Former Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. just turned in a night that put his name next to some of the CFL’s biggest passing performances.
Adams powered the Calgary Stampeders past the Toronto Argonauts 58-36 on Saturday, throwing for 405 yards and six touchdowns while completing 20 of 25 passes. The line tied a franchise record shared by four quarterbacks, including Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia. Adams also added a rushing touchdown in the win.
The performance fits the shape of Adams’ career in Canada. The former Ducks quarterback has spent more than a decade in the CFL and has built a résumé that stacks up with the league’s best. He has played for the Montreal Alouettes from 2016-2022, the BC Lions from 2023-2024, and now the Stampeders.
Across his CFL career, Adams has produced 21,564 passing yards, 128 passing touchdowns and 28 rushing touchdowns. In two seasons with Calgary, he has already helped the Stampeders reach the playoffs once, though that run ended with a 33-30 loss to the BC Lions in the West Semifinal. Calgary is 2-2 this season after Adams’ historic outing.
The Stampeders are still chasing their first Grey Cup title since 2018, when they beat the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16, and Adams is trying to help push them deeper into the postseason.
Long before his CFL success, Adams was putting up huge numbers at Eastern Washington. Over three seasons there, he threw for more than 400 yards seven times, went 28-6 as a starter, and guided the Eagles to the FCS playoffs in each of his three years.
His lone season at Oregon came in 2015, and it was a productive one. Adams helped the Ducks to a 9-4 record while throwing for 2,643 yards, 26 touchdowns and six interceptions with a 64.9 completion percentage. His top game in an Oregon uniform came in a 48-28 win over USC at Autzen Stadium on Nov. 21, 2015, when he passed for 407 yards and six touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing, with one interception.
Adams also topped 300 passing yards in five games that season, doing it against Michigan State, Arizona State, California, USC and Oregon State. Oregon went 4-1 in those games, with the lone loss coming at Spartan Stadium on Sept. 12, 2015, when Michigan State edged the Ducks 31-28 in a matchup of top-10 teams. Adams outplayed Connor Cook in that game, even though Oregon came up short.
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