The Cardinal (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) have now won seven of nine against the Trojans, the best nine-game stretch for the Cardinal in the history of a rivalry that covers 96 games and more 111 years.
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Nebraska scored in the final seconds of the first half to get within 20-14 at halftime, and then took its first lead with a touchdown on its first drive of the second half.
OR had taken a 32-28 lead in the fourth before Nebraska answered later.
The Ducks ran 26 times for 166 yards in the first half, thriving despite the absence of running back Royce Freeman and left tackle Tyrell Crosby for all but the opening minutes of the game.
Armstrong and Ozigbo played huge roles in the Huskers outscoring the Ducks 21-12 in the second half, including 7-6 in the fourth quarter.
The senior, who had been bruised and battered all afternoon, led an 11-play, five minute drive in the fourth quarter that ended in a game-sealing touchdown run and a banner 35-32 win against Oregon.
Nebraska seized momentum in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns. That capped a 97-yard drive that finished with 10:31 left in the game.
After a three-and-out from Nebraska, followed by a three-and-out from Oregon, Nebraska put together an 11 play drive, ending in a Tommy Armstrong Jr.
“I think that was a great football game”, said Coach Mike Riley after the win. 34-yard run. Armstrong was Nebraska’s leading rusher, netting 96 yards on 16 carries. They were able to exact some measure of revenge for all the times the Ducks dashed the hopes of the former Oregon State head man. OR hurt itself with a holding penalty to put the Ducks behind the sticks, and Freedom Akinmoladun came up with a big play when he hit Prukop in the pocket to force a fumble on 3rd-and-20.
OR has so many marquee games ahead of it in Pac-12 play that this loss isn’t exactly crushing, especially this early in the year.
OR (2-1) suffered its first loss of the season, 35-32, at the hands of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0), in a tightly contested game in front of 90,414 in Lincoln, Nebraska. OR racked up 56 yards on the ground, including a 20-yard dash down the sideline for Tony Brooks-James’ first score of the game. The Ducks chose to go for two and converted on a Charles Nelson run to take an 8-0 lead. The Ducks committed two pass interference penalties on that second drive, on a day marked by 126 penalty yards on Oregon.
After the Ducks fell behind by eight points and with a third-and-26, thanks to a personal foul on Cameron Hunt and a holding penalty on Doug Brenner, Prukop calmly completed a 25-yard pass to Nelson.
The two teams exchanged unsuccessful drives in less than two minutes to set up an OR punt with just over 40 seconds left.
De’Mornay Pierson-El was the answer.
Two plays after the fourth-down conversion, Armstrong scored the game-winning TD on a 34-yard run. Although the Huskers came out on top, the outcome was in doubt for a chunk of the game.
Cam Pedersen kicked a 37-yard field as time expired and North Dakota State, of the FCS, rallied to beat No. 13 Iowa 23-21 on Saturday for its sixth straight win over an FBS opponent. The sophomore running back from Sachse, Texas, carried four straight times for 29 total yards to open the half.
The Bison went for a 2-point conversion down 21-20 with 3:41 left, but couldn’t punch it in.
Prukop was unable to get a pass off on fourth-and-18 in the final minute after a holding penalty interrupted a promising drive to tie or win the game. Ozigbo’s first touchdown of the game gave Nebraska a 28-20 lead. And once again, the Ducks failed to convert.
The momentum flipped in Oregon’s favor after Prukop connected with Nelson for a 25-yard gain on 3rd-and-27 from the OR 34 with just over three minutes left in the third.
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OR answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive when running back Benoit ran 41 yards for a score on fourth-and-one, but the two-point conversion failed, and the Ducks trailed 28-26.
