Ducks whip Kelly in return to Eugene

EUGENE, Ore. – Justin Herbert threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns and Oregon defeated UCLA 4221 on Saturday in Bruins coach Chip Kelly’s first game at Autzen Stadium since he left the Ducks following the 2012 season.

Dillon Mitchell caught eight passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks (6-3, 3-2 Pac-12), who became bowl eligible. The victory also snapped a two-game losing streak that had dropped the Ducks out of the rankings.

With the loss, UCLA (2-7, 2-4) was guaranteed to finish below .500 in Kelly’s first season with the Bruins.

During Kelly’s four-year tenure Oregon made four straight BCS bowl appearances and he was lauded as the architect of the Ducks’ up-tempo “blur offense.” He was greeted with warm applause when he was introduced prior to the coin flip.

Oregon is on its third coach since Kelly’s departure. The Ducks let go of Mark Helfrich following the 2016 season, then Willie Taggart stayed for less than a year en route to Florida State, and now Mario Cristobal leads the Ducks.

Herbert started for Oregon after going through concussion protocol earlier this week. He had been under observation after a hard hit in the second half of the Arizona loss. Mitchell also cleared concussion protocol this past week.

Washington 27, Stanford 23: Myles Gaskin returned after missing two games due to a shoulder injury to rush for 148 yards and one touchdown, and Washington built a big early lead before needing Taylor Rapp’s interception on the final play to beat Stanford in Seattle.

The matchup was essentially an elimination game in the Pac-12 North Division race and the Huskies got their senior star ball carrier back on the field just in time. Gaskin sat out a win over Colorado and loss to California, and his absence only highlighted his importance to Washington’s offense.