Noah Whittington Nearly Fumbles Before Scoring Oregon’s Touchdown of the Year

Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington had one of the most impressive touchdowns of the college football season in the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He nearly fumbled at the end of the play, but the officials upheld the score.

Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington warms up before a game against the Montana State Bobcats at Autzen Stadium. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Welcome to the SportsCenter Top-10, Noah Whittington.

The Oregon Ducks running back delivered one of the top highlights of the college football season in the first half of Friday night's matchup against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Autzen Stadium, channelling his inner LeGarrette Blount on a 40-yard touchdown run that saw him fight through multiple defenders before breaking free toward the end zone to give Oregon a 21-3 lead.

Blount, a former Oregon star himself, broke many tackles back in his day, but it's hard to imagine he had a run as impressive as Whittingon's. However, Whittington's highlight was nearly called back.

Noah Whittington Almost Had All-Time Mistake on Touchdown Run

Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington breaks away during the first half for a touchdown against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Autzen Stadium. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

As Whittington approached the goal line, he started to high-step a bit and loosened his grip on the ball.

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This caused his thigh to knock the ball loose before he crossed into the end zone, forcing it to fly into the air where Whittington quickly regained his concentration and caught it to maintain possession for the touchdown.

"YOU CAN'T CAGE HIM" ‼️

How did Noah Whittington stay on his feet during this @oregonfootball 40-yard touchdown run 😱 pic.twitter.com/65zKdwNyCh

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 15, 2025

Luckily for Whittington and the Ducks, the officials upheld the call on the field. Oregon fans likely had a deep sigh of relief afterwards, but certainly no one felt more relieved than Whittington, who nearly went from all-time highlight to all-time lowlight.

FOX analyst and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III didn't hesitate to crown Whittington's play as legendary during the broadcast.

"That was one of the all-time runs I think we've seen," Griffin III said.

Oregon Ducks Elite Running Back Room

Oregon Ducks running back Jordon Davison breaks away from Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Jai'Onte' McMillan during the first half for a touchdown at Autzen Stadium. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Despite Whittington's impressive run, the Oregon running back room remains a committee, which goes to show just how much talent the Ducks have in the backfield.

Headed into Friday's game against Minnesota, Whittington was the team's leading rusher (551) but had just four rushing touchdowns. Instead, it was true freshman Jordon Davison who added to his team-high rushing touchdown total in the first half against the Golden Gophers with a pair of touchdowns, giving him 12 scores on the season.

Behind them, Dierre Hill Jr. and Jayden Limar have combined for seven rushing touchdowns this season.

In September, Oregon coach Dan Lanning praised the talent in the running back room.

“We’ve got a ton of really good backs, so I’d say I want to go watch film, but they earn it every single day in practice. We’ve got a bunch of guys that can play winning football, and again, that’s the challenge for us, to figure out where does that fall? But we get to see it every single day in practice,” Lanning said. “And these guys would tell you that Noah Whittington has earned that every single day in practice, with his leadership and how he’s worked.”

From Bucky Irving to Jordan James, the Ducks have relied on heavy workloads from their running backs in recent seasons. Whittington likely won't finish this season with the kind of numbers that those two did, but he certainly now has the best highlight among them all.