Oregon vs. UCLA score, takeaways: Bo Nix stars as No. 10 Ducks rout No. 9 Bruins to take Pac-12 lead

No. 10 Oregon made an enormous assertion with a 45-30 rout of No. 9 and previously-unbeaten UCLA on Saturday. Geese quarterback Bo Nix went 22-of-28 passing for 283 yards and 5 touchdowns on the afternoon as he helped solidify his crew because the Pac-12 frontrunner because the second half of the season commences. 

The 2 groups traded discipline objectives within the first quarter of a sport that originally appeared can be gained and misplaced within the trenches. Nix tossed 4 landing passes within the second quarter — together with two to Troy Franklin — to bust the sport open and provides coach Dan Lanning’s crew a 31-13 lead on the break. Franklin ended the day main all receivers with eight catches for 132 yards and people two landing receptions.

Maybe extra spectacular, although, was a Geese protection that held the high-octane Bruins offense in verify for primarily all the 60 minutes. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was 27 of 39 for 259 yards, two touchdowns and one interception however could not stretch the sector deep on a constant foundation, which made issues robust for the offense all through the sport.

Under are the first takeaways from Oregon’s huge win over UCLA. 

Geese are again in Faculty Soccer Playoff hunt

Lanning’s crew has ripped off six straight wins after their season-opening loss to No. 1 Georgia within the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Sport. Since then, the Geese have scored 41 or extra factors in every sport and have not averaged lower than 6.79 yards per play throughout that profitable streak. Translation: Oregon is a official menace to make the Faculty Soccer Playoff.

In fact, rather a lot can occur between now and championship weekend. However the offense seems to be unstoppable and the one daunting hurdle between Saturday’s win and the tip of the common season is a house sport towards No. 15 Utah on Nov. 19. As we noticed towards the Bruins, that Autzen Stadium benefit — a spot the place Oregon has gained 23 straight video games — is big in huge video games. 

One drawback that might stand in the way in which, nevertheless, is the truth that the Geese do have a lopsided head-to-head loss to Georgia on their resume. If it will get all the way down to a state of affairs the place a one-loss Georgia and one-loss Oregon are the 2 groups vying for the fourth and remaining CFP spot, there is not any method Oregon can win that argument.

Bo Nix has discovered a house

Bear in mind when Nix was considered as an inconsistent quarterback who did not stay as much as the recruiting hype that adopted him to Auburn in 2019? That was lower than a 12 months in the past, and he has modified the narrative in a rush. His 17 landing passes by means of seven video games are 5 greater than he had in any of his three seasons on the Plains. Whenever you think about his eight touchdowns on the bottom, there is not any doubt that he is lastly following by means of on what so many individuals noticed in him as a high-schooler.

Does that make him a Heisman Trophy candidate? Not but. Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and Ohio State’s CJ Stroud are the 2 front-runners, and neither did something to harm their possibilities on Saturday. With that mentioned, he is one of the crucial useful gamers on any roster within the nation. If he can translate that to the last word crew success, he might need an opportunity of leaping into that race relying on how the panorama evolves over the subsequent month-plus.