No. 2 Oregon State completed its first road shutout in more than 30 years with a dominant win over Purdue

CNN
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The No. 2 Oregon Ducks cruised to a dominant 35-0 win over the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday, notching the school’s first road shutout victory since 1992.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel shined again, finishing 21 of 25 for 290 yards and two touchdowns while running back Jordan James added two scores. With the win, Oregon State improved to 7-0 overall on the season, and 4-0 in the Big Ten.

Along with USC, UCLA and Washington, Oregon officially left the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten earlier this year as conference realignment rocked college athletics.

The Ducks were still flying high after their thrilling 32-31 win over new conference rival Ohio State last Saturday, their first ever win over a top-two opponent, but there was no sign of any lingering hangover as they took the field. . at Ross Addy Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

“This place has a history of being a place that people struggle to play at, especially coming off a high like last week,” UO coach Dan Lanning said on the team’s website. “But I was proud that our guys were able to go out there and get the victory.”

The Boilermakers are known for their ability to upset higher-ranked opponents, but they endured a rough 1-6 start to the season and were unable to unlock Oregon’s stout defense, despite recording 301 yards of offense.

Meanwhile, Purdue’s defense immediately faltered when the Ducks scored on their first three possessions. James scored both touchdowns at the end of the first quarter before wide receiver Tez Johnson, who had seven scores for 66 yards, added a third early in the second half.

Running back Noah Whittington added another in the third and running back Jay Harris rushed 12 yards for a TD in the fourth, before cornerback Cam Alexander intercepted a pass from Purdue quarterback Ryan Braun with less than 30 seconds on the clock to frustrate the Boilermakers’ last player. Scoring opportunity.

Oregon State — seeking its first national championship in program history — now has a shot at No. 1 in the AP poll, depending on whether the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs can defeat the No. 1 Texas Longhorns on the road. Saturday night.

Elsewhere, the No. 13 BYU Cougars cruised to a dramatic 38-35 home win over the unranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, scoring in the final 10 seconds of the game to remain unbeaten at 7-0.