Dillon Gabriel completed 31 of 41 passes for 280 yards with three touchdown passes, and No. 8 Oregon cruised to its first Big Ten victory in school history, a 34-13 win over UCLA on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Tez Johnson caught two of Gabriel’s touchdowns, one for 52 yards in the second quarter and another for 12 yards early in the fourth quarter that sealed the Ducks’ fifth consecutive win over UCLA and 11th in the past 12 meetings with their former Pac-12 rivals.
Oregon (4-0,1-0 Big Ten) improved to 16-3 against UCLA since 2000.
Jordan James had 103 yards on 20 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run after linebacker Bryce Boettcher intercepted Garbers’ pass early in the second quarter.
Gabriel moved into second place in NCAA career total yards with 17,168.
UCLA (1-3, 0-2) lost its third straight game. The Ducks racked up 433 yards of total offense and held the Bruins to 172. UCLA was just 1-of-10 on third downs and ran 30 fewer plays than the Ducks.
The Bruins’ offense managed just two field goals by Mateen Bhaghani, though the Bruins made it 28-10 at halftime when former Duck Bryan Addison picked off Gabriel’s pass and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown just before the first half ended.
The Bruins held the Ducks without a point in the third quarter, and UCLA’s best chance to make it a tighter game came at the end of the quarter, when the Bruins went for it on fourth-and-3 from the Oregon 45-yard line, trailing 28-13.
Garbers, his right ankle taped and his mobility limited at that point, was pressured and had his pass intercepted by Tysheem Johnson. The Ducks turned that turnover into a touchdown. Gabriel threw 12 yards to Tez Johnson for a touchdown with 9:37 to play in the game.
Oregon took a 34-13 lead, Garbers left the game two plays into the Bruins’ next offensive series and UCLA, with Justyn Martin at quarterback, was too far behind to catch up.
–Field Level Media