Field Level Media
Nov 7, 2020
C.J. Verdell rushed for a game-high 105 yards and a touchdown Saturday as the 12th-ranked Oregon Ducks opened the post-Justin Herbert era with a ground-oriented, 35-14 victory over the visiting Stanford Cardinal on opening night of the Pac-12 Conference football season.
Sophomore Tyler Shough threw for 227 yards and a score, and rushed for an additional 85 yards and a score in his first collegiate start. Stanford, meanwhile, learned shortly before game time that three players -- including starting quarterback Davis Mills -- would be prevented from suiting up because of positive COVID-19 tests earlier in the day.
Shough completed 17 of his 26 passes with one interception.
Travis Dye chipped in with 78 yards on the ground and one touchdown for Oregon (1-0), which rushed 40 times for 269 yards and four scores.
Cyrus Habibi-Likio accounted for the Ducks' fourth and final rushing TD, capping the scoring with a 4-yard run with 3:37 to play.
D.J. Johnson caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Slough in the second quarter for Oregon's other score. Johnson finished with a game-high five catches for 55 yards.
Jack West, who got the late call to replace Mills, went 13-for-19 for 154 yards without a touchdown or interception.
Austin Jones scored both Stanford touchdowns, complementing a 100-yard rushing night with 4- and 2-yard runs. Nathaniel Peat added 93 yards on just six carries for the Cardinal (0-1).
Jones' first score opened the scoring at the 3:25 mark of the first quarter, but Oregon dominated the rest of the game, scoring the next 28 points, including a 14-0 run in the third period that turned a competitive 14-7 game at halftime into a 28-7 blowout.
Oregon outgained Stanford 496-413 in a game that featured five missed field goals, including four by Stanford's Jet Toner.
--Field Level Media