Bo Nix, a game-time decision to play despite a sore right foot, passed for 287 yards to lead No. 12 Oregon to a 20-17 victory over No. 10 Utah on Saturday at Eugene, Ore.
Nix, who sustained the injury in last week’s loss to Washington, completed 25 of 37 pass attempts with a touchdown and interception.
Oregon (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) and No. 7 USC (10-1, 8-1) are the only teams with one conference loss.
Utah (8-3, 6-2) had the opportunity to cut into Oregon’s 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Utes turned the ball over on downs at the Ducks’ 26-yard line with 6:54 remaining. Cameron Rising’s pass on fourth-and-2 fell incomplete.
Nix completed a 50-yard pass in the next possession but threw an interception, which was returned to the Utah 26.
The Utes made one first down, but Rising then threw his third interception of the game. He completed 21 of 38 passes for 170 yards.
Utah’s last possession ended with another turnover on downs when Solomon Enis dropped Rising’s pass on a fourth-and-6 at midfield with 1:57 left.
Nix set the tone by completing eight of his first nine passes for 70 yards. His 4-yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin gave the Ducks a 14-3 lead with 10:28 left in the second quarter.
The Ducks’ defense limited Utah to 134 yards in total offense in the first half, but it lost safety Jamal Hill to a targeting call for the second time this season.
Utah’s offense responded in the third quarter with 110 yards of total offense while Oregon was held to 32 after amassing 245 in the first half.
The momentum shifted in the second half to Utah right away when Karene Reid recovered a fumble by Dont’e Thornton on Oregon’s first offensive play and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 17-10.
After consecutive three-and-out possessions by Oregon, Utah produced a touchdown-scoring drive of 86 yards on 13 plays that took seven minutes off the clock.
The possession culminated with Jaylen Dixon’s 18-yard touchdown run, which tied the game at 17 with 2:39 left in the third quarter.
Oregon put together a 15-play possession but couldn’t find the end zone after reaching the Utah 24. The Ducks settled for Camden Lewis’ 41-yard field goal to take the lead 20-17 with 11:17 remaining.
–Field Level Media
