CFP First Round Recap: No. 5 Oregon 51, No. 12 JMU 34

Saturday, December 20, 2025 | 8 p.m. ET

No. 5 Seed Oregon 51, No. 12 James Madison 34

Autzen Stadium | Eugene, Oregon
TV: TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max

Score by Quarters

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
#12 James Madison (12-2)	3	3	14	14	34
#5 Oregon (12-1)	13	21	14	3	51

GAME BOOK VIDEO RECAP 2025-26 CFP BRACKET

55,124

Attendance

4:40 p.m. PT

Kickoff Time

8:33 p.m. PT

End of Game

3:53

Game Duration

EUGENE, OREGON - Dante Moore threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 5 Oregon beat No. 19 James Madison 51-34 on Saturday night in a College Football Playoff opener.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Scoring Summary

Qtr	Time	Score (V-H)	Team	Scoring Play	Drive
1st	13:17	0-6	Oregon	J.Johnson 41 yd pass from #5 D.Moore (#83 R.Saleapaga rush failed)	4-68 (01:38)
1st	05:14	3-6	JMU	M.Suarez 30 yd FG	15-63 (08:03)
1st	02:37	3-13	Oregon	D.Moore 5 yd rush (#36 A.Sappington kick)	5-75 (02:37)
2nd	11:33	3-20	Oregon	D.Hill Jr 56 yd rush (#36 A.Sappington kick)	3-78 (01:34)
2nd	09:18	3-27	Oregon	J.McClellan 20 yd pass from #5 D.Moore (#36 A.Sappington kick)	4-63 (01:18)
2nd	04:22	3-34	Oregon	M.Benson 46 yd pass from #5 D.Moore (#97 G.Hurych kick)	5-80 (01:45)
2nd	00:06	6-34	JMU	M.Suarez 38 yd FG	9-33 (00:54)
3rd	12:08	13-34	JMU	N.DeGennaro 47 yd pass from #14 A.Barnett III (#5 M.Suarez kick)	6-75 (02:52)
3rd	10:24	13-41	Oregon	M.Benson 45 yd pass from #5 D.Moore (#97 G.Hurych kick)	4-76 (01:40)
3rd	07:05	13-48	Oregon	J.Limar 15 yd blocked punt return (#97 G.Hurych kick)	(00:55)
3rd	01:15	20-48	JMU	G.Pettaway 24 yd pass from #14 A.Barnett III (#5 M.Suarez kick)	4-36 (01:46)
4th	10:26	26-48	JMU	L.Dippre 2 yd rush (#8 I.Alston pass from #14 A.Barnett III failed)	9-89 (03:40)
4th	04:22	26-51	Oregon	A.Sappington 48 yd FG	10-17 (06:04)
4th	01:05	34-51	JMU	A.Barnett III 1 yd rush (#11 N.DeGennaro pass from #14 A.Barnett III)	9-99 (03:17)

Team Statistics

	JMU	ORE
First downs	23	22
Rushing	10	6
Passing	9	14
Penalty	4	2
Rushes-Yards	35-186	26-201
Passing Yards	323	313
Passes Comp-Att-Int	24-49-0	19-27-2
Total Offense (Plays-Yards)	84-509	53-514
Punt Returns-Yards	0-0	3-48
Kickoff Returns-Yards	2-44	2-43
Punts (Number-Avg)	6-36.5	2-40.0
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	1-0
Sacks By (Number-Yards)	0-0	2-7
Penalties-Yards	13-113	5-71
3rd Down Conversions	9-of-22	3-of-7
4th Down Conversions	4-of-4	1-of-1

