No. 2 Oregon completes first road shutout in more than 30 years with dominant win over Purdue
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — No. 2 Oregon Ducks coasted to a dominant 35-0 win over the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday, delivering the school’s first road shutout victory since 1992.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel starred again, finishing 21-of-25 for 290 yards and two touchdowns while running back Jordan James added two scores. With the win, Oregon improves to 7-0 overall on the season, and 4-0 in the Big Ten.
Alongside USC, UCLA and Washington, Oregon officially left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten earlier this year as a conference realignment shook up college athletics.
The Ducks were still flying high after their thrilling 32-31 victory over new conference rival Ohio State last Saturday, their first-ever win over a top-two ranked opponent, but there was no sign of any lingering hangover as they took to the field at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“This place has a history of being a place people struggle to come play at, especially coming off highs like last week,” UO coach Dan Lanning said, per the team’s website. “But I was proud that our guys were able to go out there and get a victory.”
The Boilermakers are known for their ability to upset higher-ranked opponents, but they have endured a difficult 1-6 start to the season and were unable to unlock Oregon’s solid defense, despite registering 301 yards of offense.
Purdue’s own defense, meanwhile, faltered immediately as the Ducks scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. James scored both of his touchdowns by the end of the first quarter before wide receiver Tez Johnson, who had seven catches for 66 yards, added a third early in the second.
Running back Noah Whittington added another in the third and running back Jay Harris rushed 12 yards for a TD in the fourth, before cornerback Kam Alexander intercepted a pass from Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne with less than 30 seconds on the clock to thwart the Boilermakers’ last chance at scoring.
Oregon – chasing a first national championship in program history – now has a shot at the No. 1 spot in the AP poll, depending on whether No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs can defeat No. 1 Texas Longhorns on the road Saturday night.
Elsewhere, No. 13 BYU Cougars clinched a dramatic 38-35 home win over unranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, scoring a touchdown in the last 10 seconds of the game to remain undefeated at 7-0.
The-CNN-Wire
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