EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon won with its backup plan.

Junior quarterback Jeff Lockie made his first career start in place of injured Vernon Adams and threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns while running back Royce Freeman ran for 101 yards and one score as the No. 12 Ducks defeated Georgia State 61-28 on Saturday afternoon at Autzen Stadium.

Adams, who suffered a broken finger in a season-opening win over Eastern Washington, is expected to return next week when Oregon opens Pac-12 Conference play at home against No. 21 Utah.

Lockie, a redshirt junior who sat behind Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota the past three seasons, completed 23 of 31 passes.

"We've got to start better," Lockie said. "It felt good to get out there and get seriously hit for the first time since I was about 18 years old. Get hit, get back up and then I settled in and we moved the ball. We definitely progressed as the game went along."

Freeman played just the first half and had 101 yards on 10 carries to help Oregon run for 311 yards. The Ducks gained 539 yards.

The Ducks are 3-0 as they head into Pac-12 play.

"I think this is a competitive group, a resilient group," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. "They have responded to challenges, but we will be challenged differently in conference play."

Georgia State had 431 yards as quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 25 of 35 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Penny Hart had nine catches for 128 yards while Demarcus Kirk ran for 42 yards on six carries.

Oregon took the lead just over one minute into the game when safety Tyree Robinson intercepted a pass by Arbuckle and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown.

"We got off to a good start defensively," Helfrich said. "Our defense did a good job creating turnovers or good field possession."

Robinson had two interceptions and the Ducks also recovered two fumbles, including one returned for a touchdown by linebacker Joe Walker.

"You can't turn the ball over the way we did," Georgia State coach Trent Miles said. "Give Oregon credit."

Georgia State drove to the Oregon 33-yard line on its second drive, but kicker Will Lutz hit the upright and missed a 50-yard field goal.

Oregon's first drive stalled at the Georgia State 13-yard line before Aidan Schneider kicked a 26-yard field goal to put Oregon ahead 10-0. Oregon forced a fumble and added a 40-yard field goal from Schneider to make it 13-0.

Georgia State drove 75 yards in five plays on its next drive before Arbuckle scored on a 1-yard run to get the Panthers within 13-7 late in the first quarter.

Oregon went ahead 20-7 on Freeman's 22-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

Robinson got his second interception of the game on Georgia State's next drive and the Ducks scored three plays later when Lockie threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dwayne Stanford.

Schneider added his third field goal of the half -- a 40-yarder -- to put Oregon ahead 30-7, and he closed out the half with another 40-yard field goal to give the Ducks a 33-7 lead at halftime.

Oregon wide receiver Kirk Merritt fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and Georgia State scored a touchdown when Arbuckle threw a 14-yard pass to Todd Boyd to cut Oregon's lead to 33-14.

Oregon drove 98 yards to score a touchdown on a 3-yard run by Taj Griffin to take a 40-14 lead with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter.

On the next play, Arbuckle threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Robert Davis that got the Panthers within 40-21.

Oregon responded on its next drive as Lockie led the Ducks down the field and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight Johnny Mundt to put the Ducks ahead 47-21. The Panthers answered again when Arbuckle tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Rucker.

Oregon linebacker Tyson Coleman sacked Arbuckle on the next drive and forced a fumble that was recovered by Walker, who went 52 yards on the return for a touchdown that put Oregon ahead 54-28.

Sophomore Taylor Alie replaced Lockie in the fourth quarter and had an 87-yard touchdown run to stretch Oregon's lead to 61-28.

NOTES: Oregon CB Chris Seisay, who had a boot on his foot in practice this week, did not play. OG Cameron Hunt also sat out the game due to injury. ... WR Devon Allen, who missed Oregon's first game of the season and most of the second game after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament last year, had his first catch of the season. ... Oregon improved to 39-7 in non-conference games since 2000. ... Jeff Lockie's touchdown pass to Dwayne Stanford in the second quarter extended Oregon's NCAA record to 71 straight games with a TD pass. ... Georgia State fell to 2-25 since moving up to FCS level in 2013.