Broncos chuck Ducks

All those quarterback injuries finally caught up to Oregon against Boise State.

The Broncos upset the 17th-ranked Ducks 37-32 in Eugene, Ore., for their first victory on the road over a BCS-conference team. Redshirt freshman Kellen Moore led the way for Boise State with 386 yards passing and three touchdown throws.

“This is big,” BSU coach Chris Petersen said. “I know Oregon had some quarterback issues and stuff, and that helped us. Even with that, you see how explosive they are. So it was great for our guys to hang on and get this done.”

The Broncos (3-0) of the Western Athletic Conference are now 3-11 against the Pac-10, with all of their victories coming against teams from Oregon (they had defeated Oregon State twice before in Boise).

The Ducks lost their projected No. 1 quarterback before the season, and No. 2 went down last week.

So Jeremiah Masoli, a junior college transfer who was Oregon’s third-string quarterback going into the season, started but left the game in the first quarter with a mild concussion.

Oregon (3-1) planned on using both Masoli and true freshman Chris Harper against the Broncos after Justin Roper injured his left knee in the Ducks’ 32-26 double-overtime victory at Purdue the previous week.

But combined Masoli and Harper attempted only six passes in the first half as Boise State took a 24-6 lead.

Then came more bad news: Masoli did not return after halftime. He appeared on the sidelines wearing his jersey with shorts.

Harper’s troubles continued in the second half and Oregon gave freshman Darron Thomas a try. The Ducks had hoped to redshirt him.

Masoli’s concussion was mild and he wasn’t expecting to miss time with the team. Roper will likely miss Oregon’s next game against Washington State. The team hopes to have him back for a trip to top-ranked Southern California on Oct. 4.

The Ducks went into Saturday’s game ranked fourth in the nation in rushing with an average of 323.3 yards per game. They were also ranked fourth in total offense, with an average of more than 562 yards.

The Broncos managed to slow Oregon, allowing 464 yards of total offense and 227 yards on the ground.

“They’re a good running team; no doubt about that. So obviously if we shut the run down, they’re going to have the put the ball in the air … and that’s what we wanted them to do,” BSU defensive back Kyle Wilson said.

(3) Georgia 27, Arizona State 10: Knowshon Moreno rushed for 149 yards and two TDs, A.J. Green caught eight passes for 159 yards and a score, and the Bulldogs (4-0) scored a decisive win over the Sun Devils (2-2) in Tempe, Ariz.

For the Sun Devils, who lost to UNLV one week earlier, it was another crushing loss in the national spotlight. They fell to 2-11 against ranked teams in Sun Devil Stadium since 2000, and 3-23 overall against the Top 25 during the same span.

Arizona 31, UCLA 10: Willie Tuitama threw for 222 yards and connected with tight end Ron Gronkowski for a pair of TDs to lead the Wildcats (3-1) to a victory over the Bruins (1-2) in Pasadena, Calif., in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.

Arizona broke the game open with two fourth-quarter TDs. Tuitama’s second TD pass to Gronkowski gave them a 24-10 pad early in the period, then Xavier Smith added an 8-yard TD run with 6:48 left.

The Bruins’ defense provided their lone touchdown on a 1-yard fumble return by Korey Bosworth in the first quarter.

Stanford 23, San Jose State 10: Tavita Pritchard passed for 159 yards and rushed for a touchdown to lead the Cardinal (2-2) over the Spartans (2-2) after trailing at halftime in Stanford, Calif.

Toby Gerhart rushed for a career-high 148 yards and scored with 9 seconds to play for the Cardinal, who erased the Spartans’ early 10-0 lead with outstanding defense. Stanford held San Jose State to 38 total yards in the second half – including minus-24 in a horrific fourth quarter.