College football: No. 9 Oregon holds off tenacious Cal

Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown gets past California cornerback Josh Drayden (20) on a touchdown scamper Oct. 15, 2021.

Associated Press

Oct. 16, 2021 12:27 AM PT

Anthony Brown scored on an 11-yard keeper with 4:50 left, and ninth-ranked Oregon held off surprisingly tenacious California 24-17 on Friday night in Eugene, Ore.

The Golden Bears took a 17-10 lead early in the final quarter, but Brown answered with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Redd to tie it. The Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12 Conference) pulled in front on Brown’s scamper into the end zone.

Cal threatened on the ensuing possession. The Golden Bears got to the Oregon three-yard line after Chase Garbers’ fourth-down pass to Kekoa Crawford preserved the drive, but his fourth-and-two attempt with just two seconds left fell incomplete.

Oregon was coming off a bye after an overtime loss at Stanford. The rebound win was the Ducks’ 16th straight victory at Autzen Stadium.

Travis Dye ran for 145 yards and a score as Oregon leaned on him in the absence of CJ Verdell, who was injured against Stanford and is out for the season. Brown threw for 244 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 44 yards and another score. But he faced boos from the Autzen crowd earlier in the game as Oregon’s offense sputtered.

“He’s a great leader. He’s willing to step up in those big moments. ... He shows that time and time again,” said offensive lineman Ryan Walk. “We saw that tonight. When the going was getting tough there, he stepped up, grabbed the offense, he said, ‘We’re going to get this thing right. Let’s get it going.’ ”

California (1-5, 0-3) has not defeated a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent this season — the team’s only win came against Sacramento State.

Garbers, who went into the game leading the conference in total offense (281.2 yards per game) and ranked third in passing yards (249 per game), threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

Cal, also coming off a bye, defeated Oregon last season in Berkeley 21-17, with Garbers accounting for a pair of touchdowns, one via pass and the other on a keeper.

“It’s very frustrating, extremely frustrating, so there’s no other adjectives to use, it’s very frustrating,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said.

Verdell, who led Oregon with 406 yards rushing and six touchdowns, injured his left leg during the Ducks’ 31-24 overtime loss to Stanford. Bennett Williams, who had three interceptions this season, broke his leg in practice before the game against the Cardinal and is also out for the season.

No. 24 San Diego State 19, at San Jose State 13 (2 OT)

Lucas Johnson threw touchdown passes to Jesse Matthews in both overtime periods as the Aztecs (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) finally got going offensively after a rough regulation and beat the Spartans (3-4, 1-2).

Neither team scored a touchdown in regulation before Johnson delivered a 14-yard pass on the opening possession of overtime for San Diego State.

Tyler Nevens answered with a one-yard run for San Jose State, but Trenton Thompson intercepted Nick Nash to start the second overtime.

That set the stage for Johnson and Matthews to end it with a 24-yard pass on third down to help the Aztecs improve to 6-0 for the second time in 46 years.

Clemson 17, at Syracuse 14

DJ Uiagalelei passed for 181 yards and one touchdown, Kobe Pace rushed for 76 yards and another score, and the Tigers (4-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) held off the Orange (4-3, 0-3).

Clemson, coming off a bye week, played its first game as a team not ranked by the Associated Press since Nov. 22, 2014, a 28-0 win against Georgia State, and held on for the victory after Syracuse kicker Andre Szymt missed a 48-yard field-goal try with 38 seconds left.

The Orange entered the game coming off two ACC losses decided on the final play of each game, and that seemed a possibility again on a night Syracuse tailback Sean Tucker continued his strong season with 157 yards rushing in 22 carries.