San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Brown’s game-winning touchdown saves Oregon in opener
EUGENE, Ore. — Anthony Brown scored on a 30-yard quarterback keeper with 2:57 left and the No. 11 Oregon Ducks overcame a wobbly season opener with a 31-24 victory over Fresno State 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.
A fumble recovery gave Oregon the ball at the Fresno State 32, but the Ducks settled for Camden Lewis’ 25-yard field goal to tie it before Brown’s go-ahead touchdown.
Brown threw for 172 yards and a touchdown while running for 62 yards and the game-winner. It was Oregon’s 17th straight homeopening 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.
The game was also marred by smoky conditions from wildfires in the region.
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener threw for 285 yards and a touchdown. The Bulldogs (1-1) already started the season with a 45-0 victory over Connecticut.
After Thibodeaux sacked Haener and caused him to fumble for a turnover, CJ Verdell ran for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Ducks the early lead.
Another Fresno State fumble led to 4-yard scoring run from Travis Dye to make it 14-0. The duo of Verdell and Dye went into the game with a combined 4,363 rushing yards, most of any retuning pair at the FBS level.
Thibodeaux, widely considered a possible Heisman Trophy contender this season, appeared to injure his left ankle but had it taped on the sidelines and returned before the end of the first half. He came out of the break in street clothes and wearing a boot.
Oregon went 4-3 overall last season amid the pandemic. The Ducks defeated USC 31-28 in the Pac-12 championship .
NO. 18 IOWA 34, NO. 17 INDIANA
Riley Moss returned two firsthalf interceptions for touchdowns and No. 18 Iowa defeated host No. 17 Indiana.
Iowa intercepted quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. three times and had a fourth wiped out by a roughing-the-passer call.
Tyler Goodson rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes. Quarterback Spencer Petras had a 9-yard touchdown run, but hit 13 of 27 passes for 145 yards.
Penix, coming off a knee injury late last season, had four interceptions in six games last season. He threw for 156 yards.
It was the seventh consecutive win for the Hawkeyes dating to last season. It was only the third loss for Indiana in its last 18 season openers.
NO. 19 PENN STATE 16 NO. 12 WISCONSIN 10
Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown had interceptions deep in Penn State territory in the final 2½ minutes to help the Nittany Lions beat Wisconsin on the road.
Wisconsin had its string of 25 consecutive victories in home openers snapped because of its red-zone failures. The Badgers dominated time of possession but had four scoreless trips inside Penn State’s 25, including three inside the 10.
The Badgers had first-and-goal at the 1 late on a drive that included a targeting penalty on Ellis Brooks that knocked Penn State’s top tackler out of the game. On fourth down, Graham Mertz attempted a pass across the middle to tight end Jake Ferguson, but Brisker picked it off and delivered a 41-yard return with 2:16 remaining.
Wisconsin got the ball back on its own 18 with 1:11 left and got to the Penn State 25 with 26 seconds remaining. After an intentional grounding call pushed Wisconsin back to the 32, Brown intercepted Mertz’ pass on the final play.