Friday night at Autzen Stadium turned into a showcase for Oregon’s youth movement.
The No. 21 Ducks rolled past Portland State 84-0, a shutout that gave Oregon a modern-day program scoring record. It also marked a milestone night for Dan Lanning, who picked up his 50th win at Oregon in only 59 games since taking over in 2022.
With the Ducks coming off last week’s upset loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater, this one offered a chance to reset - and a bunch of first-year players took full advantage of the extra runway.
One of the biggest winners was tight end Kendre Harrison, who stepped into a bigger role with senior Jamari Johnson missing his second straight game because of an undisclosed injury suffered in the season-opening win over Boise State. Harrison looked every bit the five-star from the 2026 recruiting class, finishing with four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. He did not completely steal the spotlight from Penn State transfer Andrew Olesh, who added 23 receiving yards and a score on two catches, but Harrison’s outing still stood out as a real arrival moment.
Wide receiver Messiah Hampton also made his mark. With Jeremiah McClellan sidelined in street clothes and a boot on his left leg, Hampton delivered a team-high six catches for 71 yards and scored the first two touchdowns of his career. The first came from Dante Moore, and the second from Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola in his first action under center for Oregon.
The freshman impact kept coming on defense. Safety Jett Washington, the nephew of the late Kobe Bryant, intercepted two passes and seemed to be everywhere. Davon Benjamin added another takeaway after jumping a route, giving the Ducks yet another young defensive name to file away for later.
Gatlin Bair, the 2024 five-star recruit who spent two years on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Dallas, Texas, did not put up eye-popping numbers, but he showed flashes. Oregon sees him as one of its fastest players, reportedly second only to senior linebacker Devon Jackson on the 2026 roster.
The ground game did plenty of damage too. Oregon piled up 266 rushing yards and five total touchdowns, with five different backs combining for 51 carries.
Two freshmen handled 22 of those touches. Brandon Smith led the way with 67 rushing yards and a touchdown on a game-high 15 carries, while Tradarian Ball finished the job in the fourth quarter with 47 rushing yards and a score.
Now the Ducks turn to a much bigger stage: their first Big Ten test, a road trip to USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The No.
12 Trojans said on X that the game is sold out, though third-party tickets remain available for the old Pac-12 rivalry meeting next Saturday, Sept. 26, at 4:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
One player to watch on the USC side is true freshman wide receiver and punt returner Trent Mosley, who will miss the Trojans’ Week 3 game against Rutgers because of a knee injury.
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USC Escaped Rutgers But One Troubling Issue Still Lingers
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For all the points USC put on the board, the cleaner picture never really arrived. Penalties continued to stall drives, the passing game was uneven, and Rutgers made the Trojans work for every stop in a game that stayed tight deep into the night. USC escaped with the result it needed, but the lingering concern is whether this was simply a tough road test or another sign that the offense still has a lot to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Rileys USC Reaction Says A Lot About Rutgers Fight
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Riley praised the result, but he was just as clear about what kept the Scarlet Knights around. USC gave up too many big plays and too many penalties, and Rutgers found ways to tilt momentum with a pick six from Christian Pierce and a fake punt that changed the feel of the game. For a team trying to settle into a new conference rhythm, the win mattered, but the sloppiness made it obvious there is still work to do. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Fans Wont Like How USC Kept That Drive Alive
USCs first road game of the season came with a third-quarter sequence that perfectly fit the kind of afternoon a visiting team can survive but a home crowd never forgets. Against Rutgers, an inadvertent whistle erased a completed third-down pass and turned what looked like a stopping point into a do-over, putting the Trojans back in a tense spot as the possession kept twisting.
What followed only added to the frustration for the Scarlet Knights. USC failed on the replayed third down, then made a fourth-down gamble work with a 32-yard completion that kept the drive alive and helped the No. 12 Trojans stay in control on the way to a 4-0 start. [Read more 🡒]