Upset specials: Nix leads Oregon over UCLA; LSU upends Ole Miss
Bo Nix threw for 278 yards and five touchdowns and No. 10 Oregon handed No. 9 UCLA its first loss of the season with a 45-30 victory on Saturday.
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 seasonopening loss to Georgia and are the lone remaining undefeated team in Pac-12 conference play.
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.
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 51yard 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 17yard 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.
• LSU 45, No. 7 Mississippi 20: Jayden Daniels ran for three touchdowns and passed for two scores, and the host Tigers roared back from an early two-touchdown deficit to hand the Rebels their first loss this season. The performance gave the dynamic Daniels’ the LSU record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback in a season with nine. Daniels also has accounted for 11 TDs rushing or passing combined in the span of two games. He had three of each in a 45-35 victory at Florida last weekend. Daniels finished with 258 yards passing and 121 yards rushing without a turnover against Ole Miss.
• No. 2 Ohio St. 54, Iowa 10: C.J. Stroud overcame a slow start to throw four second-half touchdown passes as the host Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) trounced the Hawkeyes. Ohio State’s defense took advantage of six Iowa turnovers as the Buckeyes pulled away.
• No. 3 Tennessee 65, UT-Martin 24: Tight end Princeton Fant ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the host Volunteers (7-0) over the FCS Skyhawks (4-3). Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, a Heisman Trophy candidate, completed 18 of 24 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns. Jalin Hyatt caught seven passes for 174 yards and two scores. No. 5 Clemson 27,
• No. 14 Syracuse 21: Will Shipley scored twice and freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik rallied the host Tigers (8-0, 6-0 ACC) to a pair of fourthquarter touchdowns in a victory over the Orange (6-1, 3-1). Klubnik came in for mistake-prone starter DJ Uiagalelei with Clemson trailing 21-10. The Tigers defense held Syracuse without points in the final two quarters and quarterback Garrett Shrader was picked off by safety R.J. Mickens to seal Clemson’s win. The Tigers won their 14th straight overall and 38th in row at home to break the ACC mark they shared with Florida State.
• No. 13 Wake Forest 43, Boston College 15: Sam Hartman threw five touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown as the host Demon Deacons (6-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) picked apart the Eagles (2-5, 1-4) for their third consecutive victory.
• No. 21 Cincinnati 29, SMU 27: Ryan Coe kicked a school-record five field goals, including a seasonlong 52-yarder, and the Bearcats (6-1, 3-0 American) held on to beat the host Mustangs (3-4, 1-2). The Bearcats broke up a potential game-tying two-point play in the closing minutes to clinch their sixth consecutive victory. Charles McClelland and Ryan Montgomery scored on runs of 76 yards and 1 yard for the Bearcats, who have won 19 consecutive games against American Athletic Conference opponents.
• No. 25 Tulane 38, Memphis 28: Michael Pratt threw for a touchdown and ran for another, Tyjae Spears ran for 125 yards and another score and the host Green Wave celebrated their first Top 25 ranking since 1998 with a dominant first half and hung on to beat the Tigers.