Individual Statistics

	JMU	ORE
Rushing	Wayne Knight, 17-110; Alonza Barnett, III 12-45, 1 TD; Lacota Dippre, 2-18, 1 TD; Jobi Malary, 2-6; Nick DeGennaro, 1-5; George Pettaway, 1-2.	Jordon Davison, 10-90; Dierre Hill Jr., 6-76, 1 TD; Noah Whittington, 4-24; Jayden Limar, 1-10; Dante Moore, 1-5, 1 TD; Jay Harris, 1-1.
Passing	Alonza Barnett III, 23-48-0, 273, 2 TD; Nick DeGennaro, 1-1-0, 50.	Dante Moore, 19-27-2, 313, 4 TD.
Receiving	Braeden Wisloski, 6-52; Nick DeGennaro, 5-90, 1 TD; Landon Ellis, 3-83; Wayne Knight, 3-18; George Pettaway, 2-37, 1 TD; Jaylan Sanchez, 2-36; Lacota Dippre, 2-5; Josh Phifer, 1-2.	Jeremiah McClellan, 6-83, 1 TD; Malik Benson, 5-119, 2 TD; Kenyon Sadiq, 2-19; Jayden Limar, 2- -6; Jamari Johnson, 1-41, 1 TD; Dierre Hill Jr., 1-40; Noah Whittington, 1-12; Dakorien Moore, 1-5.
Punting	Patrick Rea, 5-219, 43.8.	James Ferguson-Reynolds, 2-80, 40.0.
Returns	Punt: None; Kickoff: Curtis Harris-Lopez, 2-44; Intercept: Elijah Culp, 1-7; Justin Eaglin, 1-61.	Punt: Malik Benson, 2-18; Blake Purchase, 1-15; Jayden Limar, 0-15; Kickoff: Noah Whittington, 1-32; Roger Saleapaga, 1-11; Intercept: None.
Field Goals	Morgan Suarez, 2-3 (30 Good, 40 Blocked, 38 Good).	Atticus Sappington, 1-1 (48 Good).
Tackles (Solo-Assist-Total, Sacks-Yds, TFL-Yds)	Trent Hendrick (6-4-10, 0, 1-4); Jacob Thomas (5-1-6 , 0, 0); Drew Spinogatti (2-4-6, 0, 0); Amar Thomas (1-3-4, 0, 1-2); Elijah Culp (3-0-3, 0, 0); TJ McGill (1-2-3, 0, 0); Justin Eaglin (1-1-2, 0, 0); Mychal McMullin (1-1-2, 0, 0); Curtis Harris-Lopez (1-1-2, 0, 0); Jayden Studio (0-2-2, 0, 0); DJ Barksdale (0-2-2, 0, 0); Andrew Taddeo (0-2-2, 0, 0); Tyler Brown (0-2-2, 0, 0); Sahir West (0-2-2, 0, 0); Kells Bush (0-1-1, 0, 0); Josiah Kennard (0-1-1, 0, 0); Xavier Holmes (0-1-1, 0, 0).	Bryce Boettcher (3-6-9, 0, 0.5-0); Aaron Flowers (6-1-7 , 0, 0); Dillon Thieneman (2-5-7, 0, 1-2); Devon Jackson (3-3-6, 0, 0); Brandon Finney (2-3-5, 0, 0.5-0); Na'eem Offord (2-2-4, 0, 0); Bear Alexander (2-2-4, 0.5-2, 0.5-2); Jerry Mixon (1-3-4, 0, 0); Teitum Tuioti (0-3-3, 0.5-1, 0.5-1); Ify Obidegwu (1-1-2, 0, 0); Tionne Gray (1-1-2, 0, 0.5-1); Peyton Woodyard (1-1-2, 0, 0); Matayo Uiagalelei (1-1-2, 0, 0); A'Mauri Washington (0-2-2, 0, 0.5-1); Gavin Nix (0-2-2, 0, 0); Theran Johnson (1-0-1, 0, 0); Jayden Limar (1-0-1, 0, 0); Jay Harris (1-0-1, 0, 0); Ashton Porter (1-0-1, 1-4, 1-4); Jadon Canady (1-0-1, 0, 0); Terrance Green (0-1-1, 0, 0); Nasir Wyatt (0-1-1, 0, 0); Dylan Williams (0-1-1, 0, 0); Matthew Johnson (0-1-1, 0, 0); Kingston Lopa (0-1-1, 0, 0); Blake Purchase (0-1-1, 0, 0).

