Wayne Knight rushed for a touchdown and caught another while the defense for No. 21 UCLA stuffed a late two-point conversion attempt to give the Bruins a 17-15 Big Ten win over No. 13 Oregon on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.
UCLA (5-0, 3-0 Big Ten) had not won in Autzen Stadium since 2004, but Knight’s 9-yard score off a Ty Dieffenbach pass in the third quarter gave the Bruins a 17-6 lead that proved to be enough of a cushion to snap their eight-game losing streak on Oregon’s field.
Knight finished with 22 carries for 103 yards and caught three passes for 12 yards. UCLA starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava (10-for-17, 162 yards) committed three turnovers, two interceptions plus a fumble deep in Bruins territory that led to Jordon Davison’s 1-yard touchdown run, before sustaining an apparent leg injury late in the second quarter.
Dieffenbach played the second half and completed 3 of 6 passes for 43 yards.
Oregon (3-2, 1-1) battled back in the fourth quarter after Brock Thomas replaced Dylan Raiola at quarterback. Raiola, starting in place of the injured Dante Moore, completed his first three pass attempts before going 3-for-16 the rest of the way and totaling just 43 passing yards with two interceptions.
Thomas hit 11 of 15 passes for 156 yards, which included a 44-yard touchdown strike to Evan Stewart that pulled the Ducks within 17-15 with 2:16 to go. After a face-mask penalty on Oregon’s first 2-point try moved the ball to the 1-yard line, UCLA’s Tyson Ford stuffed Jordon Davison’s rush on the subsequent attempt.
Because of its own turnover issues, UCLA was unable to capitalize on the Ducks’ offensive struggles to extend its 11-point lead. Iamaleava was picked off in Oregon territory twice late in the second quarter — once by Koi Perich, who also recovered the quarterback’s fumble.
The Bruins defense held Oregon to just 73 rushing yards and 272 yards of total offense. The Ducks went 1-of-12 on third-down opportunities, with their only successful conversion coming on the game’s final drive.
Oregon regained the ball on its own 5 with no timeouts and 48 seconds left. Thomas marched the Ducks to Oregon’s 37-yard line with eight seconds to go, then threw a deep pass just beyond Dakorien Moore’s reach. On the final play, Oregon tried multiple laterals but lost a fumble at UCLA’s 33 to end it.
UCLA had the Ducks playing catchup starting with Knight’s 35-yard touchdown run that gave UCLA a 10-6 lead with 8:08 left in the second quarter. The play marked Knight’s 10th rushing score of the season and sixth carry of 30-plus yards.
