BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2022 A5
SPORTS
Bulldog COLLEGE FOOTBALL
volleyball Nix has 4 TDs as Ducks romp over Stanford
sweeps
Ontario
Tigers
BY ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
The Baker volleyball
team remained unbeaten
in Greater Oregon League
play by sweeping Ontario
on Thursday, Sept. 29 at
Ontario.
“We played very well
against Ontario,” Baker
coach Ali Abrego said.
Baker dominated, with
set scores of 25-14, 25-7,
25-7, to improve to 12-3
overall, 3-0 in league. The
Bulldogs have won eight of
their last nine matches.
“The first game (against
Ontario) reflects our own
errors, and the second and
third sets reflect us focusing
on what we can control and
eliminating those errors,”
Abrego said. “We had a lot
of fun during the Ontario
game, and were even able
to try out some different
lineups. We’ve been focus-
ing on communication and
cohesiveness, and that’s
exactly what won us that
game.
“The girls played ex-
tremely well collectively,
and we’re really focused
on controlling the tempo
as we move forward into
this week with La Grande,”
Abrego said.
Baker also won the JV
match at Ontario.
The Bulldogs travel to La
Grande on Thursday, Oct.
6 for a league match against
the Tigers starting at
6:30 p.m. Baker then heads
to Burns on Saturday, Oct.
8 for a nonleague match at
2:30 p.m.
BOISE STATE
FOOTBALL
Boise State,
with new
starting QB
Green, beats
Aztecs
BOISE (AP) — Quar-
terback Taylen Green and
George Holani each had
more than 100 yards rush-
ing and a pair of touch-
downs, and Boise State shut
out San Diego State in the
second half and rolled to
a 35-13 victory on Friday
night, Sept. 30.
It was Boise State’s first
game without former start-
ing quarterback Hank
Bachmeier, who entered
the transfer portal on Tues-
day, Sept. 27, and former
offensive coordinator Tim
Plough, who was fired af-
ter last week’s 27-10 loss to
UTEP. Former Boise State
head coach Dirk Koetter is
now the Broncos offensive
coordinator.
Bachmeier started 29
games over a four-year ca-
reer, throwing for more than
6,600 yards and 41 touch-
downs. Yet he completed a
career-low 54% of his passes
for fewer than 500 yards in
four games this season.
Green finished with 105
yards rushing on eight car-
ries and completed 5 of 10
passes for 48 yards with one
interception. Holani had
131 yards rushing on 17
carries.
The Aztecs jumped out
to a 13-0 halftime lead be-
fore Green ran for a 17-
yard touchdown. Holani’s
12-yarder gave the Broncos
the lead for good. Green’s 39-
yard TD run stretched the
Broncos’ lead to 28-13, and
Holani capped the scoring
with a 29-yard scoring run.
Ashton Jeanty added 82
yards rushing that included
a 32-yard touchdown for
Boise State (3-2, 2-0 Moun-
tain West Conference).
Tyrell Shavers had a 36-
yard punt return for a touch-
down midway through the
second quarter for San Di-
ego State (2-3, 0-1).
It was Boise State’s first
win over San Diego State
since 2017.
EUGENE — When Oregon quar-
terback Bo Nix took off running in the
third quarter, teammate Chase Cota
was cheering for him to keep going.
Nix indeed kept going, and going —
all the way for an 80-yard touchdown.
“I remember when I saw him get
out and he was like 40 yards down the
field, I’m like ‘Please don’t slide, you
got the touchdown!’ ” Cota said. “Sure
enough, he made it.”
Nix threw for two touchdowns and
ran for two more — including that
80-yarder — and No. 13 Oregon won
its fourth straight game with a 45-27
victory over Stanford on Saturday
night, Oct. 1.
The Ducks (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) have
won 22 consecutive games at Aut-
zen Stadium. They have not dropped
a game this season after the opener
against Georgia.
“A lot of positives we can take from
this game, but also a lot of moments
for growth,” Oregon coach Dan Lan-
ning said. “We’re trying to be the best
version of us, and we’re not quite there
yet.
Stanford (1-3, 0-3) hasn’t won since
its opener against Colgate. It was the
Cardinal’s third straight game against
an opponent in the AP Top 25. They
also fell to USC and Washington.
“Obviously not the result we wanted
tonight. Didn’t play well enough to
get the result,” Cardinal coach David
Shaw said. “We had a couple of guys
get banged up, we were down to one
of our backup tackles before the game
started, and during the game. That’s
not an excuse. Our guys came out, they
fought hard. Gotta find a way to start
better, start faster.”
