Moore bloodied as unexpected duo help Ducks survive Wisconsin

Based upon how this one started, it didn’t seem unfathomable that Brock Thomas would get in the game.

Wisconsin was winless in its last 10 games against Power 4 opponents, scoreless in its previous eight quarters and facing an Oregon offense that, after hanging 56 points last week at Rutgers, opened Saturday by recovering its own onside kick.

Yes, under these circumstances, it did feel like the type of game where Oregon would get its backup quarterback onto the field — and maybe even let him throw a pass or two as the proverbial human victory cigar at the end of a blowout.

Nobody, however, envisioned that the Ducks would need the 1-yard touchdown pass the walk-on redshirt sophomore threw to offensive lineman Gernorris Wilson in the fourth quarter to finally put the Badgers away.

But on a night when an atmospheric river dumped rain onto Autzen Stadium and starting quarterback Dante Moore left in the third quarter with blood pouring from his face, those six points were absolutely crucial in Oregon’s 21-7 win.

The Ducks are 7-1. They’re headed into the bye. And boy, did this one not go as planned.

“I did not see that,” Thomas said when asked how many times, as a quarterback who grew up in Eugene and played at Sheldon High School, he envisioned his first touchdown pass for Oregon coming on a play that began under center and ended with a 318-pound “receiver” dancing in the end zone. “I was just really excited for him to get his touchdown again.”

To be clear: It was Thomas’ first touchdown, but Wilson’s second — the redshirt sophomore from Florida caught a 3-yard touchdown last season from Dillon Gabriel against Maryland.

“They always say you get the athletic guys from Florida,” Wilson joked.

Wilson said last year, offensive coordinator Will Stein came into the line room and threw something at him to see if he would catch it before explaining the play Stein had in mind. Wilson dropped Stein’s attempt that day. He did not Saturday, in a game where nearly every other offensive attempt struggled.

That onside kick? It vanished in three plays as Oregon embarked on a scoreless opening quarter. It wasn’t until 1:07 remained in the first half that the Ducks finally got on the board, when Jordon Davison scored the first of his two touchdowns to complete a 99-yard drive.

Until that point, the Ducks had just 26 yards of total offense.

And while Oregon opened the second half by carving down the field on the ground, the game took a sudden turn when, on first-and-10 from Wisconsin’s 30, Moore rushed for a yard up the middle, took a forearm to the face and remained on the turf. 

Moore eventually got up, buried his face in towels from the trainers and left the game. In came Thomas — who had entered in garbage time last week and completed three passes for 45 yards with the Ducks up by 46.

A week later, the Ducks were only up by seven when Thomas took the field. His first attempt found Dakorien Moore for a 24-yard gain on third-and-9.

On the next play, Davison – who finished with a game-high 102 yards on 16 carries – scored from 20 yards out to give Oregon a two-touchdown lead. With Oregon’s defense keeping the offensively inept Badgers at bay, the Ducks punted on their next possession, then got the ball back before a 27-yard run by Dierre Hill Jr. and a 9-yard scamper by Davison set them up on the goal line to begin the fourth quarter.

The Ducks rolled out the jumbo package. Thomas lined up under center, took the snap, faked a handoff to Davison and lofted a floater to a wide-open Wilson on the right side of the end zone.

It wasn’t clean — Norris bobbled the ball initially before securing it into his massive frame. And then he danced.

“At first they didn’t want me to do it,” Norris said. “I don’t know if y’all seen the Key & Peele skit with the three pumps — I didn’t want (to get a penalty) — so originally I wasn’t going to do it. But eventually, when it just happened, I just said, ‘Freak it, man. Just go ahead and go for it.’”

Those who remained in a soaked Autzen Stadium loved the moves — especially the Oregon student section, which had mostly emptied aside from a pack of shirtless fans waving their clothing above their heads alongside the Duck mascot.

The actual Ducks appreciated the points, too. On Wisconsin’s next drive, the Badgers finally ended a 3-hour, 45-minute and 13-second streak of game time without a point when Hunter Simmons found Lance Mason from 2 yards out.

The score was 21-7, and that’s all a very odd day of football had left.

The Ducks won, as expected. The Ducks’ defense shut down the Badgers, as expected. But on a day that threw some curves — the Ducks were wearing tie-dye, after all — the night ended with quite possibly the most unexpected outcome of the year as Moore strolled in to interrupt Thomas’ first postgame presser as a Duck.

“I love you, Brock,” Moore said, who is expected to be fine. “You did your thing today, baby.”