Arizona upsets No. 2 Oregon, 31-24

Terris Jones-Grigsby scored the tiebreaking touchdown with 2:54 left, plowing into the end zone from a yard out, and Arizona stunned Oregon once again with a 31-24 victory Thursday night over the second-ranked Ducks in Eugene, Ore.

True freshman Nick Wilson ran for a pair of touchdowns and caught another for the Wildcats (5-0), who have won their first five games for the first time since 1998. It was the second consecutive season that an unranked Arizona team upset the Ducks (4-1).

With his team trailing 24-14 going into the final quarter, Oregon’s Matt Wogan made a 21-yard field goal. Marcus Mariota then hit Keanon Lowe with a 9-yard scoring pass to tie it with 8:21 left.

With Arizona driving downfield, the Ducks sacked quarterback Anu Solomon on third-and-8, but Tony Washington was called for unsportsmanlike conduct to give the Wildcats a first down.

A pass interference call got Arizona closer for Jones-Grigsby’s go-ahead touchdown.

Michigan’s Hoke seems safe for now

Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon said Thursday he prefers to wait until the end of the season before evaluating his coaches, suggesting Brady Hoke is safe for now at the helm of the school’s storied football program.

Brandon and Hoke have both received criticism for the handling of injured quarterback Shane Morris in last weekend’s loss to Minnesota — and that’s not the only issue facing the athletic director following a rough September. Michigan is 2-3 and showing little progress in Hoke’s fourth season as coach. Attendance at Michigan Stadium has dipped and there was even a student protest this week calling for Brandon to be fired.

Hoke has been criticized for not immediately sitting Morris for the rest of the game after the sophomore took a hard hit in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 30-14 loss to Minnesota. On Thursday, Brandon reiterated that communication was a problem — both during the game when Morris was hit, and over the next couple days.

“When Brady went out at whatever time it was on Monday, we were still gathering facts and trying to create a clear depiction of the sequence of events that took place on that bench on Saturday,” Brandon said.

Etc.

Georgia freshman cornerback Rico Johnson will have to give up football because of a neurological condition. The school announced Thursday that Johnson had problems in practice this week and underwent a medical evaluation. Doctors found that Johnson risked a permanent spinal cord injury if he continued to play contact sports. Georgia Coach Mark Richt says Johnson will remain on scholarship through his graduation.

Kentucky freshmen Stanley “Boom” Williams, Dorian Baker, Drew Barker and Tymere Dubose have been charged with disorderly conduct for their involvement with air pistol shots being fired near a residence hall on the South campus Sunday night. The class B misdemeanor could result in up to 90 days in jail. The charges come three days after Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops suspended the players for Saturday night’s Southeastern Conference game against South Carolina for violating team rules.

A prosecutor has dropped charges against a former North Carolina tutor who worked with Tar Heels football players alleging she violated the state’s sports agent laws. Orange County Dist. Atty. Jim Woodall said Thursday he dropped the four counts against Jennifer Thompson because she is cooperating with the investigation. A grand jury indicted her a year ago on a charge of providing benefits to former football player Greg Little in 2010 to help Georgia-based agent Terry Watson sign Little. Thompson and Watson were among five people indicted in September 2013 in the case. The grand jury said Thompson had provided Little with airline tickets for himself and a friend. It also said she provided him $150 and received a package from Watson containing $2,000 in cash for Little and “facilitated the delivery of that money,” according to the indictment.