDs by halftime on the way to 42-13 victory.
The Gophers were more competitive in this game than they were in Columbus or Iowa City, but they still suffered a 29-point loss, dropping them to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten.
Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey completed 19 of 32 passes for 128 yards, including a 10-yard TD pass to Javon Tracy in the third quarter. Running back Darius Taylor, back from injury, rushed 10 times for 57 yards and caught four passes for 40 yards. Brady Denaburg kicked field goals of 46 yards (a season long) and 26 yards.
How it happened
Oregon had three first-half touchdown drives of 75 yards and another of 66 in building a 28-6 halftime lead. The Ducks amassed 332 first-half yards to Minnesota’s 94. Ducks quarterback Dante Moore was as good as advertised, completing a school-record 90 percent (27-of-30) of his passes for 306 yards and two TDs. For the game, Oregon’s six TD drives averaged 72.7 yards, and the Ducks outgained Minnesota 510-200.
