On the strength of their 53-7 victory over the Washington State Cougars Saturday, in front of 58,749 at Autzen Stadium, the Ducks moved up to the No. 7 spot in the AP poll Sunday and debuted at No. 10 in the first Bowl Championship Series rankings of the season.
The Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10) defense forced three turnovers and sacked Cougar quarterback Alex Brink six times in the game.
Washington State (2-5, 0-4 Pac-10) was moving the ball down the field to start the game, but had its first two drives end deep in Oregon territory on interceptions by Oregon linebackers John Bacon and Jerome Boyd.
“We got two key interceptions in the red zone,” said Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti. “That really changed the game quite a bit, or gave us an early advantage.”
Bacon’s 49-yard return set up a Jeremiah Johnson 42-yard touchdown run on the Ducks’ first offensive play. Boyd’s
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pick set up a 13-play, 69-yard drive that ended in a 44-yard Matt Evensen field goal.
Johnson would go untouched up the middle of the field for an 18-yard touchdown just before the end of the first quarter to put the Ducks up 17-0. Unfortunately for Oregon, the quarter would be the last of senior wide receiver Cameron Colvin’s college career.
Colvin fractured his right ankle on a wide receiver screen on the Ducks’ second possession and is done for the season, according to Oregon coach Mike Bellotti.
“I feel very bad for Cameron Colvin,” said Bellotti. “He has worked very hard and was coming into his own and playing the most focused football of his career.”
The second quarter brought more solid defense from the Ducks, as they held the Cougars to just nine yards of offense. Defensive end Nick Reed and defensive tackle Cole Linehan combined to force a safety and quarterback Dennis Dixon ran for a touchdown and threw for two more in the quarter to stretch the lead to 40-0 at the half.
But in another unfortunate turn for the Ducks, they lost Johnson to a sprained knee midway through the second quarter. The junior running back had an MRI Sunday to examine the extent of the damage, and is “likely out for the season,” according to Bellotti.
“Those are serious blows,” said Bellotti of the injuries to Colvin and Johnson. “Our depth will be tested.”
The Oregon defense held the Cougars to 63 yards rushing for the game, and were led in tackles by Reed. Reed had 11 tackles, including 3.5 sacks.
“I was kind of hoping to have a game like today. I always go into it thinking that and sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t,” said Reed. “I knew they were a passing team so I knew there would be a lot of pass rush opportunities… so I had high hopes.”
Reed came into the game leading the Pac-10 in tackles-for-loss with eight and padded that lead with five tackles for a loss of 46 yards.
“He has an unbelievable motor,” said Bellotti. “He’s not the biggest or the fastest guy, but it’s his effort that separates him.”
Aliotti also praised the junior’s effort.
“Nick Reed played awesome,” he said. “He’s a Tasmanian devil. He’s not overly big or overly strong but he just plays hard and practices hard.”
The Oregon offense put up 551 total yards and Dixon completed passes to nine different receivers. Junior wide receiver Jaison Williams led Oregon’s receivers with four catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.
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