The outcome seemingly never in doubt from the opening kick, the Oregon student section formally nailed shut Washington State’s coffin with a “Na na na na…hey, hey, hey, goodbye” chant – with 1:40 left in the second quarter.
The Cougars (1-4, 0-3 Pacific-10 Conference) saw their offense wilt under the pressure of the Oregon defense as the Ducks (4-1, 2-0) racked up 514 yards of total offense in a 52-6 victory before a crowd of 57,378.
“The defense has been tremendous this season,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said.
Tremendous to the tune of 158 total yards of Cougar offense (107 rushing). The Ducks allowed only four first downs (Oregon’s offense accumulated 31) and forced three turnovers, two interceptions of Marshall Lobbestael passes and a fumble forced by defensive tackle Terrance Montgomery and recovered by defensive back Titus Jackson.
The only Washington State score occurred in the third quarter, after defensive back Scott Grady dropped a punt at the Oregon three-yard line and long snapper Zach Enyeart recovered the fumble at the 1. Lobbestael snuck in for a touchdown on third and a yard, but Nico Grasu’s extra point was missed wide.
By then, the damage had already been done. LaMichael James converted a fourth-and-1 for a 26-yard touchdown run on Oregon’s opening drive, one of four fourth-down conversions (out of four) by the offense.
Tight end Ed Dickson caught a 26-yard pass on the very next series. Five different Ducks scored rushing touchdowns on the night: James, Jeremiah Masoli, Andre Crenshaw, Remene Alston and Nate Costa, who took over for Masoli halfway with 3:39 remaining in the second quarter.
Costa’s touchdown was the first of his Oregon career.
“I can’t really describe the feeling,” Costa said. “I haven’t scored a touchdown since high school. I’m feeling good though – I got hit a couple times, which is good, it woke me up. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”
Costa and Masoli combined to complete 21 of 27 passes for 196 yards with one touchdown, Masoli’s connection to Dickson.
“We’re doing the good job of passing the ball,” Costa said.
Dickson led all receivers with seven catches for 103 yards, four more than the next nearest Ducks (Lavasier Tuinei and David Paulson). His 29-yard reception from Nate Costa in the second quarter – his sixth of the game – gave him his 104th career catch as an Oregon tight end, breaking Justin Wilcox’s career record. Last week against Cal, Dickson tied Wilcox’s record for receptions in a game by a tight end with 11.
“We’ve got great tight ends in that category,” Dickson said. “It means a lot.”
The Ducks have now outscored Washington State 168-27 in their last three meetings and had a streak of seven consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown broken by Lobbestael’s quarterback sneak in the third quarter.
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