Once again it was Oregon's defense that set the table for a 52-6 thrashing of Washington State Saturday evening at Autzen Stadium. Holding the Cougars to four first downs and 158 total yards, the Ducks were in control of the game from the opening drive, an eight play, 60 yard march highlighted by LaMichael James' 26-yard touchdown dash.
With a stranglehold in place on the Cougar offense, Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli followed up last week's breakout performance against California with a 14/18 afternoon good for 116 yards and a TD. He also ran for 52 yards and score before turning over the offense to Nate Costa late in the second quarter. By that point the Ducks were leading 35-0 and Costa promptly drove 83 yards and scored on a four yard keeper.
As he had the previous week, head coach Chip Kelly attributed his team's performance to the quality and effort demonstrated during practice leading up to Saturday's game.
"We had another good week of practice and we wanted to get off to a fast start being at home and our guys responded," said Kelly. "I challenged them on Friday night and they came out playing again."
One new wrinkle added to the offensive game plan was a varied pace of the attack. While always quick to get to the line of scrimmage, several of Oregon's drives on Saturday were full throttle, eschewing the normal review of the defensive set by the quarterback who would then receive a second play call. As the offense has matured over the past month, Kelly has been anxious to get the unit to the point they could reduce the time between snaps and on Saturday he was able to do so.
"We're still young offensively but we are starting to get into some different aspects of what we can do offensively," he said. "I think changing the tempo really helped us and forced them to get into some looks before they could get their defenses in . I think it is something we need to continue to do."
The second half gave head coach Chip Kelly the opportunity to give playing time to the second and third string players and that increased participation is reflected in the final stat sheet. Eight different runners were credited with a carry and nine different receivers were credited with a catch.
Running backs LaMichael James, Remene, Alston and Andre Crenshaw each found the end zone and the Ducks ground pounded the Cougar defense for 318 yards. The trio combined for 34 carries and 188 yards of that total as Oregon's "tailback-by-committee" approach continued to be productive.
The receiving corps was led by TE Ed Dickson's seven catches for 103 yards, who set the school record for career receptions of 105, eclipsing Josh Wilcox in the record books.
"That's awesome," said Kelly when informed of the record. "Ed's special. He's 6'5" and runs like a wide receiver. He's got great hands and just to watch Ed's development . to see Ed just grow as a person. It's tremendous, all these accolades he is getting he deserves. Ed has put a tremendous amount (of work) into being an Oregon football player, it's an awesome deal and I'm really proud of the kid."
Washington State's only points came after a fumbled punt return gave the Cougars possession on the Oregon one yard line. It took three attempts but quarterback Marshall Lobbestael scored on a keeper to spoil the shutout with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
With a sweep of the four game home stand, the next challenge for the Ducks is to sustain their defensive intensity and offensive productivity on the road. Oregon travels to UCLA next Saturday, then after a bye must travel to Seattle to face the Huskies before returning to Autzen on Halloween evening to play USC.
