When it comes to scoring points, No. 21 Oregon doesn’t wait for anybody.
Washington included.
The Ducks scored on five drives of two minutes or less en route to a 44-10 win over rival Washington, their fifth in a row over the Huskies, Saturday night at Autzen Stadium to kick off the 2008 season. All seven of Oregon’s scores came in under three minutes.
“I’m sort of surprised when we don’t score quickly,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “Obviously this team will establish its own personality, but they showed that they have that explosiveness.”
Behind a balanced attack of 277 rushing yards and 240 through the air, Oregon scored 30 unanswered points in the second half, even without starting quarterback Justin Roper, who left with a concussion in the first half. Roper was replaced with junior college transfer Jeremiah Masoli and freshman Chris Harper, both of whom showed why Oregon coaches wanted to get them on the field by combining for three touchdowns.
In the opposing huddle, Washington sophomore signal-caller Jake Locker was able to convert on several third downs throughout the game for the Huskies, but was hurried into three sacks and a 43 percent completion percentage, throwing for only 103 yards.
“We didn’t play as well as we can,” Locker said. “We’re not a team that can just come out and win without trying. No one in this league is a pushover.”
Appropriately, Oregon started its scoring quickly in the first quarter as senior running back Jeremiah Johnson, 10 months removed from tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, scored on a 4-yard touchdown run a play after bolting 44 yards down the right hash mark on Oregon’s first possession. The drive took a scant 1 minute, 24 seconds to travel 63 yards. After two stalled drives by Washington and another by the Ducks, Roper found Terrence Scott on a slant for a 60-yard touchdown.
Roper would finish with 114 yards passing, completing seven of his 11 attempts before suffering the concussion. Head coach Mike Bellotti said trainers expect Roper to return for practice next week in time for next Saturday’s game against Utah State at home.
But as quickly as it got on the board in the first quarter, the Ducks’ offense suddenly stalled while the Huskies crept to within four points at halftime behind a methodical 60-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Oregon’s final four drives of the first half netted zero points as Masoli struggled early, turning the ball over on downs on an incompletion with under two minutes left in the second quarter.
Oregon’s second drive of the second half got Oregon back into its first-quarter rhythm. Fifty-nine yards and 1:14 after it began, Johnson scampered 13 yards for his second and final touchdown of the night, complementing his 125 rushing yards, a career high. Johnson had a 55-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter called back for a holding penalty, as well.
“He’s shown flashes of that before,” Bellotti said. “He’s got finishing speed now, with no effects from the surgery. I’m excited as heck about Jeremiah.”
As Oregon found its comfort zone on offense in the second half, its defense settled down, as well. Senior rover Patrick Chung said the Ducks were prepared for everything they saw all week in film and practice – except for Locker’s speed.
“He’s a lot faster in person than on film,” Chung said.
Oregon stopped every Washington drive in the second half, even though Locker kept it interesting by turning broken pass plays into long running plays for first downs. Chung was most proud of the defense’s work on Locker.
“We take pride in that, because he’s a big-time player,” Chung said. “Our coach told us no more points. We took it to heart.”
When it wasn’t Johnson, the Oregon offense found its spark plugs in its wide receiving corps. Masoli hit Jaison Williams for a 48-yard touchdown to push the lead to 30-10, then found Jeff Maehl alone in the end zone four minutes later for a 25-yard touchdown to go up by seven more. Scott, who Bellotti called the team’s “most pleasing development,” finished with six catches for 117 yards, a career-high.
Masoli had been cleared to play with a wrist injury 10 days before, but he showed few ill effects after a few high passes in the first half. He wasn’t surprised with his performance in the second half despite his limited time practicing with the first-team offense.
“That’s one of the amazing things that coach (Chip) Kelly’s offense is known for,” Masoli said.
Harper found his way into the mix rushing from the shotgun formation 12 times for 60 yards to be the Ducks’ second-leading rusher. He scored the game’s final touchdown with 46 seconds left.
Saturday’s emotional win over the Huskies – the first time in history the Ducks have won five straight – was compounded by presence of family members of former Oregon safety Todd Doxey, who drowned in the McKenzie River in July. Patrick Chung wore Doxey’s No. 29 jersey in honor of Doxey, and the jersey will be rotated among the Ducks throughout the season.
“It was an honor,” Chung said. “I said I wanted to wear it first.”
Oregon hosts Utah State Sept. 6 at 12:30.