by Steve Mims
EUGENE, OREGON — Here is a recap of Oregon Athletics that happened over the past weekend.
OREGON FOOTBALL
Oregon heads into its bye week with a five-game winning streak.
The 12th-ranked Ducks went on the road to defeat Arizona 49-22 Saturday night. Oregon is 5-1 overall and one of three teams with an unbeaten Pac-12 record at 3-0.
Up next for the Ducks is a home date on Oct. 22 against No. 11 UCLA, which is 6-0 and matches the Ducks at 3-0 in Pac-12 play.
UO quarterback Bo Nix completed 20-of-25 passes for 265 yards against the Wildcats and the dual-threat option also ran for 70 yards and three scores. Noah Whittington ran six times for 92 yards and a touchdown as Oregon ran for 306 yards against the Wildcats.
Kris Hutson and Chase Cota both led UO with 60 receiving yards as the Ducks racked up 580 total yards of offense.
Whittington scored on a 55-yard run in the first quarter to give Oregon a lead it never relinquished before Nix added a 2-yard scoring run. Tight end Moliki Matavao added a three-yard run to put Oregon ahead 21-3 midway through the second quarter. Freshman running back Jordan James pushed the lead to 28-10 later in the second quarter.
Nix added scoring runs of 2 and 25 yards in the second half, sandwiched around a 23-yard scoring run by Bucky Irving as Oregon took a 49-13 lead before Arizona scored the final nine points.
Defensive backs Trikweze Bridges and Jamal Hill each had five tackles to lead the Ducks, who limited Arizona to 356 yards of offense.
Both Oregon and UCLA have the week off to prepare for their showdown at Autzen Stadium. Former UO coach Chip Kelly will lead the undefeated Bruins into town for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff that could go a long way toward determining the conference champion.
VOLLEYBALL
Oregon had its six-game winning streak snapped when it was swept on a trip to Washington with both losses going five games.
Washington State defeated 12th-ranked Oregon 22-25, 28-26, 13-25, 25-18, 15-9 on Friday night before No. 16 Washington beat the Ducks 25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 21-25, 15-12 on Sunday in Seattle.
Freshman Mimi Colyer led the Ducks with 45 kills in the two losses while senior Brooke Nuneviller had 40 kills and 39 digs. Elise Ferreira had 104 assists during the weekend.
Oregon, which is 10-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play, stays on the road to visit USC and UCLA this weekend.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Oregon went on the road to split a trip at Utah and Colorado.
The Ducks defeated Utah 1-0 on Thursday when they scored on an own goal by Utah in the 54th minute. That was all Oregon would need because Leah Freeman made seven saves, including a penalty kick, to set the school record with her 18th career shutout.
Three days later, Colorado’s Civana Kuhlmann scored the lone goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 74th minute. Freeman had six saves for the Ducks, who fell to 4-5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play as they prepare to visit Washington State on Friday.
Steve Mims has spent 25 years as a sportswriter, including 21 years at The Register-Guard. He covered University of Oregon athletics from 2013-2020. He works in Eugene as a registered representative and insurance agent at PBC Insurance. He can be reached at smims@pbcins.com.