PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Dillon Gabriel threw three touchdown passes and moved up in the NCAA record books as eighth-ranked Oregon rolled to a 34-13 victory over UCLA on Saturday night in its first Big Ten game. Tez Johnson had 11 receptions for 121 yards and two TDs as the Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) picked up their 12th victory in their least 13 meetings against the Bruins.
Jordan James added 103 yards rushing and a touchdown on 20 carries. Oregon took control as it scored on its first five possessions. The Ducks are unbeaten after four games for the second straight year, and third since 2015.
UCLA (1-3, 0-2) has dropped three straight in DeShaun Foster's first season as coach. Gabriel — who completed 31 of 41 passes for 280 yards — became the fourth Football Bowl Subdivision player to reach 16,000 yards passing for his career and moved into a three-way tie for third with 134 touchdown passes. The sixth-year senior has 16,059 yards in 54 games at three different schools.
He played parts of three seasons at UCF before transferring to Oklahoma, where he played in 2022 and '23. Gabriel decided to play his final year at Oregon because the Hawaii native wanted to play closer to home. Gabriel's best pass came midway through the second quarter when he connected with Johnson for a 52-yard touchdown.
Johnson blew past UCLA’s coverage, caught the ball at the 10 and went untouched into the end zone to extend the Ducks' lead to three touchdowns. Tight end Kenyon Sadiq then lined up.