Beers were tossed, gestures were made and all Oregon outside linebacker Torrodney Prevot could do was look at the angry Washington State crowd, blow a kiss and wave.
With a beaming smile from cheek-to-cheek, Prevot, and the rest of his Oregon teammates, headed towards the tunnel that led away from Martin Stadium to a chorus of boos from a disgruntled Cougars fan base. During the game, Washington State matched Oregon stride-for-stride, but the Ducks nursed a slim second half advantage to beat the Cougars 38-31 and pass their first road test of the season.
A win well worth a smile and a goodbye salute from Prevot.
“It was huge to us,” Prevot said after the game. “We knew what we were missing throughout the week. We could tell the atmosphere that was there. This game was pretty big for us to get it out of the way and just to know that we can always stick together no matter what. That’s a clutch game for us.”
Throughout the game, it became obvious that the Cougars wouldn’t be the only opposition for the Ducks. Oregon also had to stare adversity in the eyes and overcome it.
“We faced a ton of adversity, some self-inflicted, some not,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said after the game. “I thought our guys did a great job of seeing it through.”
Oregon’s offensive line struggled against the Cougars defense, allowing quarterback Marcus Mariota to be sacked an unprecedented seven times. With walk-on Matt Pierson starting at right tackle — his first career start — and freshman Tyrell Crosby making his first start at left tackle, Mariota was constantly on the run.
In the second half, Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost adjusted his offensive attack. He moved Mariota out of the pocket more and aimed to get the ball out of his hands before pressure could arrive.
“That was huge,” Mariota said. “For both coaches to make that call, it was pivotal for us. It really helped us get receivers open. It opened up some running lanes, as well.”
Mariota finished 21-of-25 for 329 yards and five touchdowns. He added 58 net rushing yards, as well.
After the game, Prevot described the victory as “ugly,” a testament shared by his fellow teammates. However, all were fortunate to leave Pullman, Washington with a Pac-12 victory and a untarnished record.
“Like I told those guys in the locker room winning a road game in this conference is hard,” Helfrich said. “People just expect (a win) to happen. I know people around the country are looking at the scoreboard and be surprised, but we spat a few guys together, taped a few guys together and gutted it out. I’m really proud of that.”
As the No. 2 team in the country, Oregon will be in the cross-hairs of an opponents scope each and every week. To come away from Washington State’s best shot unscathed is something senior wide receiver Keanon Lowe things the team can build off of.
“Tough place to play and you know when you’re a team that’s highly ranked you’re going to get everyone’s best shot,” he said. “They gave us their best shot. They hit us in the mouth and we hit them back.
It was good to face adversity. We learned a lot about our team, I think we grew a lot from this.”
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt