Oregon scores TDs on its first 5 possessions in 51-34 College Football Playoff win over James Madison
- - Oregon scores TDs on its first 5 possessions in 51-34 College Football Playoff win over James Madison
Nick Bromberg December 21, 2025 at 7:06 AM
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Well, at least James Madison can say it made the College Football Playoff. Because, well, that’s about all the Dukes want to remember from Saturday night.
No. 5 Oregon had No. 12 James Madison beaten from the start in a 51-34 win. The Dukes’ defense was overmatched, overpowered and overrun. Oregon scored touchdowns on its first five drives of the game. Those five drives totaled 34 points. Those five drives totaled 21 plays.
The scoring streak only ended after Dante Moore threw an interception on a deflected pass at the end of the first half. But the dominance continued into the second half, where JMU had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown and Oregon had over 50 points before the third quarter was over.
Throwin’ DARTS 🎯 📺TNT/TBS/truTV/HBO pic.twitter.com/rAy9hiwMru
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 21, 2025
By that point, it was time for the Ducks to pull every important player and prepare to face No. 4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. But they didn’t — and JMU kept playing hard. The Dukes offense held its own all night and its point total wasn’t an outlier.
Moore finished with four touchdown passes and two interceptions along with a rushing touchdown. Malik Benson caught two of those scores and Jeremiah McClellan and Jamari Johnson had the others.
Oregon made it clear from the start that the Ducks could control the line of scrimmage and were much faster sideline to sideline than JMU’s defense. As the third quarter ended, Oregon was averaging over 10 yards a carry as both Dierre Hill Jr. and Jordon Davison had over 60 yards with just five carries apiece.
Don’t blame James Madison
Let’s get this out of the way. The way the Dukes — and Tulane — were blown out on Saturday night is not an indictment of the 12-team playoff format or a sign that teams from the Sun Belt or any other Group of Five conference don’t belong in the College Football Playoff. College football’s leaders signed off on the format and both Tulane and James Madison earned berths in the postseason fair and square.
If you want to blame anyone, blame the ACC for being so bad in 2025 that a five-loss team won the conference title. But that’s even foolish.
Why? The College Football Playoff format is changing again in 2026, even if the 12-team bracket stays intact.
According to an agreement signed by conference commissioners and Notre Dame, the four power conference champions are guaranteed to be in the field no matter where they are in the rankings in 2026. Two Group of Five teams are not going to make the playoff again.
Notre Dame got a sweetener too. If Notre Dame is in the top 12 in the final rankings, the Irish are in too.
If those rules were in effect in 2025, Notre Dame would be in the playoff instead of Miami, and Duke would be in the playoff instead of JMU.
But the Dukes did exactly what they needed to do to make the playoff this season in a college football world that’s growing a wider and wider chasm between the haves and have-nots every year. While schools like Texas Tech and Ole Miss can reshape their rosters in a single offseason and make the CFP thanks to wealthy donors, teams outside the power conferences are more and more serving like farm teams for power conference schools.
Just look at JMU. When former coach Curt Cignetti — now the coach of No. 1 Indiana — took the job with the Hoosiers after the 2023 season, 13 players followed him from JMU to Bloomington. As current JMU coach Bob Chesney heads to UCLA for 2026, it’s likely that some of the players on this JMU team will follow him to the West Coast.
If you like upsets and Cinderellas in the NCAA basketball tournament, you should like the possibility of that happening in the College Football Playoff, too. And giving teams outside the power conferences a shot to pull an upset is worth the cost of a blowout or two in the first round.
After all, we’re not that far removed from mass consternation about blowouts in the first round of the four-team playoff. Teams like Michigan State and Ohio State got shut out in the semifinals in the four-team format. And Oregon, which led 34-6 over the Dukes at halftime on Saturday night, trailed 34-8 after two quarters of the Rose Bowl a season ago as the No. 1 seed.
Blowouts happen. Not every game is competitive. The 12 years of the College Football Playoff have shown that. But those blowouts make the massive upsets all the more special. And as long as non-power conference teams get the chance to play for the national title, an upset will happen sooner rather than later.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER36 updates -
FeaturedSun, December 21, 2025 at 10:04 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffFinal: Oregon 51, JMU 34
Oregon finishes the decisive win, even if JMU made it more respectable with some late scores. The Ducks move onto the quarterfinals, where they will face No. 4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 10:09 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports Staff CFP bracket
Here’s what the bracket looks like after the first round is complete (click here for full bracket):
CFP bracket
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 10:00 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffTouchdown JMU
QB Alonza Barnett punches it in on 4th and 1 on a keeper, and that play is important for SOME. That means JMU will cover the 20.5-point spread.
