Dillon Gabriel, No. 1 Oregon have no issues taking down No. 20 Illinois

Dillon Gabriel threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth in the first half as top-ranked Oregon cruised to a 38-9 Big Ten win over visiting No. 20 Illinois on Saturday afternoon in Eugene.

In addition to leading the Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) to their first win as the nation’s No. 1 team since Dec. 4, 2010, Gabriel climbed into second place on the Football Bowl Subdivision’s all-time charts for passing touchdowns (143) and passing yards (17,236) as he finished 18 of 26 for 291 yards, three scores and one interception.

Oregon rolled up 527 total yards — including 363 in the first half — as Tez Johnson caught six passes for 102 yards and one touchdown while Jordan James rushed for a game-high 83 yards in 15 attempts.

Illinois (6-2, 3-2), which came in with three Top 25 wins this season, never achieved liftoff in its first game against a No. 1 team since 2007. Quarterback Luke Altmyer completed 17 of 35 passes for 161 yards and his second and third interceptions of the year. Aidan Laughery rushed for 69 yards and Zakhari Franklin posted six receptions for 72 yards.

Oregon marched 83 yards on the game’s first possession to take a 7-0 lead. Gabriel hit Johnson on a short crossing pattern that turned into a 31-yard score when Johnson dove into the pylon in the left corner of the end zone.

After Illinois went backward on its first possession and had to punt, the Ducks zipped 58 yards for another score. Gabriel tossed a 34-yard post to Justius Lowe to make it 14-0 with 6:05 left in the first quarter.

Illinois broke through with David Olano’s 38-yard field goal at 1:34 of the first, but the Ducks got back on track with Gabriel’s 7-yard keeper around left end. He raced in untouched to put Oregon up 21-3, then Noah Whittington added an 18-yard sprint up the middle for a 28-3 bulge with 6:09 left in the first half.

For good measure, the Ducks ran the two-minute drill to perfection to score their fifth touchdown in six possessions. The left-handed Gabriel capped an 89-yard march with a 2-yard pitch to Whittington using his right hand for a 35-3 halftime lead.

Illinois drove to Oregon’s 2-yard line on the second half’s opening possession but got turned away on downs. The Illini finished the job on their next drive — going 95 yards capped by Ca’Lil Valentine’s 5-yard blast. The first touchdown allowed by Oregon in eight quarters cut the margin to 35-9 with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.