EVANSTON, Ill. -- — Dante Moore threw for 178 yards and a touchdown and No. 4 Oregon opened Big Ten play with a 34-14 win at Northwestern on Saturday.

Dierre Hill Jr. added a 66-yard scoring run and Jayden Limar and Jordon Davison had rushing touchdowns to help the Ducks (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) win their road opener.

The Wildcats (1-2, 0-1) forced an Oregon punt on the game’s first drive but didn’t have much of an answer the rest of the game. The Ducks led 17-0 at the half after scoring on their next three possessions to improve to 11-0 against conference foes since joining the Big Ten last season.

The Ducks also weren’t penalized despite playing under a steady stream of amplified crowd noise.

“When we don’t beat ourselves, we have a great chance for success,” coach Dan Lanning said. “We operated clean.”

Oregon took advantage of the game’s first turnover — Bryce Boettcher's interception of a deflected pass in the first quarter — into the first touchdown a few plays later when Limar ran in from a yard After a field goal, Moore connected with Kenyon Sadiq for a 24-yard touchdown just before the half.

“It showed we can bounce back,” Limar said after the Ducks easily topped their first two opponents. “I feel like we responded well.”

Hill’s long run midway through the third quarter — on Oregon’s first play of the second half — and a short touchdown run by Davison later in the period turned the game into a rout.

Atticus Sappington added a pair of field goals.

Preston Stone was 11 for 21 for 135 yards with two interceptions for Northwestern. Caleb Komolafe (53 yards) had a 1-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to avert a shutout and Dashun Reeder added a 79-yard run on his lone carry in the final two minutes.

“We got our butts kicked by a really good football team today,” Wildcats coach David Braun said. “We went into the game saying we need to win the rushing battle, we said we need to win the turnover battle and we need to create an edge on special teams.

“You can’t beat teams like Oregon when you don’t win the turnover battle.”

Moore was 16 for 20 and was intercepted for the first time this season during the fourth quarter.

Poll implications

Oregon averaged 64 points in its first two victories, but looked just as dominant scoring almost half that on Saturday. The performance might not earn them additional first-place votes, but should keep the Ducks in the top five.

The takeaway

Oregon: The Ducks wore down Northwestern's defense mostly on the ground and didn’t have to dig deep into their playbook in the win. That should help as they prep for a visit from in-state and former Pac-12 rival Oregon State next weekend and a trip to Penn State the following Saturday.

Northwestern: Losing leading rusher Cam Porter to a season-ending injury a week earlier hampered the Wildcats and the passing game couldn’t keep them competitive Saturday. Stone’s best throws came long after the game was out of reach.

Up next

Oregon: hosts rival Oregon State on Sept. 20.

Northwestern: Has early bye weekend before hosting UCLA on Sept. 27.

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