Oregon overcomes shaky start to defeat UC Davis

Dakota Prukop made his debut for No. 24 Oregon, throwing for 271 yards and three touchdowns, and the Ducks overcame a rocky start to defeat UC Davis, 53-28, on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.

Royce Freeman rushed for 87 yards and two scores for the Ducks, who have won five consecutive season openers. Darren Carrington caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Prukop, a graduate transfer from Montana State, completed 21 of 30 passes for the Ducks, while also scoring on a 1-yard keeper. He follows in the footsteps of Vernon Adams, a graduate transfer out of Eastern Washington who started for the Ducks last season but was dogged by injuries.

Ben Scott completed 27 of 47 passes for 303 yards and ran for a nine-yard touchdown for UC Davis. Manusamoa Luuga rushed for 96 yards and three scores.

The Ducks got off to a slow start, allowing Scott’s rushing touchdown on the first series of the game and then punting on their first two possessions. But they pulled it together by the end of the first quarter with Freeman’s six-yard scoring run.

The turning point for the Ducks came with about 10 minutes left in the first half, when Jalen Jelks intercepted Scott and four plays later the Ducks scored on Prukop’s 10-yard pass to Johnny Mundt. A second successful two-point conversion put the Ducks ahead, 19-7.

The Ducks pretty much cruised the rest of the way against the lower-division Aggies.

Saturday marked the end of Oregon’s 110-game sellout streak. The announced attendance was 53,817, while capacity is listed at 54,000.

No. 14 Washington 48, Rutgers 13

Jake Browning threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, John Ross caught two touchdowns and returned a kickoff for another score in his first game since the end of the 2014 season to lead the Huskies to the win in Seattle.

Entering a season of lofty expectations, the Huskies (1-0) raced to a 24-0 first-quarter lead and were never threatened by the rebuilding Scarlet Knights, in their first game under new coach Chris Ash.

Browning threw for 277 yards and all three scores in the first half as the Huskies built a 34-3 lead. Browning should have thrown four TDs in the half, but Darrell Daniels dropped a pass in the end zone late in the second quarter.

Browning’s off-season goal was to be better on deep throws. He was certainly good to start the season, hitting Chico McClatcher on a 43-yard touchdown on his second pass of the season, followed by TD throws of 38 and 50 yards to Ross as the Huskies burned Rutgers’ decision to play man coverage on the outside.

The Huskies were also dynamic on special teams. Ross took a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and Dante Pettis returned a punt 68 yards for a score in the third quarter. It was the third time in school history Washington had kickoff and punt return touchdowns in the same game, and first since 2001.

Eastern Washington 45, at Washington State 42

Gage Gubrud threw for 474 yards and five touchdowns as the lower-division Eagles stunned their intrastate rivals.

Washington State, which lost to Portland State of the Football Championship Subdivision in its opening game last year, could not stop the Eastern Washington offense, which produced 610 yards. The Eagles, who came in as three-touchdown underdogs, also upset Oregon State three years ago.

Gubrud, making his first start, completed 34 of 40 passes and was intercepted once. He also ran for a touchdown to ice the game.

Cooper Kupp, last year’s FCS offensive player of the year, caught 12 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Brigham Young 18, Arizona 16

Jake Oldroyd kicked a 33-yard field goal with 4 seconds left and Jamaal Williams ran for 162 yards, helping BYU rally to beat Arizona 18-16 on Saturday night.

Arizona’s Nick Wilson scored on a 49-yard run with 1:26 left and the Wildcats failed on the 2-point conversion, giving the Cougars a final chance at University of Phoenix Stadium.

BYU started its final drive on its own 31 and quickly moved down the field to set up Oldroyd’s kick. The freshman split the uprights, raised his arms and rain toward BYU’s sideline after hitting a winning kick in his first career game.

Taysom Hill was sharp after missing most of last season with a foot injury, hitting 21 of 29 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown.

BYU’s defense pressured Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon all night and had two interceptions, including one by Kai Nacua in the fourth quarter.

Solomon, named the starter just before the game, threw for 213 yards on 20-of-30 passing.

at Arizona State 44, Northern Arizona 13

Manny Wilkins passed for 180 yards, ran for 89 and a touchdown and even hurdled a would-be tackler in his college debut and Arizona State pulled away for a 44-13 victory over FCS foe Northern Arizona on Saturday night.

The offense was sluggish and the Sun Devils led just 10-6 before scoring on its final seven possessions. They scored 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Freshman N’Keal Harry took a lateral from Wilkins and raced 34 yards for a touchdown and Kalen Ballage ran 30 yards for a score in the outburst.

Northern Arizona’s Case Cookus completed 23 of 33 passes for 369 yards, including an 87-yard touchdown to Elijah Marks. Marks had eight catches for 174 yards.

Wilkins, a redshirt sophomore who was named the starter by coach Todd Graham on Friday, completed 20 of 27 passes with one interception.

Zane Gonzalez kicked three field goals, including a career-long 53-yarder, for the Sun Devils, who haven’t lost to the Lumberjacks since 1938.