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On Friday, the Oregon Ducks defeated the Purdue Boilermakers, 35-0, earning the school’s first clean-sheet road victory since 1992.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel once again shone, completing 21 of 25 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Jordan James contributed two touchdowns and more points. With the win, Oregon improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten division.
With conference realignment disrupting college sports, Oregon, along with USC, UCLA, and Washington, officially left the Pac-12 and moved to the Big Ten earlier this year. The Ducks were still riding the coattails of a thrilling 32-31 win over new conference rival Ohio State last Saturday. It was their first win over a top-two-ranked opponent, but there were no signs of a hangover when they took to the field at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“This has always been a tough place for people to play, especially after a good performance like last week,” UO coach Dan Lanning said, according to the team’s website, “but I was proud of our guys for being able to go out and get a win.”
Though the Boilermakers are known for beating better opponents, they got off to a tough start this season (1-6), unable to overcome Oregon’s stout defense despite recording 301 yards of total offense.
Meanwhile, Purdue’s defense quickly faltered after the Ducks scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. James scored two touchdowns by the end of the first quarter, and wide receiver Tez Johnson, with seven catches for 66 yards, added a third early in the second.
Noah Whittington scored another touchdown in the third quarter, Jay Harris ran 12 yards for a TD in the fourth quarter, and cornerback Cam Alexander intercepted a pass from Purdue quarterback Ryan Braun with under 30 seconds left in the game. The Boilermakers’ final chance for a touchdown was thwarted.
Oregon — looking to win the first national championship in program history — could have a shot at the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll depending on whether the Georgia Bulldogs (No. 5) beat the Texas Longhorns (No. 1) away on Saturday evening.
In other games, the 13th-ranked BYU Cougars scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the game to record a dramatic 38-35 victory at home against the unranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, keeping them unbeaten at 7-0.