Starters & Reserves

JMU Starters

Pos.	No.	Offense
WR	0	Jaylan Sanchez
WR	11	Nick DeGennaro
WR	13	Landon Ellis
QB	14	Alonza Barnett III
TE	15	Lacota Dippre
RB	3	Wayne Knight
OL	52	Carter Sweazie
OL	55	Riley Robell
OL	60	Zach Greenberg
OL	76	Pat McMurtrie
OL	79	Joseph Simmons

Pos.	No.	Defense
DB	13	Tyler Brown
DL	15	Sahir West
CB	2	Elijah Culp
LB	3	Gannon Weathersby
DB	32	DJ Barksdale
DL	33	Andrew Taddeo
LB	5	Trent Hendrick
LB	56	Drew Spinogatti
DB	7	Jacob Thomas
DL	8	Amar Thomas
DL	90	Terry Lockett Jr.

JMU Reserves

1 - Mekhi Rodgers, 10 - Braeden Wisloski, 11 - Patrick Rea, 11 - Trashon Dye, 12 - Kye Holmes, 14 - KJ Flowe, 16 - TJ McGill, 18 - Logan Kyle, 2 - Jayden Mines, 21 - Curtis Harris-Lopez, 22 - Chase Regan, 23 - Ken Willis, 23 - Jordan Fuller, 26 - Jayden Studio, 28 - Jobi Malary, 30 - Justin Eaglin, 33 - Logan Ketcham, 46 - Immanuel Ezeogu, 47 - Josiah Kennard, 5 - Morgan Suarez, 5 - Ayo Adeyi, 56 - JaKobe Campbell, 6 - George Pettaway, 68 - Trent Wilson, 71 - Deacon Rawls, 72 - Josh Toner, 73 - Evan Bushong, 78 - James Pogorelc, 8 - Isaiah Alston, 84 - Brian Hnat, 88 - Kells Bush, 89 - Josh Phifer, 9 - Matthew Sluka, 9 - Xavier Holmes, 93 - Mychal McMullin, 95 Cristiano Rosa, 97 - Aiden Gobaira.

Oregon Starters

Pos.	No.	Offense
WR	11	Jeremiah McClellan
TE	18	Kenyon Sadiq
WR	4	Malik Benson
QB	5	Dante Moore
RB	6	Noah Whittington
OL	71	Alex Harkey
OL	72	Iapani Laloulu
OL	74	Dave Iuli
OL	75	Emmanuel Pregnon
OL	76	Isaiah World
TE	9	Jamari Johnson

Pos.	No.	Defense
DL	1	Bear Alexander
LB	10	Matayo Uiagalelei
DB	21	Aaron Flowers
DB	22	Jadon Canady
LB	28	Bryce Boettcher
DB	31	Dillon Thieneman
DB	4	Brandon Finney
LB	44	Teitum Tuioti
DL	52	A'Mauri Washington
LB	54	Jerry Mixon
DB	7	Ify Obidegwu

Oregon Reserves

0 - Jordon Davison, 0 - Daylen Austin, 1 - Dakorien Moore, 12 - Peyton Woodyard, 13 - Gavin Nix, 14 - Na'eem Offord, 17 - Cooper Perry, 18 - Dorian Brew, 2 - Kingston Lopa, 2 - Gary Bryant Jr., 20 - Dylan Williams, 20 - Makhi Hughes, 22 - Jay Harris, 23 - Brayden Platt, 23 - Dierre Hill Jr., 24 - Zach Grisham, 26 - Devon Jackson, 27 - Jayden Limar, 29 - Ashton Porter, 32 - Nasir Wyatt, 34 - Cruz Rushing, 36 - Atticus Sappington, 38 - Will Straton, 42 - Aydin Breland, 43 - Luke Basso, 44 - Zach Grace, 46 - James Ferguson-Reynolds, 47 - Elijah Rushing, 5 - Theran Johnson, 50 - Tionne Gray, 55 - Matthew Johnson, 56 - Trent Ferguson, 59 - Fox Crader, 70 - Charlie Pickard, 73 - Kawika Rogers, 77 - Jericho Johnson, 83 - Roger Saleapaga, 89 - Brady Bidwell, 9 - Blake Purchase, 92 - Ross James, 97 - Gage Hurych, 99 - Terrance Green.