by Steve Mims
EUGENE, OREGON
There was no drama at Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
Oregon, which was ranked No. 15 in the preseason AP poll, showed that might have been too low by destroying Portland State 81-7 in the season opener. With 11 touchdowns, a two-point conversion and a field goal, the Ducks set the school record for points in a game.
“Certainly some things that we can clean up and things that we can improve on,” UO coach Dan Lanning said. “But overall, was glad to see Autzen bouncing today — had great energy from the crowd.”
Bo Nix began his Heisman Trophy campaign by completing 23-of-27 pages for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Troy Franklin and Gary Bryant Jr. each led the way with seven catches and two touchdowns for 106 and 100 yards, respectively.
Bucky Irving led the way on the ground with 110 yards and two scores on just four carries. Jordan James added 86 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
After Portland State, an FCS program, scored its lone touchdown in the first quarter, Oregon rolled off the final 73 points of the afternoon.
Nix found Franklin for two touchdowns in the first quarter while Irving ran for a 52-yard score. James scored all three of his touchdowns in the second quarter while Irving added a 56-yard scoring run to put the Ducks up 50-7 at halftime.
Oregon moved up to No. 13 in the AP poll as it prepares to visit Texas Tech in what should be one of the top games in the country on Saturday. The Red Raiders are considered one of the favorites in the Big 12 Conference, but opened the season with an overtime loss at Wyoming.
VOLLEYBALL
Oregon is off to a 6-0 start and ranked No. 6 in the nation as it prepares to face 10th-ranked Minnesota and
No. 15 Ohio State at Stanford this weekend.
After opening the season with three straight wins in Honolulu to capture the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic, the Ducks won all three matches to capture the San Diego State Invitational. Oregon has won 18 of 19 games played in its six matches so far this season.
Mimi Colyer leads Oregon with 92 kills while Gabby Gonzales and Morgan Lewis have 51 and 45, respectively. Hannah Pukis has a team-high 208 assists.
CROSS COUNTRY
Katie Clute and Elliott Cook won their races to lead the Ducks during the season opening Linfield Harrier Classic in McMinnville.
Cook finished in 18:17.3 followed by Kutover Stevens in fourth place at 18:25.3. Luke Affolder also finished in the Top 10 at 18:33.3 to help the Oregon men place second in the team race.
Clute and Anika Thompson finished 1-2 in the women’s race and Melissa Berry was fourth as the Ducks placed second.
W0MEN’S SOCCER
Oregon is winless through five matches after falling 1-0 against Grand Canyon on Sunday. Oregon has been shut out in four matches with its only two goals coming in a 3-2 loss at Northern Arizona.
The Ducks are 0-4-1 as they prepare to return home and face California Baptist on Thursday.
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.