UCLA has no answer for Oregon in 45-30 shellacking
UCLA #UCLA
EUGENE, Ore. — Bo Nix threw for 278 yards and five touchdowns and No. 10 Oregon totaled 544 yards of offense and handed No. 9 UCLA its first loss of the season with a 45-30 victory Saturday.
The loss snapped a nine-game overall winning streak for the Bruins, who have not won in Eugene since 2004. UCLA (6-1, 3-1) hasn’t defeated the Ducks since 2017.
Nix, a transfer from Auburn, is a mobile threat who has thrown for 17 touchdowns and rushed for eight this season. He completed 21 of 28 passes against the Bruins. His favorite target on Saturday was Troy Franklin, who had eight catches for 132 yards and two scores.
UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was completing nearly 75% of his passes going into the game, threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Zach Charbonnet rushed for 136 yards and a score.
Oregon slowed UCLA’s ground game, allowing 186 rushing yards. The Bruins were ranked second in the Pac-12 with an average of 211.5 yards. In contrast, the Ducks piled up 273 rushing yards.
The win extended Oregon’s winning streak at Autzen Stadium to 23 games, matching a school record. It is the third-best active home streak in the nation. The Ducks (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12) have won six straight since a season-opening loss to Georgia and are the lone remaining undefeated team in Pac-12 conference play.
After trading field goals, the Ducks went up 10-3 early in the second quarter on Nix’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Ferguson. UCLA answered with Thompson-Robinson’s 36-yard scoring pass to Keegan Jones.Franklin caught a 51-yard scoring pass from Nix to pull the Ducks back in front. Oregon recovered an onside kick and went on to extend its lead with Jordan James’ 2-yard touchdown carry.
Nicholas Barr-Mira added a 44-yard field goal for the Bruins to close the gap. The Ducks were pushed back by a pair of penalties on the final drive before halftime, but Franklin caught a 2-yard pass from Nix for a 31-13 lead at the break.
After a third UCLA field goal, the Ducks padded their lead with Nix’s 17-yard scoring pass to tight end Cam McCormick.
Charbonnet rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to open the final period. The Ducks answered with Bucky Irving’s 37-yard touchdown catch.
Nix became the third Oregon quarterback since at least 1996 with multiple games of five or more touchdowns in a season. He joins Justin Herbert (2019) and Marcus Mariota (2014).
UCLA added a late touchdown on Thompson-Robinson’s 22-yard pass to Jake Bobo.
IN THE TOP 10
The last time a UCLA team ranked in the top 10 played a top-10 opponent was on Oct. 13, 2001, when the No. 7 Bruins beat No. 10 Washington 35-13 in Pasadena, California.
It was the first meeting between two top-10 teams at Autzen since No. 3 Oregon beat No. 7 Michigan State in 2014. The last matchup between two Pac-12 teams in the top 10 was No. 4 Oregon’s victory over No. 9 Stanford in 2010.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
UCLA, which rose in the polls to No. 13 last season, had not been ranked in the top 10 since 2015 before this past week. Oregon opened the season ranked No. 11, but the loss to Georgia dropped them out of the poll. The Ducks were ranked as high as No. 3 last season.
THE TAKEAWAY
UCLA: Coach Chip Kelly returned to Eugene, where he coached from 2009-2012. During his tenure, the Ducks were known for their speedy “blur” spread offense, which took them to the national championship game following an undefeated 2010 season. Kelly is 0-4 against Oregon since taking over at UCLA in late 2017. … The Bruins’ six wins to start the season were the program’s most since 2005. … UCLA was coming off a bye … The Bruins host Stanford at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
Oregon: The Ducks were also coming off a bye week. … ESPN’s “College GameDay” was broadcast from Eugene for the first time since 2018. … Former Oregon women’s basketball star Sabrina Ionescu was at the game. … Oregon is 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 2019. … The game attracted 59,962, fourth-largest crowd ever at Autzen and biggest since 2011.