Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Bo Nix threw for 283 yards and five touchdown passes, leading 10th-ranked Oregon to a 45-30 win over No. 9 UCLA on Saturday afternoon at Eugene, Ore.
The Ducks (6-1, 4-0 in Pac-12) ended the day as the only undefeated team in the conference and won their 23rd straight game at Autzen Stadium.
Bucky Irving rushed for 106 yards and caught a touchdown pass, while Troy Franklin had eight catches for 132 yards and two TDs for the Ducks.
UCLA (6-1, 3-1) got 259 yards passing and two touchdown from Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Bruins also had 154 rushing yards from the Pac-12’s leading rusher, Zach Charbonnet.
Since a 49-3 loss to top-ranked Georgia at Atlanta in the first game of the season, Oregon has won six straight games and scored no fewer than 41 points in each win.
With Oregon up 17-10 after Nix hit Franklin for a 49-yard touchdown pass, the Ducks seized momentum for good when kickoff specialist Andrew Boyle recovered his own onside-kick attempt.
Oregon took over at its own 46-yard line and marched down the field for Jordan James’ 2-yard touchdown run for a 24-10 lead with 6:34 to go in the second quarter.
The Ducks took a 31-13 lead into halftime thanks to Nix’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Franklin with six seconds left in the first half. The score completed a 10-play, 88-yard drive.
The Ducks totaled 544 yards of offense, with 283 passing yards and 261 rushing yards.
After UCLA’s Nicholas Barr-Mira made a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter to cut Oregon’s lead to 31-16, the Ducks converted two fourth downs in their own territory on their way to a 7-1/2 minute touchdown drive that ended with Nix’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Cam McCormick.
Oregon scored again early in the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-4 from the UCLA 37-yard line, Nix found an open Irving near the sideline and the back scooted up the field and into the end zone for a 45-23 lead.
Former wide receiver Bryan Addison intercepted a Thompson-Robinson pass into the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, ending any hope of a Bruins comeback.
The Ducks’ win left former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly winless against his former program in four meetings with UCLA. The Ducks improved to 15-3 against the Bruins since the 2000 season.
Oregon has won four straight meetings and 10 of the last 11 in the overall series.
–Field Level Media