Pac-12 roundup

(12) Oregon 35, (3) Ohio State 28: C.J. Verdell watched on TV last week as Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim shredded Ohio State’s disheveled defense early. The Oregon running back thought he could take advantage in the same fashion.

Verdell, who has struggled with injuries the past two seasons, made it happen.

He ran for 161 yards and scored three touchdowns as the shorthanded Ducks stunned the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.

Verdell and quarterback Anthony Brown exploited holes in Ohio State’s defense and handed the Buckeyes their first regular-season loss in nearly three years and the first of third-year coach Ryan Day’s tenure.

The Buckeyes’ last loss in the regular season came at Purdue in October 2018 under Urban Meyer.

Ohio State (1-1) never led the game it was favored to win by 14½ points despite gaudy numbers from freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud. Its front seven struggled to contain Verdell, control the edge and get after Brown in front.

The Ducks (2-0) were without star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and linebacker Justin Flowe.

(5) Texas A&M 10, Colorado 7: Backup quarterback Zach Calzada threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Spiller with 2:41 remaining and the Aggies (2-0) escaped with a win over the Buffaloes (1-1) in Denver.

Spiller’s touchdown gave the Aggies their first lead on a day in which they lost freshman QB Haynes King to a lower right leg injury and eight of their first nine drives were three-and-outs.

Colorado’s hopes of an upset over the 17-point favorite Aggies ended when Brendon Lewis’ pass to Dimitri Stanley on fourth-and-13 from his 22 covered just 12 yards.

The Aggies, whose 10-game winning streak is second longest in the nation to Alabama, took over with 1:39 left and ran out the clock on the Buffs, who managed just one first down after taking a 7-3 halftime lead.

TCU 34, Cal 32: Quentin Johnston caught two of Max Duggan’s three touchdown passes, with the go-ahead score coming on a nifty catch-and-run as the Horned Frogs (2-0) beat the Golden Bears (1-1) in Fort Worth, Texas, to remain undefeated against Pac-12 teams under coach Gary Patterson.

Johnston put the Horned Frogs ahead of Cal to stay with a 45-yard TD catch with 9:53 left.

Associated Press