Once again, the game was not as close as the final score indicated. Once again, career and single-game records fell under merciless assault.
Once again, the most important message for head coach Chip Kelly in Oregon’s 69-0 annihilation of the Portland State Vikings, witnessed by 58,086 at Autzen Stadium: We have to keep improving.
“We came out like we wanted to, obviously. We made mistakes in the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter,” Kelly said. “(We did some) uncharacteristic things. We have to come back Monday and clean those things up.”
The Ducks (3-0, 0-0 Pacific-10 Conference) set an Autzen Stadium and school record with 528 yards rushing while holding the Vikings (1-2, 0-0 Big Sky Conference) to 74 rushing yards.
The 668 total yards were the third-most in school history. The shutout is the second of the season – that instance last occurred in 1964 – and the 189 points over three games is another school record.
Quarterback Darron Thomas, in one half of action, was 9 of 18 for 140 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He did, however, lose a fumble and throw an interception.
“It was all right,” Thomas said. “The ball was a little slippery today, and I missed a couple passes. I still have some stuff to clean up.”
LaMichael James had electrifying touchdown runs of 66 and 35 yards, plus a 52-yard run that set up a Rob Beard field goal. The sophomore finished with a career-high 227 rushing yards on 14 carries, unimpressive to himself and only himself.
“I felt like this was the worst game I ever played in my life,” he said. “I didn’t play with a lot of energy. I just didn’t play that well, and I take full credit for that. That’s just on me.”
His head coach might beg to differ.
“He’s got just outstanding speed and can hit home runs from anywhere on the field,” Kelly said.
The Oregon defense once again held strong, allowing just 140 total yards, 2.1 yards per play and zero third-down conversions in 18 attempts.
Vikings quarterback Connor Kavanaugh had just 18 passing yards on 8-of-21 attempts, and running back Cory McCaffrey rushed for 28 yards on 12 carries.
“We’ve got some guys who can rush the passer, and that was impressive for me today,” Kelly said. “It looked like we had a lot of guys around the ball, so that speaks to their effort and how hard we were playing. That’s key to playing defensive football. I really think our defense has done that the last three weeks now.”
Portland State attempted to mix up offensive looks, but the Ducks adjusted quickly.
“It was a little different. We were game-planning for the pistol most of the week, and they come out in a flop, which Tennessee did, so we just adjusted to that,” linebacker Josh Kaddu said. “They went back to the pistol … the only thing the pistol affects is our leverage calls, but we had them down pat.”
Thomas’ first-quarter fumble was recovered by Vikings linebacker Ryan Rau at the Oregon 22-yard line, but the defense pushed Portland State back to the 34.
Zach Brown’s field-goal attempt was wide, and the Vikings never seriously threatened again.
“I think we came up clutch in those areas when they were about to score because we wanted to pitch a shutout as a D,” Kaddu said.
Several Ducks had Saturdays to remember.
Josh Huff, Malachi Lewis and Daryle Hawkins had their first receiving touchdowns. Jeff Maehl tied a career high with two first-half touchdown receptions. Rob Beard scored a career-high 15 points (2 for 2 on field goals and 9 for 9 on extra points), and Andres Reed had career highs of 12 carries and 59 yards.
Next week’s game at Arizona State signals the beginning of conference play for the Ducks, many of whom seemed eager to get back to practice.
“We’re going to come out,” Thomas said, “and make sure we have a better week.”
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