Pac-12 football roundup: No. 16 Auburn rallies to stun No. 11 Oregon
Auburn true freshman quarterback Bo Nix threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Seth Williams with 9 seconds remaining, and the 16th-ranked Tigers opened the season with a 27-21 comeback win over No. 11 Oregon on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.
Nix barely converted a fourth-and-3 at midfield on the final drive when he tucked and ran. Only the nose of the ball was past the chain when officials measured. Then on third-and-10 from the Oregon 39 with no timeouts, Nix hit Williams for 13 yards and then found him again on the next play to put Auburn ahead for the first time.
The Tigers, who trailed 21-6 late in the third quarter, delivered another opening-weekend blow to the Pac-12. They beat the Pac-12’s highest-ranked team in a season opener for the second year in a row – No. 6 Washington lost to them 21-16 in Atlanta last year.
Nix finished 13-of-31 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran seven times for 42 yards.
JaTarvious Whitlow ran 24 times for 110 yards for the Tigers.
Oregon’s Justin Herbert was 28 of 37 passing for 242 yards with a touchdown.
(25) Stanford 17, Northwestern 7: K.J. Costello threw a 2-yard touchdown pass before getting knocked out of the season opener on a late hit, and the Cardinal went on to beat the Wildcats in Stanford, California.
Costello completed 16 of 20 passes for 152 yards and the TD pass to Michael Wilson that capped a 90-yard drive in the second quarter for the Cardinal (1-0). But his day ended early when he was hit with a forearm to the facemask by Earnest Brown IV while sliding on a scramble with just 2 seconds remaining in the first half.
Brown was called for a late hit that set up Jet Toner’s 51-yard field goal, but wasn’t ejected for targeting. Costello stayed down on the turf for a few minutes before being helped to the locker room. He didn’t return to the game, and there was no immediate word on his condition.
Northwestern also lost a quarterback, TJ Green leaving with a leg injury in the third quarter after being sacked and losing a fumble on a play in the red zone. Green had replaced the ineffective former Clemson five-star recruit Hunter Johnson late in the first half.
Johnson came back in to finish and went 6 for 17 for 55 yards and two interceptions. He also lost a fumble that Stanford’s Jordan Fox recovered in the end zone for a touchdown that sealed the game with 20 seconds remaining.
Cal 27, UC Davis 13: Christopher Brown Jr. rushed for a career-high 197 yards and a touchdown in his first start, and the Golden Bears overcame a sloppy first half to beat the Aggies in Berkeley, California.
Chase Garbers shrugged off two turnovers and completed 16 of 28 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns, both to Kekoa Crawford. Greg Thomas kicked a pair of field goals, including a career-best 47-yarder, as the Golden Bears won their third consecutive opener under coach Justin Wilcox.
California won despite four turnovers including a fumble by Ashtyn Davis on the opening kickoff. That set up a short touchdown run by Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. and the Aggies went up 10-0 on a field goal by Max O’Rourke before the Bears rallied.
Jake Maier, the Big Sky Conference player of the year, completed 19 of 37 passes for 173 yards for the Aggies, who were held to 100 yards in the second half.
USC 31, Fresno State 23: Vavae Malepai rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown, and the Trojans held off the Bulldogs in Los Angeles.
JT Daniels was 25 for 34 for 215 yards and another score and Velus Jones Jr. returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown as USC built a 31-13 lead through three quarters.
Jorge Reyna threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns for Fresno State.