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Oregon

Noah Whittington breaks multiple tackles, nearly fumbles on chaotic touchdown run

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs4 hours agogrant_grubbs_
Oregon RB Noah Whittington touchdown run vs. Minnesota
© Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Oregon running back Noah Whittington refused to be stopped. On Friday, Whittington rumbled through countless Minnesota tackle attempts for a 40-yard house call. The touchdown gave Oregon a 21-3 lead in the second quarter.

To make matters even crazier, Whittington’s jaw-dropping play was almost ruined when he lost control of the ball just before crossing the goal line. Nonetheless, Whittington regained control of the ball long enough for the officials to ultimately uphold the TD.

Noah Whittington has been fantastic for the Ducks this season. He entered the game Friday with 68 carries for 551 yards and four touchdowns. He’s averaging 8.1 yards per rushing attempt. Whittington also has one receiving score this season.

While Noah Whittington is leading Oregon’s offense in rushing yards, he’s far from the only Ducks RB who’s had success this season. Three Oregon running backs have more than 400 rushing yards in the 2025 campaign.

Oregon is averaging 239.7 rushing yards per game, the sixth-most in the country. For reference, Oregon only averaged 157.9 rushing yards per contest last season and still entered the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed.

Assuming Oregon escapes Friday evening with a win over Minnesota, the Ducks are just two wins away from returning to the CFP. Earlier this week, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning explained why the Ducks have been so dominant in the ground game this season.

“It’s a multitude of things. Every year is different and unique,” Lanning said. “You try to play to your team strengths and what they do. We’ve also had some games that the environment dictated we’re going to run the ball a little bit more.

“But, really proud of our offensive staff and their creativity in the run game and what they’ve done to find ways to go run, run the ball, utilize our personnel when it matters, and control games. They’ve done a really good job there. And then kudos to our players for being able to be able to execute a lot of schemes at a high level.”

Oregon landed at No. 8 in the latest CFP rankings. While the Ducks could still squeeze into the playoff with a second loss in the regular season, they’d be skating on thin ice.

Oregon didn’t pick up any substantial wins during its non-conference portion of the schedule. Moreover, the Ducks don’t face Ohio State in the regular season this year. If Oregon wants to avoid sweating on CFP selection day, it must win out the remainder of the regular season.