No Letdown As Ducks Beat Purdue, Move to 7-0 University of ...

The No. 2-ranked Ducks went on the road and beat Purdue on Friday night, 35-0, six days after beating Ohio State at home. The UO football team will be back in Autzen Stadium next week, looking to improve on a 7-0 start overall and a 4-0 record in Big Ten play when Illinois comes to Eugene.

Dillon Gabriel was 21-of-25 for 290 yards and two touchdowns Friday, and Jordan James rushed for a pair of scores. Oregon averaged seven yards per play in running up 421 yards of offense, while the UO defense put together its first shutout since Sept. 22, 2012, against Arizona.

Purdue entered the night with an FBS-high 17 wins against top-five teams in The Associated Press poll when the Boilermakers themselves were unranked. Purdue had five wins all-time against teams ranked No. 2, including a pair at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2018.

"This place has a history of being a place people struggle to come play at, especially coming off highs like last week," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "But I was proud that our guys were able to go out there and get a victory."

The Ducks overcame adversity on several fronts, playing without star defensive lineman Jordan Burch for the second week in a row, plus receiver Traeshon Holden and tight end Terrance Ferguson. Oregon played its first road game against a traditional Big Ten school — the Ducks' previous conference road trip was to UCLA — and came out sharp, scoring on their first three possessions.

Ferguson fell ill earlier in the week and ended up having his appendix removed, Lanning said after Friday's game. Lanning said the Ducks are "expecting a quick recovery based on what that looks like for him."

James scored both of his touchdowns in the first quarter, and Tez Johnson made it 21-0 early in the second. Johnson led the Ducks with seven receptions for 66 yards, while Evan Stewart had another explosive play, a 49-yard gain to set up the opening score of the night. Kenyon Sadiq stepped up in Ferguson's absence, with a 19-yard reception to spark the second scoring drive of the night and a 39-yard reception to help set up Johnson's touchdown.

"A lot of good; a lot of things we look at to get better, which starts with myself," Gabriel said. "But we're going to enjoy a win."

After the quick start, the Ducks didn't score again until an acrobatic touchdown reception by Noah Whittington early in the fourth. A few minutes later, running back Jay Harris scored his first UO touchdown to make it 35-0.

Oregon's depth also showed late in the game when Kam Alexander intercepted a pass to help preserve the shutout.

"There's a lot of guys on our team that are ready for their moment, when the moment called," Lanning said.

The UO defense had to tangle with dual-threat freshman quarterback Ryan Browne, who helped the Boilermakers rush for 208 yards on the night. But the Ducks got three stops on fourth down, had an interception and recovered a fumble, and also got out of a red-zone situation when Purdue missed a field goal.

"There were certainly a lot of positives — you keep a team out of the end zone, that's a positive," Lanning said. "We were able to create some takeaways; I think that's always a plus as well. But I think we have to tackle better for us to be the team that we want to be."

Teitum Tuioti had six tackles including a sack to lead the UO defense, and Bryce Boettcher added five tackles. Devon Jackson and Matayo Uiagalelei also had sacks as Oregon piled up 10 tackles for loss on the night.