No. 4 Oregon is the last unbeaten standing in the Pac-12, after UCLA and Arizona State suffered their first losses of the season on Saturday night.
The Bruins pulled ahead of Fresno State with 54 seconds left only to have former Washington quarterback Jake Haener throw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Cropper with 14 seconds remaining to lift the Bulldogs to a 40-37 win at the Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, BYU made it three consecutive victories over Pac-12 opponents to open 2021 with a 27-17 win over Arizona State in which the Cougars capitalized on the Sun Devils’ mistakes and found ways to quickly atone for their own. Oregon
Arizona State turned the ball over four times and committed 17 penalties that cost it 121 yards. In addition to his 21 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown, BYU running back Tyler Allgeier swung momentum permanently in his team’s favor late in the third quarter with a chasedown strip of linebacker Merlin Robertson, who seemed to have a clear path to a pick six after a bad decision by quarterback Jaren Hall. Hall trailed the play to recover Robertson’s fumble, and the Cougars were able to burn more than three additional minutes of clock.
Backed up to its own 5 to start its next possession, Arizona State moved the ball just 9 yards in six plays, committing three false starts and a facemask as the LaVell Edwards Stadium crowd roared. A Baylor Romney touchdown pass on BYU’s ensuing possession sealed the outcome.
BYU has beaten Arizona, Utah and Arizona State to start the year. The wins over Utah and Arizona State marked the first time in program history that the Cougars have beaten two opponents ranked in the AP poll in consecutive weeks.
Oregon, which pulled away from FCS program Stony Brook in a 48-7 win on Saturday, opens Pac-12 play next week against Arizona.
(Photo: Chris Gardner / Getty Images)
