No. 2 Oregon defeats No. 23 Washington 52-21
By ANNE M. PETERSON (AP Sports Writer) | The Associated
Press – Sun, Oct 7, 2012 3:09 AM EDT
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Marcus Mariota says part of his
progression as a young quarterback is learning how not to do too much.
Oregon's redshirt freshman put his faith more in his
teammates on Saturday night, throwing for 198 yards and four touchdowns in the
No. 2 Ducks' 52-21 victory over No. 23 Washington.
''I just really have to trust them, and trust my ability to
get them the ball,'' he said.
Mariota rebounded from an interception on the Ducks' opening
series to complete 15 of 24 passes and Oregon (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) won its ninth
straight overall dating back to last season, as well as its ninth straight in
the series against the rival Huskies (3-2, 1-1).
Mariota connected with tight end Colt Lyerla with two
touchdowns, and also found Keanon Lowe and Josh Huff. Lyerla caught three
passes for 71 yards, including touchdowns of 10 and 13 yards.
''I think today was a really good example of a team
effort,'' Mariota said.
Kenjon Barner, who went into the game ranked 10th in the
nation with an average of 121 yards rushing per game, joined in, running for
122 yards.
On Washington's side, Bishop Sankey ran for 104 yards and
two touchdowns. Quarterback Keith Price completed 19 of 31 passes for 145
yards. He threw two interceptions and was sacked once.
''We really felt like we could come in and play with them,''
Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said. ''We felt like we had a plan
offensively. But we had a hard time tackling the quarterback when he got out of
the pocket. That made things difficult for us.''
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| Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota unleashes a pass as Washington defender Andrew Hudson watches at right during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Don Ryan) |
The two Pacific Northwest teams have a lengthy rivalry.
Huskies' fans remember ''The Pick'' in 1994 when freshman cornerback Kenny
Wheaton saved the day for the Ducks when he intercepted a pass by Damon Huard
and ran it back 97 yards for a score.
The victory sent Oregon to the Rose Bowl - and a clip is
still played on the video scoreboard for fans before every home game.
The Huskies raised the ire of Ducks' fans in 2002 when,
after beating Oregon 42-10, the team danced for nearly an hour on the ''O'' on
the 50-yard line at Autzen Stadium.
But because of Oregon's recent domination of the series, the
intensity of the rivalry has diminished in recent years. The Ducks' nine-game
winning streak is the longest for either side in the series history, which
dates back to 1900.
There was little visible contentiousness between the two
teams on Saturday night, except for a brief shoving match in the third quarter.
Mariota, normally cool on the field, said there was a point
where he stood up for himself after being pushed out of bounds.
''We try to take each game like it's a rivalry,'' Mariota
said.
De'Anthony Thomas opened the scoring for the Ducks when he
wove his way through several defenders for a 16-yard touchdown, set up when the
Huskies fumbled on a punt return and Oregon's B.J. Kelley recovered on the
Washington 20.
Mariota found sophomore Lowe with a 21-yard scoring pass
before Avery Patterson scored on a 43-yard interception return. It was
Patterson's second straight game with an interception return for a touchdown.
Sankey, who had also run for 100 yards in each of
Washington's previous two games, had a 1-yard touchdown dive for the Huskies to
make it 21-7 early in the second quarter.
The Ducks answered with Mariota's 10-yard TD pass to Lyerla.
A short time later, a running Mariota hit Huff with a 34-yard catch-and-run.
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| Oregon running back De'Anthony Thomas celebrates his touchdown with offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Washington in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012.(AP Photo/Don Ryan) |
Rob Beard, who missed a 41-yard field goal attempt in the
first half, made a 28-yarder early in the second to make it 38-7. Sankey ran
for a hard-fought 6-yard touchdown before the end of the third quarter.
Lyerla opened the fourth with a 13-yard touchdown pass from
Mariota, and a short time later Byron Marshall ran for a score to make it
52-14.
Erich Wilson had a 1-yard TD run for Washington with 32
seconds left in the game.
''I don't think the final score is indicative of their
football team as compared to ours and that part's really frustrating to me,''
Sarkisian said.
The victory was Chip Kelly's 40th as Oregon's head coach.
Washington popped into the rankings last week after a 17-13
victory over then-No. 8 Stanford.
The Ducks were the Huskies' third top-10 opponent this
season. Washington also fell 41-3 to then-No. 3 LSU.
They struggled as much against the Ducks, who went into the
game averaging more than 52 points a game and 550 yards in total offense.
Last season, Oregon defeated Washington 34-17 in the final
game played at the old Husky Stadium before an extensive renovation that is set
to be completed for the 2013 season.
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