Quarterback Bo Nix’s big day helps No. 25 Oregon take down No. 12 BYU
Bo Nix likened himself to a point guard for Oregon.
He certainly scored like one. Nix threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more to lead No. 25 Oregon to a 41-20 victory over No. 12 Brigham Young on Saturday.
The triumph extended Oregon’s winning streak at Autzen Stadium to 21 games, the third longest in the nation.
Nix, a transfer from Auburn, completed 13 of 18 passes for 222 yards and ran for 35 yards in nine carries. Tight end Terrance Ferguson caught both of Nix’s touchdown passes and finished with 24 yards receiving.
“I felt like I didn’t do anything different, just went out there and played the game, let it come to me,” Nix said. “At the end of the day, I’m a point guard with some great positions around me, great skill players. So my job is kind of easy: Knowing what to do with the ball, knowing who to give the ball to, and then letting those guys do their thing.”
UCLA overcame a heroic effort by South Alabama, relying on a Nicholas Barr-Mira 24-yard field goal as time expired to claim a 32-31 win Saturday.
Jaren Hall threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns for BYU (2-1), which was coming off a big win at home over then-No. 9 Baylor that moved the Cougars up nine spots in the Associated Press top 25. They struggled on the ground against the Ducks, mustering just 61 yards rushing.
“We just didn’t play as good as we should have starting off,” Hall said. “Had a good first play, had some momentum, just didn’t finish the drive, and just kind of let things get out of hand offensively the next couple of drives.”
The Ducks (2-1) rebounded from a season-opening loss to Georgia with a 70-14 win at home over Eastern Washington last weekend.
Nix ran two yards for a touchdown to give the Ducks an early lead. Camden Lewis added a 28-yard field goal, and Oregon led 10-0 after the opening quarter.
Tight end Isaac Rex hauled in a pass from Hall for a 28-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Oregon answered on the next drive when Nix found wide receiver Troy Franklin with a 50-yard pass to get close, then ran in on another two-yard keeper to make it 17-7.
Nix fired a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ferguson to give Oregon a 24-7 lead heading into halftime. Nix added a six-yard keeper early in the second half and found Ferguson for a nine-yard scoring pass to make it 38-7.
Ty Thompson replaced Nix late in the third quarter.
Heading into Saturday’s game against Fresno State, USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch believes the Trojans can continue their fast start to the season.
BYU closed to within 38-14 on Hall’s 18-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Kody Epps, a former Santa Ana Mater Dei High standout. It was Epps’ first touchdown as a Cougar.
BYU intercepted Thompson on the Oregon 30-yard line and was helped by a pass-interference call, leading to Hall’s two-yard scoring pass to running back Chris Brooks. A two-point conversion attempt failed.
Nix returned on Oregon’s next series, and the drive was capped by Lewis’ 25-yard field goal to cap the scoring.
“One of my past coaches told me that pressure is a privilege, and so I’ve really taken that to heart and there’s nothing more true in my opinion,” Nix said. “When you have a lot of pressure, it means that people believe in you, people believe you can do it, or you wouldn’t have pressure at all.”
The takeaway
BYU: The Cougars were short-handed because of key injuries. Starting wide receivers Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney remained out. Nacua’s status was a game-time decision because of a sore right ankle. The Cougars were also without starting defensive linemen Tyler Batty and Earl Tuioti-Mariner. Jake Oldroyd missed a 38-yard field-goal try in the opening half, his third consecutive miss. BYU was 5-0 against Pac-12 Conference teams last season.
Oregon: BYU honored Oregon tight end Spencer Webb, who died in an offseason accident, by running out of the tunnel with an Oregon flag with Webb’s No. 18. Oregon now leads the series with BYU 4-3. The last meeting between the teams was in 2006 at the Las Vegas Bowl, a 38-8 victory for the Cougars.
The last time
Saturday’s game was the first at Autzen Stadium between the teams since a memorable meeting in 1990. The unranked Ducks upset No. 4 BYU 32-16 in a meeting that featured two big-name quarterbacks: Oregon’s Bill Musgrave threw for three touchdowns and ran for one. BYU’s Ty Detmer was sacked five times. It was one of just three losses for the Cougars that season.
Up next
BYU: The Cougars host Wyoming next Saturday.
Oregon: The Ducks visit Washington State next Saturday.
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