EUGENE, Ore. -- Dakota Prukop sees plenty to fix after his debut for No. 24 Oregon.Prukop threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns as the Ducks overcame a both a rocky start and a determined UC Davis team for a 53-28 season-opening victory on Saturday.Our tempo wasnt where it needed to be and thats mainly due to me, he said. Thats one of our biggest weapons and as sn as we start using tempo I think the offense will click even more.Royce Freeman rushed for 87 yards and two scores for the Ducks, who have won five straight season openers. Darren Carrington caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.Prukop, a graduate transfer from Montana State, completed 21 of 30 passes for the Ducks, while also scoring on a 1-yard keeper. He follows in the ftsteps of Vernon Adams, a graduate transfer out of Eastern Washington who started for the Ducks last season but was dogged by injuries.Its a dream come true, you know? Prukop said about his first game with the Ducks. Its like you go from driving a car that no one really talks about to driving a Ferrari.Ben Scott completed 27 of 47 passes for 303 yards and ran for a 9-yard touchdown for UC Davis. Manusamoa Luuga rushed for 96 yards and three scores.UC Davis coach Ron Gould had faced Prukop before. Two years ago while he was a sophomore for the Bobcats, Prukop completed 17 of 22 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns against the Aggies while rushing for 148 yards and two more scores. Montana State defeated UC Davis 77-37.You know, hes a special young man. I told him after the game that I got a lot of respect and admiration for him, Gould said. Hes a lot bigger than he was. Hes just as fast, just as athletic and hes starting to come into his own.The Ducks got off to a slow start, allowing Scotts rushing touchdown on the first series of the game and then punting on their first two possessions. But they pulled it together by the end of the first quarter with Freemans 6-yard scoring run.The turning point for the Ducks came with about 10 minutes left in the first half, when Jalen Jelks intercepted Scott and four plays later the Ducks scored on Prukops 10-yard pass to Johnny Mundt. A second successful 2-point conversion put the Ducks ahead 19-7.Oregon also introduced its revamped defense under new defensive crdinator Brady Hoke, and a star emerged in freshman Troy Dye, who had 11 tackles, including seven solo, a sack and a blocked field goal.While Oregons lead was never really threatened, the Aggies hung tough until the end.They embraced the moment, they knew it was going to be a challenge and they went out and put their hearts out there, Gould said.Saturday marked the end of Oregons 110-game sellout streak. The announced attendance was 53,817, while capacity is listed at 54,000.THE TAKEAWAYUC DAVIS: After keeping their choice under wraps all week, the Aggies started senior Scott at quarterback over sophomore C.J. Spencer. Scott started the first eight games last season before he was hampered by injury and threw for 1,595 yards and 11 touchdowns.OREGON: Charles Nelson std out on special teams, but he made a couple of first-game mistakes, t. Nelson finished with 288 all-purpose yards, including a 48-yard punt return and a 62-yard kickoff return. He also was the rusher for a pair of successful 2-point conversions in the first half.Nelson, has moved back to offense after switching to safety for a time last season, went into the game needing 591 kick return yards to match all-time leader DeAnthony Thomas.But he was by no means perfect. He struggled at the start, fumbling on his opening punt return. He also fumbled on a kickoff return at the end of the third quarter.I had the first-game jitters. I just tk my eye off the ball for a second and fumbled it, he said. Second time, I just tried to make extra yards. I should have run out of bounds. I had the ball in the wrong hand, and the other guy made a great play. Ill be lking to correct that next week.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe victory against lower-tier UC Davis isnt by itself enough to mean movement for the Ducks in the Top 25, but upset losses elsewhere among ranked teams -- including No. 16 UCLAs loss to Texas A&M -- could push the Ducks up a bit.UP NEXTUC DAVIS: The Aggies get another Oregon team next weekend, this time Southern Oregon. It will be the ninth meeting between the two teams, but the first since 1953, with UC Davis holding a 6-1-1 series lead. Southern Oregon was the NAIA champion in 2014 and last year it was runner-up, finishing 11-3.OREGON: The Ducks face Virginia in a night game at Autzen next Saturday. Oregons only other meeting with the Cavaliers came in 2013, when sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota led the Ducks to a 59-10 victory.Virginia lost to Richmond 37-20 earlier Saturday.LAST WORDFrom an effort standpoint I thought we were solid. There were just a thousand other things we can clean up. That happens a bunch in a first game, whether youre a veteran or not -- just the head-slapping, `I cant believe I did that moments. ... You just own it and move forward. -- Oregon coach Mark Helfrich.---Follow Anne M. Peterson on Twitter: (at)anniempeterson Kyle Walker Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Kieran Trippier England Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Nick-Pope-England-Jersey/ . