The No. 19 Oregon offense put on a show Saturday, amassing a school record 688 yards of total offense on the way to a 66-24 win over the Utah State Aggies in front of 58,060 at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon’s 66 points was its most since scoring a modern-era record 72 against Nevada Sept. 18, 1999.
“I think we took advantage of what they gave us in terms of throwing the ball when we had some easy throws and then running it,” said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti. “We made some key third-down conversions. I think that was really important to sustain drives.”
Senior running back Jeremiah Johnson took a handoff from sophomore quarterback Justin Roper on the game’s second play from scrimmage and scampered off-tackle left for 37 yards. Johnson attempted to stiff-arm the last defender between him and a touchdown, but was dragged down out of bounds. Johnson was slow to get up and left the field with a right shoulder injury. Johnson did not return to action, watching the game from the sideline with his right arm in a sling.
“We won’t know the severity of that (injury) for a while,” said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti. “But both he and the trainers felt that he will be ready to go next week.”
Junior transfer running back LeGarrette Blount picked up the slack in Johnson’s absence, leading all rushers in the game with 132 yards on 18 carries (7.3 ypc) and two touchdowns.
“He put his foot in the ground a couple of times and got north to south,” Bellotti said of Blount. “LeGarrette is a good physical runner and with experience he will get better.”
Junior running back Andre Crenshaw carried the ball 10 times for 72 yards and a score while catching two passes for 29 yards. Remene Alston, Jr. rushed 11 times for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Senior wide receiver Terence Scott had another big day, catching four passes for 44 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown reception, while rushing 51 yards for another score on an end around midway through the second quarter.
Tight end Ed Dickson led the Ducks in receptions with six for 70 yards and wide receiver Jeffrey Maehl caught four balls for 72 yards.
The Oregon defense held the Aggies’ rushing attack to 88 yards, but gave up 306 yards of total offense on the day.
“We got a lot of people in the game on defense,” Bellotti said. “We gave up some yards and some points which is always frustrating, but those guys will be better for it.”
Spencer Paysinger and Marvin Johnson paced the defense with seven tackles each, and the Ducks sacked Utah State’s quarterbacks four times.
Backup quarterbacks Chris Harper and Jeremiah Masoli saw extended action again, and Harper threw and completed his first pass as a Duck. He also threw his first touchdown pass, hooking up with junior wide receiver Rory Cavaille near the end of the third quarter. It was also Cavaille’s first taste of the endzone in an Oregon uniform.
Oregon will travel to Purdue University to take on the Boilermakers next Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 12:30 p.m.