No. 6 Oregon beat Michigan State 31-10 on Friday. Oregon star quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw a pair of first-half red-zone interceptions, but the Ducks’ dominant ground game helped them stay undefeated ahead of a monumental showdown at home against Ohio State next weekend.
Jordan James rushed for a game-high 166 yards on 24 carries. James scored a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that extended the lead to double digits, and the Ducks never looked back.
The Ducks averaged 152.2 yards per game, good for 76th in the nation. Oregon outgained Michigan State 477-250 in total offense and rushed for a season-high 213 yards.
Michigan State’s first series of the evening was promising. The Spartans moved to a fourth-and-2 near midfield and Aiden Chiles connected with Nick Marsh for a 44-yard gain. Chiles fumbled the ball on the next play, and MSU’s offense held fewer than 20 yards on its next seven offensive drives.
Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) will face Ohio State next weekend in what will be one of the best games of the college football season. Both programs enter 2024 as top contenders to win the Big Ten, and next weekend’s showdown could decide who gets to the conference title game and an automatic berth to the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Michigan State (3-3, 0-2) is 3-0 in Year 1 of the Jonathan Smith era, but has dropped its last three games to Boston College, Ohio State and Oregon. The schedule won’t be easy for MSU, as the next four games are at home against Iowa, the No. 10 Michigan, no. 23 Indiana and no. 24 Illinois.
The schedule eases at the end of home games against Purdue and Rutgers, but the Spartans may need at least one upset to avoid missing a bowl game for the third straight season.
- Oregon has won 26 straight games against AP-unranked opponents. The Ducks have won 23 straight against unranked opponents. Their 11-game home winning streak is sixth-longest in the FBS and second-longest in the Big Ten behind Washington (17).
- Spartans running back Ka’Ron Lynch-Adams found the end zone on a 1-yard run with 8:27 left in the game. The score snapped a streak of nine-straight quarters for the Ducks without allowing an offensive touchdown in the second quarter of a 49-14 win over Oregon State.
- It’s the first time since 2012-13 that the Ducks have started back-to-back seasons 5-0. It’s the fifth time in six years they’ve started the conference 2-0.
- Michigan State came into the season hoping to hang its hat on a salty, experienced front seven. But not so far. The Spartans have been outscored 400-106 in their last two games. The Spartans were outscored 185-47 by Ohio State last week.
- The Spartans have committed 14 turnovers on the season, tied with Auburn for the most in the FBS.