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to lk at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Ashley Young England Jersey . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers schl record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. David Beckham Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. DETROIT -- The way Justin Verlander has pitched since July, he rarely needs much offensive support from his teammates.On Friday night, the Detroit Tigers didnt score until the sixth inning, but four late runs were more than enough for Verlander to beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2.He allowed a first-inning homer to Albert Pujols, then after holding the Angels hitless from the second into the eighth, he gave up a second run before Francisco Rodriguez got the final four outs.The Tigers have won five straight to move back into contention in both the AL Central and wild-card races.Verlander (14-7) allowed four hits and a walk while striking out eight in his ninth straight quality start. Since July 2, he is 7-1 with a 2.00 ERA while giving up 48 hits in 76 1/3 innings.This is what you work for, he said. You work so hard in the offseason so that you can be strong at the end of the year and continue to give your team a chance to win when it really counts.Mike Trout went 0 for 3 against Verlander, and is 1 for 15 against the Tigers ace in his career.That was obviously a tough night, Trout said. He was throwing near 100 (mph), he was working the corners, and he was keeping us off balance. That doesnt give you many chances.Justin Upton hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the sixth -- his fourth in five games.Upton was hitting .226 when Tigers manager Brad Ausmus held him out of the starting lineup for three days last week. Since returning on Saturday, hes batting .417 with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBI in six games.Hes been great since he came back off that three-day hiatus, Ausmus said. It was a mental reset, and it gave him a chance to work on some things. His history shows hes capable of going on sustained tears like this, and I hope he keeps it going for at least the next five weeks.Ricky Nolasco (4-12) held the Tigers scoreless for the first five innings, but ended up allowing four runs, nine hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings.I was putting up zeros and trying to give us a chance, but thats a stacked lineup, Nolasco said. I made the big pitches I needed until the sixth.Pujols gave the Angels a 1-0 lead in the first, hitting his 585th career homer. He came into the game hitting .360 against the Tigers, the best average in baseball since 2001. It was Pujols first regular-season homer off Verlander, though he did hit one off the Tigers ace in the 2006 World Series.Detroit broke through in the sixth, tying the game on consecutive doubles by Victor Martinez and J.ddddddddddddD. Martinez, and Upton hit the next pitch into the stands in left field to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.I hung two straight sliders, and it cost us the game, Nolasco said. J.D. hit the first one for a double and the next one was a home run.Cameron Maybin added a solo homer in the seventh. Verlander didnt allow a hit after the first inning until Kaleb Cowarts one-out single in the eighth. Cowart, though, scored on Kole Calhouns two-out double.That brought in Rodriguez, and he walked Trout to put the tying run on base. Pujols hit an 0-1 pitch deep down the line in left, but it hked foul. Rodriguez uncorked a wild pitch to move the runners to second and third.Pujols, though, grounded out on the next pitch to end the threat.You knew that was going to be a battle with Frankie and Albert out there, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. Albert almost got him, but he just couldnt wrap it around the pole, and then Frankie made a great pitch. Thats what hes going to do.TRAINERS RMAngels: INF Jefry Marte returned to the Angels after missing the series in Toronto with tonsillitis. ... Reliever Cam Bedrosian is scheduled to see a vascular specialist early next week to determine if he needs season-ending surgery to remove a bld clot in his arm.Tigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (neck) started for Triple-A Toledo in the first of what is expected to be three rehab starts. Zimmermann allowed two hits in 3 2/3 shutout innings, throwing 39 pitches.ACHTER HONOREDVisiting relievers arent usually included in pre-game ceremonies, but the Tigers made an exception for Angels reliever A.J. Achter. Friday was Michigan State University Night at Comerica Park, and Achter is the only active major leaguer who played for the Spartans.GOLD MEDALIST COMES HOMESwimmer Allison Schmitt, who grew up about 30 miles west of Comerica Park, threw out the first pitch. Earlier this month, she won gold and silver in the Rio Olympics, giving her four career gold medals and eight total medals.UP NEXTThe teams continue their three-game series Saturday night, with Tigers rkie Michael Fulmer (10-4, 2.5 facing Brett Oberholtzer (3-2, 5.77). Oberholtzer is replacing Jhoulys Chacin in the rotation, with Chacin moving to the bullpen. ' ' '