Oregon ends Utah’s win streak

Kyle Whittingham wishes that Utah’s ride would have gone on forever. The Ducks were more than happy to bring it to a screeching halt.

LaMichael James rushed for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown, and Oregon overcame four turnovers and an abysmal performance by quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to beat the No. 18 Utes 31-24 in Eugene, Ore., and snap the nation’s longest winning streak.

Utah (2-1) had won 16 straight games, including its 31-17 upset of heavily favored Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last January. The Utes’ last loss was on Nov. 24, 2007, in the regular-season finale against BYU.

Masoli ran for two touchdowns, but had two fumbles and an interception in the second half that allowed Utah to rally from a 21-7 deficit to within 28-24 by the end of the third quarter.

An interception by linebacker Eddie Pleasant set up a 31-yard field goal by Morgan Flint with 3:30 left in the game, giving the Ducks (2-1) a 31-24 lead. The Utes drove to the Oregon 37 with less than 2 minutes to play, but John Boyett picked off a pass from Terrence Cain at the 5 to preserve the victory.

(8) California 35, Minnesota 21: At Minneapolis, Jahvid Best rushed for 131 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to lift the Golden Bears (3-0) to a victory over the scrappy Golden Gophers (2-1).

Kevin Riley overcame a shaky start to pass for 252 yards for Cal, which had lost eight of its last nine on the road, including four in a row to end last season.

(18) Cincinnati 28, Oregon State 18: At Corvallis, Ore., Tony Pike threw for 332 yards and hit Mardy Gilyard with an 18-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter as the Bearcats (3-0) stopped a second-half comeback bid for a victory over the Beavers (2-1).

Iowa 27, Arizona 17: At Iowa City, Iowa, freshman running back Adam Robinson rushed for a career-high 101 yards and two touchdowns, and the Hawkeyes (3-0) held the Wildcats (2-1) to just eight first downs in the win.

Stanford 42, San Jose State 17: At Stanford, Calif., Chris Owusu opened the game with a 94-yard kickoff return and also caught a touchdown pass, Toby Gerhart ran for 113 yards and two TDs and the Cardinal (2-1) defeated the Spartans (0-3).

Arizona State 38, Louisiana-Monroe 14: At Tempe, Ariz., Omar Bolden returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and picked off a pass, and the Sun Devils (2-0) routed the Warhawks (1-2) in a tuneup for their trip to Georgia.

UCLA 23, Kansas State 9: At Pasadena, Calif., Kevin Craft passed for 186 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bruins (3-0) past the Wildcats (1-2).

UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin rushed for 119 yards.