Michigan State was beaten by No. 6 Oregon for its third straight loss

A change of scenery and a trip to the West Coast couldn’t prevent a similar result.

Facing a top-10 team for the second straight year, the Spartans couldn’t keep up.

No. 6 Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) built a 21-point halftime lead and rolled to a 31-10 win over Michigan State (3-3, 1-2) on Friday night, extending its lead lost third in a row.

Playing their first home game as a new Big Ten member, the Ducks dominated the Spartans’ offense on both sides of the ball. Jordan James rushed for a career-high before the end of the second quarter, finishing the game with 24 carries for 166 yards and a touchdown. Dillon Gabriel completed 20 of 32 throws for 257 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and rushed for the score.

It was an ugly return to the state that first-year Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith called home for more than a decade as a player and coach at rival Oregon State. The Ducks, who defeated Smith in Eugene last year in his final game as Beavers coach, won for the 34th time in the last 35 games at Autzen Stadium.

Michigan State was still active offensively on its first possession before the now-standard turnover in the red zone and was then shut down until the end of the season. The Ducks dominated the Spartans in rushing yards (213-59), total offense (477-250) and first downs (25-16).

Aidan Chiles didn’t get much help as the Spartans’ first-year starter was under constant pressure and was sacked four times. The sophomore finished the game completing 10 of 17 passes for 104 yards and rushing for 29 yards. Kay’Ron Lynch Adams scored on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to prevent the shutout, and Jonathan Kim added a late field goal.

Tight end Jack Velling led the Spartans with six catches for 53 yards, while Nick Marsh and Montorie Foster combined for six catches for 115 yards.

Heading into the final minutes, Michigan State’s highlights prevented an even more lopsided result. Defensive backs Malik Spencer and Charles Brantley each made interceptions in the red zone to keep the score close in the first half, but it was short-lived.

Michigan State won the opening shot, shifted and then got a three-pointer for a strong start on the road. The Spartans’ offense was largely similar to the opening drive of last week’s loss to Ohio State in how it moved the ball, and the similarities extended to a 1-4 performance in the red zone against the Buckeyes. Chiles hit Marsh for 44 yards on fourth-and-2 to the 2, but the quarterback fumbled on the ensuing play and the Ducks recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

Oregon followed with a turnover of its own in the red zone after staging a 79-yard drive when Gabriel was intercepted in the end zone by a leaping Spencer. The safety made an impressive play to catch the ball in the end zone a week after dropping a pick.

The Ducks didn’t fail on their second play at the Michigan State 20 when Gabriel, who missed a play after blocking a shot from Anthony Jones, scored a 9-yard score in the final minute of the game for a 7-0 lead first quarter. Then Gabriel, who entered Friday’s game with just one interception this season, was picked off a second time in the red zone by the Spartans. Brantley jumped the route for his third interception of the fall.

After Gabriel’s two interceptions, the Ducks kept their next possession on the ground, with all seven plays being run calls. James started with back-to-back block gains and finished the game with a 3-yard touchdown to the left corner for a 14-0 lead with 5:26 left in the first half.

Michigan State was unable to respond before halftime as Chiles was sacked on consecutive possessions, leading to a fourth straight punt. With five seconds left, Gabriel found Evan Stewart for a 9-yard touchdown pass as the Ducks took a 21-0 lead into the locker room.

Oregon managed 363 yards in the first half, with James’ 151 yards on the ground, more than Michigan State’s 102 yards as a team, and the rout was on. Andrew Boyle hit a 50-yard field goal midway through the third quarter and Gabriel threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tez Johnson early in the fourth quarter.

After Chiles fumbled the game’s first possession, the Spartans didn’t return to the red zone until the final quarter. Chiles used his arm to drive the Spartans down the field and Lynch-Adams got a 1-yard score for their only touchdown. That was the end of the night for Chiles, who was replaced by Tommy Schuster. The graduate transfer from North Dakota put together a drive that resulted in a 42-yard field goal by Jonathan Kim with 25 seconds left.

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