Anthony Brown scored on a 30-run with 2:57 remaining and No. 11 Oregon escaped with a 31-24 win against Fresno State on Saturday afternoon in Eugene, Ore.
Brown kept the ball on an option on fourth-and-2 and weaved through the defense for the tie-breaking score.
Brown completed 15 of 24 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 62 yards and a score.
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener completed 30 of 43 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown.
Fresno State stopped Oregon on fourth down on the opening possession of the second half and then tied the score 21-21 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Haener and a two-point conversion.
The Bulldogs stripped Brown on the first play of the fourth quarter and Kevin Atkins recovered at the Oregon 27-yard line. That led to the third field goal of the game by Abraham Montano, a 22-yarder, giving Fresno State its first lead at 24-21 with 13:03 left.
Haener fumbled at the end of a 13-yard run and the Ducks recovered at the Fresno State 32, leading to a 25-yard field goal by Camden Lewis that tied the score 24-24 with 7:41 remaining.
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Kayvon Thibodeaux sacked Haener on Fresno State’s second dive of the game and Mase Funa returned the fumble 10 yards to the Bulldogs’ 3.
CJ Verdell scored on a 2-yard turn on third down to give the Ducks a 7-0 lead.
Thibodeaux, who won the Morris Trophy last season as the best linemen in the Pac-12, went down with a left ankle injury later in the first quarter and did not play in the second half.
Oregon recovered another fumble on the next drive and Travis Dye scored three plays later on a 4-yard run for a 14-0 lead with 6:40 left in the opening quarter.
The Ducks moved ahead 21-6 on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Johnny Johnson III with 1:16 left in the half
Fresno State cut the deficit to 21-13 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Haener to Jalen Cropper with seven seconds left in the half.
–Field Level Media