Nix, Ducks get creative vs. Buffaloes
Bo Nix and the Oregon offense found creative ways to score, including an offensive lineman catching a touchdown pass and a linebacker scoring from short, as the Ducks, ranked No. 8 in the College Football playoff rankings, routed Colorado 49-10 on Saturday.
With the wind howling — 39 mph gusts — the Ducks (8-1, 6-0 Pac-12) 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 and linebacker Noah Sewell scoring on a 1-yard plunge. Even Nix got into the trick-play 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.
Nix turned in another strong performance, completing 20 of 24 passes for 274 yards and two scores. He also had two rushing touchdowns.
With his TD reception, Nix joined the company of Marcus Mariota (2012 and ’14) and Joey Harrington (’00) as Oregon quarterbacks who’ve been on the receiving end of scores since ’96.
Irving finished with 120 yards rushing and, courtesy of his pass, posted an astounding pass efficiency rating of 581.2.
Oregon defensive back Christian Gonzalez tormented his former team with a pair of interceptions. Gonzalez earned Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention accolades last season for the Buffaloes before transferring.
About the only thing that didn’t go well for Oregon was Nix’s backward, hookshot-looking pass on fourth down near the end zone. Even that worked out, though, as two plays later Gonzalez intercepted a J.T. Shrout pass. It set up a short Nix run to make it 35-10.
Hoosiers lose 6th straight: Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton gave No. 16 Penn State a knockout ground game Saturday.
The combination was too much for Indiana.
Allen ran for 86 yards and a seasonhigh three scores, Singleton added 73 yards rushing and another touchdown and the two freshmen helped the Nittany Lions rout the Hoosiers 45-14.
With Allen and Singleton providing the scoring punches, a suffocating defense delivered more big blows — logging six sacks, all in the first half, limiting the Hoosiers to 65 yards on the ground and never giving Indiana (3-6, 1-5) much hope.
The Hoosiers have lost six straight and must win their final three games to become bowl eligible. Their journey begins with a trip to Columbus, Ohio, next week, possibly without their top two quarterbacks.
Johnson, Iowa power past Purdue: Kaleb Johnson had a day to remember.
The freshman ran for a career-high 200 yards on 22 carries, including a touchdown, and Spencer Petras passed for two touchdowns to power Iowa past Purdue 24-3 on Saturday.
It was the Hawkeyes’ first 200-yard rusher since Akum Wadley had 204 in 2015.
“It was a total team win in all phases,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It was like old-time football. I thought our guys did a great job with the conditions. I think all three drives were into the wind and we didn’t let it bother us. It was a total team effort.”
Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell struggled to find his rhythm on a windy day, completing just 20 of 43 passes for 168 yards and two interceptions.
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 the Cowboys (6-3, 3-3).
Jason Bean was efficient in the air, too. He went 18-for-23 passng for 203 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for a 72-yard touchdown.
Neal and Bean combined for 237 yards on the ground in the first half with two touchdowns. Bean gained 93 yards on four carries while Neal had six catches.