Nix completed 16 of 29 passes for
161 yards and led Oregon with a ca-
reer-best 141 yards rushing on six
carries. Oregon had 351 yards on the
ground compared to Stanford’s 127.
Cardinal quarterback Tanner
McKee threw for 166 yards and two
touchdowns. Casey Filkins rushed
for a score and caught another TD
pass.
The Ducks appeared to score on
their opening drive of the game, but
the pass from Nix to Kris Hutson was
called back because of a ineligible
player downfield. They settled for a 38-
yard field goal from Camden Lewis.
Before the end of the first quarter,
Nix hit Cota with a short pass and he
sprinted into the end zone for a 48-
Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Oregon wide receiver Chase Cota (No. 23) takes a reception 49 yards for a touchdown as the No. 13 Ducks face the Stanford Cardinal in
a Pac-12 college football game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.
yard touchdown.
board and then fix up. That’s really the
Joshua Karty kicked a 23-yard field
goal every week, right?”
goal for Stanford to narrow the margin
McKee found Filkins for a 42-yard
to 10-3. But the Ducks answered with
touchdown pass midway through the
Nix’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Troy
third quarter. Nix responded with a
Franklin.
career-best 80-yard
“A lot of positives we can touchdown run on
Linebacker Noah
Sewell pretended to
Ducks’ first play
take from this game, but the
fly in celebration after
from scrimmage.
running back a fum-
Nix became the
also a lot of moments for
ble 21 yards to set up
first Ducks player to
growth. We’re trying to be rush for 100 or more
Nix’s 4-yard touch-
down run. Jordan
the best version of us, and yards this season.
James added a 1-yard
Elijah Higgins
we’re not quite there yet.” caught a 28-yard
touchdown as time
expired in the half to
touchdown pass from
— Oregon coach Dan Lanning
give the Ducks a 31-3
McKee to make it 38-
lead.
17 before the end of
While the Ducks had firm control of the third.
the game by the break, their opening
Sean Dollars added a 2-yard scoring
half was marked by 10 penalties for 90
run for the Ducks in the final quarter.
yards. Oregon finished with 14 yards
Karty kicked a 53-yard field goal and
for 135 yards.
Stanford closed out the scoring on Ari
“We wanted to come out tonight
Patu’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Mu-
and play a complete game and perfect
dia Reuben in the waning moments.
game. I don’t think we did that, to be
“Lost the first three games of our
honest,” Oregon defensive back Ben-
conference schedule. We’re gonna be
nett Williams said. “Yeah, we got the
better by the end of the year than we
win, but there’s a lot of things that we
are right now. That’s the stance that
got to go back and go to the drawing
we’re taking,” Shaw said.
THE TAKEAWAY
Stanford: Cardinal offensive lineman
Barrett Miller was carted to the locker
room with an injury early in the game.
... Stanford upset then-No. 3 Oregon
31-24 in overtime last season. ... The
Cardinal were without running back
E.J. Smith, who will miss the rest of
the season with an unspecified injury.
Smith, the son of Dallas Cowboys great
Emmitt Smith, rushed for 206 yards
and four touchdowns through the first
two games of the season. He missed
last week’s game against the Huskies.
Oregon: The Ducks appealed outside
linebacker DJ Johnson’s targeting pen-
alty in the game against Washington
State. It was denied, so Johnson missed
the first half of Saturday night’s game. ...
Oregon allowed its first sack of the sea-
son early in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Stanford: The Cardinal host Oregon
State next Saturday, Oct. 8 in another
late Pac-12 game. The Beavers fell to
Utah 42-16 earlier Saturday.
Oregon: The Ducks visit Arizona
next Saturday, Oct. 8. The Wildcats
beat Colorado 43-20.
Interceptions costly in Oregon State’s loss to Utah
BY JOHN COON
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — Cam-
eron Rising threw for 199 yards
and three touchdowns and
added 73 yards and a score on
the ground to lead No. 12 Utah
to a 42-16 victory over Oregon
State on Saturday, Oct. 1.
The Utes (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12)
forced four turnovers to avenge
their only Pac-12 loss from
last season. It was the first time
Utah finished with four inter-
ceptions in a game since a 52-
45 victory over UCLA in 2016.
Two of those takeaways
came in the red zone.