Oregon 51, JMU 34
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 9:45 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffOregon adds FG
Atticus Sappington knocks a 48-yard field goal through to get the Ducks above the 50 mark.
Oregon 51, JMU 26 | 4:22 to play
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 9:29 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffTouchdown JMU
Lacotta Dipre scores from the 2 and the Dukes continue to keep punching. Is there enough time to make this a game with 10:26 to play?
Oregon 48, JMU 26
JMU leaps into the end zone ➡️📺 TNT/truTV/TBS/HBO Max pic.twitter.com/Kf6zv3DZGk
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 21, 2025
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 9:10 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffTouchdown JMU
Alonza Barnett drops a 24-yard dime to George Pettaway. The Dukes are at least showing some fight here.
Oregon 48, JMU 20
Dukes add 6️⃣📺 TNT/truTV/TBS/HBO Max pic.twitter.com/0runa25Tuz
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 21, 2025
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 9:07 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffJMU picks off Oregon
Justin Eaglin intercepts Dante Moore, who floated a pass toward the sideline near the goal line. Eaglin returned it 61 yards and drew an unsportsmanlike penalty. Dukes in scoring position.
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 8:56 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffOregon scores, but this time on special teams!
The Ducks found a different way to get to the end zone. Blake Purchase blocked JMU’s punt attempt and Jayden Limar scooped it up and ran 15 yards for the TD.
Oregon 48, JMU 13
BLOCKED PUNT ➡️ OREGON TD 📺 TNT/truTV/TBS/HBO Max pic.twitter.com/CtZxzwKNsq
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 21, 2025
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 8:36 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffTouchdown Oregon
It’s been a while since we’ve seen an Oregon score, like an entire two drives. Dante Moore completes another deep bomb, this one for 45 yards to Malik Benson.
Oregon 41, JMU 13
Moore and Benson connect for a 2nd @oregonfootball TD tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GXxqSCglWY
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) December 21, 2025
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 8:28 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffTouchdown JMU
Alonza Barnett tosses to Nick DeGennaro in the flat and he jitterbugs down the sideline for a 47-yard TD. The Dukes finally find the end zone.
Oregon 34, JMU 13
TOUCHDOWN FOR JAMES MADISON ‼️📺 TNT/truTV/TBS/HBO Max pic.twitter.com/DA3spvg1hV
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 21, 2025
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 8:24 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffBack for the 2nd half
JMU has the ball to start the second half, and it’s already moved beyond midfield.
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 8:20 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffHow Ole Miss put Lane Kiffin drama behind it
New coach Pete Golding guided Ole Miss to a blowout win over Tulane in their playoff game. That had to be cathartic for players, fans and everyone involved in the coaching drama that played out a few weeks ago.
Read more from Yahoo’s Dan Wolken reporting from Oxford
It was a victorious night for Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding. (Photo by Wes Hale/Getty Images) (Wes Hale via Getty Images)
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 8:09 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffDante Moore is on one
The INT late in the first half is the only real blemish on a surgical first half for the Oregon QB:
Dante Moore putting on a show in the first half 🍿 pic.twitter.com/fY3JlzvXw9
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 21, 2025
Sun, December 21, 2025 at 8:01 AM GMT+5:30Nick BrombergThe remaining drama tonight?
Whether or not Oregon can cover the 20.5-point spread.
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 7:57 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffHalftime: Oregon 34, JMU 6
Utter domination by the Ducks. Can the Dukes get anything going in the second half?
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 7:56 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffJMU kicks FG
The Dukes convert the turnover into points, with a 38-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half. That doesn’t do much to cut into the massive deficit.
Oregon 34, JMU 6
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 7:44 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffJMU interception!
That’s one way to slow down the Ducks’ offense. JMU’s Elijah Culp picks off Dante Moore to give the Dukes a much-needed positive play near the end of the first half.
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 7:30 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffOregon's stats are ridiculous
Oregon’s offensive numbers so far:
-349 total yards
-21 plays
-16.6 yards per play
-8:57 time of possession
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 7:25 AM GMT+5:30Yahoo Sports StaffHeard this before? Oregon scores a TD
Dante Moore hits Dakorien Moore for a 46-yard TD. That’s 5 TDs on 5 drives for the Ducks. They can’t be stopped.
Oregon 34, JMU 3
Another one for the Ducks🦆📺TNT/TBS/truTV/HBO pic.twitter.com/U9Nm4IJ4Ab
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 21, 2025
- Sun, December 21, 2025 at 7:25 AM GMT+5:30Nick BrombergOregon can start prepping for Texas Tech now
How soon will Oregon leave the starters in?
Show more updates
Source: “AOL Sports”
