The No. 9 Oregon Ducks (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) used a record-setting day from junior running back LaMichael James to blow away the Arizona Wildcats and get their first Pac-12 win, 56-31, Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205288640&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
James needed only 23 carries to rack up a school-record 288 yards rushing, including a pair of touchdowns. In the process, the junior also broke Oregon’s single-game rushing record of 275 yards, set by Onterrio Smith against Washington State in 2001.@@http://www.goducks.com/downloads2/429217.HTM?ATCLID=205288859&SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
“We got tested a little bit against Nevada and Missouri State,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said to The Oregonian. “But this was the one to see where we are as a football program.”
James now has 43 scoring runs in his career, breaking Derek Loville’s school record of 42. He also has 492 rushing yards over the past two games, the top two-game total in Oregon history. The team had a dominant effort on the ground overall, amassing an impressive 415 yards rushing on 47 carries. The Ducks have won a program-record 13 consecutive conference games since losing to the Stanford Cardinal on Nov. 7, 2009.@@http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=312670012@@
“We came out and tried to set the tone for the Pac-12,” Oregon linebacker Josh Kaddu said to The Register-Guard.
The Ducks moved the ball quickly and effortlessly throughout most of the contest. Oregon grabbed the upper hand with an eight-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 12-yard scamper by James to open the game. After Arizona (1-3, 0-2 Pac-12) stalled on its first drive, Oregon struck back with its second sub-three-minute drive of the game, with Kenjon Barner reaching the end zone on an eight-yard rush.
Darron Thomas threw two touchdowns, to David Paulson and Barner respectively, to punctuate a commanding first half and take a 35-9 lead into the locker room.
After Arizona threatened the Ducks with consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter to make the score 35-24, the Ducks responded with two lightning-quick touchdown drives of their own, with Darron Thomas and Kenjon Barner breaking the goal line for rushing scores.
“We were aware we were going to get a great shot from them in the second half,” Kelly said to The Oregonian. “And I thought our offense responded really well.”
The Ducks had three runners — James, Thomas and Barner — finish with multiple rushing touchdowns on the night.
“I haven’t been that excited in a long time,” Barner — who finished with three total scores on the night — said to The Register-Guard.
Foles, who threw for 398 yards and three scores, brought the score back to 49-31 with a four-yard pass to fellow senior David Roberts with 6:29 remaining. But Oregon milked the clock in the fourth quarter as James dipped and dodged through Wildcat defenders.
Arizona’s most explosive playmaker, senior receiver Juron Criner, had nine receptions for 96 yards, but dropped several passes and failed to find the end zone. Foles has now thrown for more than 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns in four games this year. He has yet to thrown an interception in 183 attempts.@@http://www.arizonawildcats.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html@@
“I’ll tell you what: I’m glad Nick Foles is graduating,” Kelly said to The Register-Guard after the game. “I catch myself watching him in awe sometimes.”
Arizona head coach Mike Stoops looked frantic on the sideline as his team struggled, berating the officials and his players as his squad dropped their eighth straight game to a non-FCS opponent. The Wildcats shot themselves in the foot early and often, committing nine penalties totaling 91 yards at home. Arizona was six for 19 on third-down for the game.
“We just weren’t prepared to play,” Stoops said to the Arizona Daily Star.@@lowercase T on this one@@