Ducks hold off Bulldogs with late TD
Anthony Brown Jr. was blunt about No. 11 Oregon’s offensive struggles against Fresno State.
“It wasn’t clean enough,” he said. Brown scored on a 30-yard quarterback keeper with 2:57 left and the Ducks overcame a wobbly season opener with a 31-24 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Oregon jumped to a 21-6 lead, but Fresno State scored two unanswered touchdowns to tie the game midway through the third quarter, then took the lead early in the fourth on Abraham Montano’s field goal. Camden Lewis kicked a 25-yard game-tying field goal before Brown’s go-ahead touchdown.
The performance was somewhat concerning given the Ducks face No. 4 Ohio State next weekend.
“In order for us to go where we need to go, we have to be firing on all cylinders, which we weren’t today. And that was obvious,” Brown said. “We’re going to see it on the tape, fix what we need to we need to fix and move on and progress from it.”
Brown threw for 172 yards and a touchdown while running for 62 yards and the winner. It was Oregon’s 17th straight home-opening victory.
Brown, a sixth-year senior, transferred to Oregon last year from Boston College but was backup to Tyler Shough until getting playing time in the Pac-12 title game and the Fiesta Bowl. Shough transferred to Texas Tech in the offseason.
The Ducks were hurt by the loss of defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, who left the game at halftime with a left ankle injury.
Kiffin tests positive for COVID-19: Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin will miss the opener against Louisville with a breakthrough case of COVID-19.
Kiffin announced the positive test on Saturday, two days ahead of the Rebels’ opener in Atlanta.
Kiffin, his staff and his players are all fully vaccinated. He said no other members of the team are expected to miss the game because of COVID-19.
“I am grateful to be vaccinated and experiencing only mild symptoms,” Kiffin said in a statement released on Twitter. “So much so, I debated over being tested, but I’m relieved that I did.”
Michigan wins big, but loses Bell: Ronnie Bell had a 76-yard touchdown reception and returned a punt 31 yards before being injured in Michigan’s 47-14 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday.
The Wolverines (1-0) won the game easily, but they may have lost their best player for a while.
“Just worried about Ronnie Bell right now,” coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged.
Bell was hurt on a punt return in the second quarter and kept weight off his right leg as he was helped off the field by a teammate and staff member. The senior receiver was later carted off the field and up the tunnel toward the team’s locker room to be further evaluated.
Ridder leads No. 8 Bearcats by Miami of Ohio:
Desmond Ridder was 20 of 25 for 295 yards and four touchdowns and No. 8 Cincinnati beat Miami of Ohio 49-14 on Saturday in the opener for both teams.
The Bearcats tied the series that began in 1888 at 59-59-7.
No. 1 Alabama rolls No. 14 Miami: Looking very much like a team capable of making another run at a national title, No. 1 Alabama opened its season with a 44-13 rout of No. 14 Miami on Saturday behind four touchdown passes from Bryce Young in his first college start.
The sophomore from Southern California completed 27 of 38 for 344 yards, hooking up with Cameron Latu on a pair of scoring plays and burying the Hurricanes with a 94-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams early in the third quarter.
No. 7 Iowa State survives Northern Iowa:
Datrone Young had a big interception with 2:05 left in the fourth quarter and No. 7 Iowa State staved off upset-minded Northern Iowa 16-10 Saturday to avoid becoming the just the second top-10 team to lose to a team from Division I’s secondtier.
Iowa State was in danger of joining Michigan as the only top-10 team to lose to an FCS opponent, a memorable upset by Appalachian State in 2007. Having survived the opening close-call, Iowa State will likely head into its rivalry game next week against No. 18 Iowa ranked for the first time in the history of the series.
No. 18 Iowa’s defense silences No. 17 Indiana:
Riley Moss returned two first-half interceptions for touchdowns and No. 18 Iowa beat No. 17 Indiana 34-6 on Saturday.
Iowa intercepted three of Michael Penix Jr.’s passes and had a fourth wiped out by a roughing-the-passer call.
“We were very prepared,” Moss said. “We absolutely won because of film (study), and our preparation. Our game plan today was to stop the big plays, stay on top. We made them work for their yards, and their points.”