Oregon running back Noah Whittington scored one of the great touchdowns of the college football season on Friday night against the Minnesota Golden Gophers… or did he?
Whittington ran into traffic during the second quarter and looked like he would be brought down in a gaggle of Minnesota defenders. Incredibly, he maintained his feet and his forward momentum in spite of being surrounded by several people trying to tackle him. As he spun free he sprinted towards the endzone for what looked like an incredible play.
Except then came the hard part, actually carrying the ball across the goal line.
An unbelievable touchdown for Oregon RB Noah Whittington almost turned into an unbelievable touchback.
Jason Benetti and Robert Griffin III have the Minnesota-Oregon call for Fox. šš„šµāš«šļø #CFB pic.twitter.com/O940LbBF82
ā Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 15, 2025
As Jason Benetti and Robert Griffin III broke down the play, they came to the sudden realization that Whittington may have actually fumbled the ball out of the endzone. In spite of not having a pylon cam, (which really should be mandatory for any nationally televised game) it was clear enough that he actually did lose control of the ball in the field of play before scoring.
While the Oregon running back didn’t flat out drop the ball (like others we’ve seen) his premature celebration caused the ball to come loose. But after multiple replays proved to be inconclusive on whether or not he actually regained control in the endzone, the ruling on the field of a touchdown stood.
It was one of the most bizarre plays of the college football season, but thankfully for the Oregon Ducks the result of the play didn’t have much of an impact on the game. They strolled to a 42-13 victory over Minnesota as their pursuit of a spot in the College Football Playoff continues.
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