Illinois Beats No. 25 Oregon 21-10 as Clayton Throws Two Touchdowns in First Start

Illinois beat No. 25 Oregon 21-10 at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, October 24, 2026, an upset win for a home team that entered the game as a 10.5 point underdog. Illinois improved to 4-3 and Oregon fell to 4-3. Oregon led 10-0 in the second quarter and 10-7 at half time, then scored no points in the second half while Illinois scored a touchdown in the third quarter and another in the fourth.

Oregon scored first on a 2 yard touchdown run by Jordon Davison in the first quarter, at the end of an 11 play, 75 yard opening drive. Gage Hurych kicked a 20 yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 10-0. Aidan Laughery answered late in the second quarter with a 75 yard touchdown run that cut the lead to 10-7 at the break.

A first start at quarterback, and two touchdown passes

Michael Clayton II made his first career start at quarterback for Illinois and threw two touchdown passes. He threw a 9 yard touchdown pass to Christian Abney in the third quarter, with 9:25 left in the quarter, to put Illinois ahead 14-10. He then threw a 23 yard touchdown pass to Collin Dixon late in the fourth quarter for the final score.

Dixon controlled the fourth quarter pass after it was tipped by Oregon cornerback Brandon Finney Jr., and the call was upheld on review. The catch was Dixon's 10th touchdown reception of the season, which tied the Illinois school record.

Illinois set up the go ahead score on the ground. The Illini ran the ball eight straight times on their opening drive of the third quarter before the Abney touchdown pass. Laughery led Illinois in rushing with 123 yards on 13 carries, including the 75 yard touchdown. Illinois ran for 223 yards as a team on 38 carries, against 172 rushing yards for Oregon.

Oregon moved the ball and scored 10 points

Oregon outgained Illinois 367 yards to 312 in total yards and still scored only 10 points. Oregon outgained Illinois 230-127 in the first half and was shut out after half time. The quarter scores were Oregon 7, 3, 0, 0 and Illinois 0, 7, 7, 7.

Dylan Raiola started at quarterback for Oregon for the second straight week, with Dante Moore missing his third straight game while recovering from a concussion. Oregon also played without four of its top five receivers, with Jeremiah McClellan, Evan Stewart, Messiah Hampton and Jalen Lott all out.

Hurych missed three field goal tries for Oregon, including a 52 yard attempt wide right in the second quarter, his first miss of the season after he started 9 for 9, and a 53 yard attempt in the fourth quarter.

Before the game, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said of Illinois: "It's a really well-coached team. Coach (Bret) Bielema always does a phenomenal job. They've obviously had this previous week to really prepare for us and get healthy."

A win that had not happened since 1970

This was Illinois's second win over Oregon in school history and its first since 1970. The teams had met once before as Big Ten opponents, a 38-9 Oregon win in Eugene in 2024. The loss likely ends Oregon's remaining College Football Playoff hopes, according to the Ducks Wire recap.