Nix, Ducks get creative vs. Buffaloes
Bo Nix and the Oregon offense tried out some new and creative wrinkles. Not that they really needed to as a heavy favorite, but it sure was exciting.
A halfback pass back to Nix for a score. A linebacker plunging in from short. An offensive tackle switching his number to become eligible and hauling in a short TD pass — on his birthday, no less.
The do-everything Nix led the charge with two passing touchdowns, two rushing scores and his TD grab as the eighthranked Ducks resorted to some trickery to beat Colorado 49-10 on Saturday.
“We’re just dynamic,” Nix nonchalantly said.
With the wind howling — 39 mph gusts — the Ducks (8-1, 6-0 Pac-12, No. 8 CFP) breezed to their eighth straight win since a 49-3 loss to No. 1 Georgia in the season opener.
The Ducks dialed up one gadget play after another, with offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. catching a 4-yard TD pass to open the scoring (“I didn’t realize until after it’s his birthday too,” said Nix, who got him the perfect present). Linebacker Noah Sewell got the call, too, scoring on a 1-yard dive. Even Nix got into the trickplay act by catching an 18-yard touchdown pass from tailback Bucky Irving.
The Ducks are the first FBS team to have a receiving TD from an O-lineman, a receiving score from a QB and a rushing TD by a defensive player in the same game since at least 1996, according to research provided by Oregon.
“When you’re a team that’s complete and you’re hard to predict, it’s harder to really prepare for you,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “For us, they’re not really trick plays when you execute them consistently in practice.”
The Ducks have now scored 40 or more points in eight straight games for the first time since 2014.
“We don’t care about stats. Stats are for losers,” Lanning said. “I’m sure our players take pride in it. I don’t want that to come across the wrong way. The goal is always to win.”
Tulane runs wild on Tulsa: Tyjae Spears ran for 157 yards and a touchdown and Shaadie Clayton-Johnson gained 106 to lead No. 19 Tulane to a 27-13 win over Tulsa on Saturday.
Tulane (8-1, 5-0 American Athletic Conference) had lost the past two meetings with Tulsa (3-6, 1-4) in overtime, but controlled this one with a dominant running game. The Green Wave gained 357 yards on the ground, with Spears and Johnson each running the ball 14 times.
Maye, Downs lead UNC to victory: Mack Brown’s second tenure at North Carolina, now in its fourth season, is starting to look more like what he came back hoping to build, which is what he built the first time.
Drake Maye threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and No. 17 North Carolina outscored Virginia 21-7 after halftime to rally for a 31-28 victory Saturday. Elijah Green scored twice and Josh Downs caught 15 passes, including a touchdown, for the Tar Heels (8-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 17 CFP), now 5-0 in league play for the first time since 2015, when they qualified for their lone appearance in the ACC title game.
Syracuse drops third straight: Rodney Hammond ran for a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown while filling in for injured Israel Abanikanda and Pittsburgh shut down No. 20 Syracuse 17-9 on Saturday to end a two-game losing streak.
The Panthers (5-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) relied heavily on Hammond and a defense that kept Orange freshman quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson in check in his first career start. Pitt sacked Del Rio-Wilson six times and limited the Orange (6-3, 3-2) to 145 total yards in beating Syracuse for the 18th time in the past 21 meetings of the longtime rivals.
Neal leads Kansas past Oklahoma State: Devin Neal ran for 224 yards and a touchdown and had 110 receiving yards, leading Kansas past No. 18 Oklahoma State 37-16 on Saturday.
The Jayhawks (6-3, 3-3 Big 12 Conference) are bowl eligible for the first time since 2008 when they beat Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Kansas’ ground game led the way with 351 yards as a team with Neal setting career highs in both rushing and receiving yards against Cowboys (6-3, 3-3).
Clemson back in the ACC title game: No. 4 Clemson has clinched the ACC Atlantic Division and will return to the league’s championship game on Dec. 3.
The Tigers won the division for a sixth time in eight seasons when No. 22 Syracuse fell at Pittsburgh 19-9 earlier Saturday.
Robinson stars as Texas holds off K-State: Bijan Robinson romped for 209 yards and a touchdown, Quinn Ewers threw for 197 yards and two more scores, and Texas held off No. 13 Kansas State 34-27 on Saturday night for the Longhorns’ sixth straight win over the Wildcats. Xavier Worthy had two touchdown catches and Roschon Johnson added a TD run for Texas (6-3, 4-2 Big 12).