Cal Sports Report

Pac-12 Football Results: Bo Nix Helps No. 8 Oregon Win Big

No. 9 USC hangs on. No. 12 UCLA scores 50 in a win. Utah cruises past Arizona. Washington State rolls up 52 points in road victory.

Jake Curtis

Oregon quarterback No Nix had another Heisman-worthy performance in a lopsided win over Colorado Saturday, and the eighth-ranked Ducks got some help in their bid for a berth in the College Football Playoff with Georgia’s 27-13 victory over No. 1 Tennessee.

Here is a roundup of Pac-12 games (late Saturday games will be added upon completion):

No. 8 Oregon 49, Colorado 10

Ducks quarterback Bo Nix had one receiving touchdown, two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns as Oregon (8-1., 6-0 Pac-12) remained the only Pac-12 team unbeaten in conference play with the easy win over host Colorado.

Nix finished 20-for-24 for 274 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and Oregon running back Bucky Irving had 120 rushing yards.

Oregon won its eighth straight game, and the Ducks scored more than 40 points in each of those eight games. Oregon defensive back Christian Gonzalez, a transfer from Colorado, had two interceptions with 77 return yards.

Oregon’s only loss was a 49-3 to Georgia in the season opener, and Georgia’s lopsided win over Tennessee Saturday presumably helped Oregon’s image in the eyes of the CFP committee members

Colorado slipped to 1-8 overall and 1-5 in the conference.

Nix’s touchdown reception:

Oregon standout linebacker Noah Sewell (below) lined up in the offensive backfield and scored a touchdown to make it 21-0.

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No. 9 USC 41, Cal 35

Cal rallied from a 20-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to get within a touchdown twice, but the Trojans (8-1, 6-1 Pac-12) held on for the win.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams threw four touchdown passes without an interception, giving him 14 TD passes without a pick over the past three games. He also ran for a score.

Trojans wide receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams did not play for the second straight game, but Tahj Washington (112 yards, one touchdown) and Michael Jackson III (115 yards, two touchdowns) had more than 100 receiving yards apiece for USC.

Cal quarterback Jack Plummer threw for a season-high 406 yards and three scores with an interception as Cal scored 28 second-half points.

Cal (3-6, 1-5 Pac-12) cut the Trojans lead to 41-35 on Jaydn Ott's 4-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion with 2:31 left.  But an unsuccessful onside kick allowed USC to run out the clock after getting one first down.

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No. 12 UCLA 50, Arizona State 36

UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for 169 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and he also ran for 120 yards and two scores.

The Bruins (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) built a 42-18 lead in the third quarter, but Arizona State scored 18 straight points to get within a touchdown with six minutes left. UCLA scored with less than three minutes remaining to assure the win.

Kazmeir Allen ran for 137 yards, and Keegan Jones added 98 as UCLA rolled up 402 rushing yards despite being without Zach Charbonnet, the Pac-12's leading rusher, who sat out for undisclosed reasons.

Trenton Bourguet was the starting quarterback for Arizona State (3-6, 2-4 Pac-12), and he passed for 349 yards and two touchdowns.

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No. 14 Utah 45, Arizona 20 

Utah quarterback Cam Rising returned after missing last week's game against Washington State, but he had only mediocre statistics in chilly, rainy Salt Lake City.

He was 13-for-25 for 151 yards and one touchdown, but the Utes rolled up 306 rushing yards, including 97 yards by Ja'Quinden Jackson.

Meanwhile, Utah's defense held down Arizona's potent Nooffense, thanks in large part to the pressure rain applied to Wildcats quarterback Jayden de Laura.

Utah (6-2, 4-1) recorded three sacks and limited de Laura to .159 passing yards and no touchdowns. Arizona fell to 3-5, 1-4 Pac-12.

Nate Johnson scored two touchdown for the Utes, who played without tight end Dalton Kincaid

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Washington State 52, Stanford 14

Stanford (3-6, 1-6 Pac-12) committed four turnovers in the first half, and Washington State (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) scored 42 points and had 335 yards of offense in the first half on the Cardinal’s home field.

The Cougars didn't do much in the second half but they already had a season high in points at halftime. They started the day last in the conference in rushing, but had 306 rushing yards against the Cardinal.

Cougars running back Nakia Watson had 158 yards rushing in the first half and finished with 166 yards. WSU quarterback Cam Ward threw two touchdown passes and one touchdown run.

The Cougars are one win shy of being bowl eligible for the seventh consecutive season, excluding the 2020 pandemic season.

Below is a 9-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Ollie made it 35-7:

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Washington 24, No. 23 Oregon State 21

An 18-play, 92-yard drive that began with 4:33 left in the game ended with Peyton Henry’s game-winning 22-yard field goal with eight second remaining, giving the Huskies (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) the victory in Seattle on Friday night.

Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. entered the game as the nation’s leader in passing yards per game, and he went 30-for-52 for 298 yards, one touchdown and one interception on Friday. His one interception was returned for a touchdown by Oregon State’s Easton Mascarenas-Arnold late in the second quarter, giving the Beavers a 14-7 lead at halftime.

Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbranson was 12-for-19 for just 87 yards, but freshman running back Damien Martinez rushed for 107 yards for the Beavers (6-3, 3-3 Pac-12). 

Here is a touchdown pass to Jack Westover tied the game 14-14.

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Cover photo of Bo Nix by Ron Chenoy, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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