“We found our toughness,”
senior safety R.J. Hubert said.
“This team has guts, passion,
they’re tough, and I love these
guys.”
Third-string quarterback
Ben Gulbranson threw for 177
yards and two interceptions to
lead the Beavers. Gulbranson
played the final three quarters
after starter Chance Nolan left
with a neck strain.
Oregon State (3-2, 0-2) suf-
fered its second straight loss
despite rolling up 417 yards
and 21 first downs.
“I don’t want to say we took
a step back, but we definitely
didn’t take any steps forward,”
senior safety Jaydon Grant
said.
Utah broke open a close
game with a pair of third quar-
ter touchdowns. Devaughn
Vele scored on a 16-yard catch.
Then, R.J. Hubert picked off a
pass from Gulbranson in the
end zone and returned it 70
yards to set up Jaylen Dixon’s
22-yard scoring run.
A 4-yard toss from Rising to
Dalton Kincaid gave the Utes
“I don’t want to say we
took a step back, but we
definitely didn’t take any
steps forward.”
— Jaydon Grant, senior safety
a 42-16 lead early in the fourth
quarter.
Clark Phillips III intercepted
Nolan twice in the first quarter,
becoming the first Utah player
since Julian Blackmon in the
2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl to
have multiple interceptions in
the same game. The sopho-
more cornerback finished with
three interceptions – the first
Utah player to do since Rob-
ert Johnson had three picks
against Colorado State in 2009.
Utah coach Kyle Whitting-
ham said Phillips combines
natural speed and quickness
with unrivaled preparation to
make his mark on the football
field.
“There’s nobody who studies
more film than Clark and that
leads to big plays,” Whitting-
ham said. “The more film you
study, the more big plays you’re
going to make.”
Phillips snagged his first in-
terception on Oregon State’s
second play from scrimmage
to set up Dixon’s diving 19-yard
catch three plays later that gave
Utah a 7-0 lead less than two
minutes into the game.
The Beavers answered on
their next drive. Silas Bolden
took a pitch and ran 29 yards
untouched on a reverse to even
the score. Phillips jumped a
route for his second intercep-
tion and returned it 38 yards to
put Utah back in front midway
Watch out
for the
Wildlife
on the Roads
THE TAKEAWAY
Oregon State: The Beavers
experienced some early success
running the ball against Utah’s
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through the first quarter.
“We noticed formational
tendencies and (defensive co-
ordinator Morgan) Scalley put
us in position to be able to cap-
italize on that,” Phillips said. “I
just so happened to be the out-
side corner on that (pick-six)
play. As soon as I saw the ball
snapped and the quarterback
looked, I said this is the one
and hopefully we score.”
Rising stiff-armed a de-
fender, danced along the side-
line, and dragged a would-be
tackler to the pylon at the end
of a 24-yard run to extend the
Utes’ lead to 21-7 early in the
second quarter.
Atticus Sappington made
three field goals – two from
26 and one from 31 yards out
– to help Oregon State trim
the deficit to 21-16 early in the
third quarter.
The Beavers never drew
closer after ending a pair of
second-half drives with end-
zone interceptions.
“We can’t turn it over,” Or-
egon State coach Jonathan
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we’ve got guys that can help us
score points. We just got to do
a better job of it.”
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defense. Oregon State tallied
130 rushing yards by halftime
while averaging 5.2 yards per
carry.
Utah: The Utes have forced a
turnover in seven consecutive
games. Utah scored its first 14
points off two takeaways, pro-
viding a cushion against a slug-
gish offense that went 3-and-
out on four of the team’s first
seven drives.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Utah could move closer to
the Top 10 in the AP Top 25
Poll.
UP NEXT
Oregon State visits Stanford
on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Utah visits UCLA on Satur-
day, Oct. 8.
RUNNING MAN
Rising finished as Utah’s
leading rusher after averaging
10.4 yards per carry on only
seven carries. Oregon State
didn’t account for his elusive-
ness when plays broke down
and the junior quarterback
made the Beavers pay.
His 73 yards were his sec-
ond highest total of the season
– trailing only the 91 yards he
gained in the season opener
against Florida.
“I think a lot of people don’t
really look at me as a runner,”
Rising said. “Any chance I get, I
like to take advantage of it.”
SHUTTING IT DOWN
Utah forced a turnover on
its opponent’s opening drive
for the second time this sea-
son. The Utes have not allowed
an opponent to score on their
opening drive in all five games
so far.
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