PULLMAN, Wash. – Appropriately, a guy named Green
buried the Ducks at Martin Stadium Saturday. A guy
named Gesser didn’t help Oregon’s chances, either.
Wary of Washington State’s Heisman candidate, senior
quarterback Jason Gesser, the Ducks forgot about the
Cougars’ running back, Jermaine Green. Gesser threw
for 277 yards and four touchdowns while Green gained
180 yards on 25 carries as the No. 5 Cougars (9-1
overall, 6-0 Pacific-10 Conference) ended a four-game
losing skid to the Ducks with a 32-21 win in front of
37,600 fans.
Offensively, the No. 15 Ducks (7-3, 3-3) totaled just
252 yards, their lowest output of the season,
including a dismal two-yard effort in the third
quarter. Onterrio Smith, who snuck up on the Cougars
for a school-record 285 yards here last year, took the
brunt of the WSU beating Saturday, as he ended up with
a season-low 64 yards on 25 carries and two nagging
injuries.
“This is very difficult to take,” said Oregon
quarterback Jason Fife, who was 16-of-35 for 192 yards
with one touchdown and one interception. “The (Oregon)
defense did everything it needed to. The offense was
just ineffective today. A lot of that ineffectiveness
falls on me.”
For three quarters, the Oregon defense seemed to do it
all – including the offense. Junior cornerback Steven
Moore, on a blitz in the first quarter, swiped the
ball out of Gesser’s hands and ran 12 yards the other
way for Oregon’s first touchdown. On the second play
of the second half, junior linebacker Kevin Mitchell
intercepted a Gesser pass and returned it 20 yards for
a score to give Oregon a 21-17 lead.
“Our defense played with great character,” Oregon head
coach Mike Bellotti said. “They scored two touchdowns
and gave us a chance to win the game. It’s a shame
that the other two aspects (offense and special teams)
didn’t match up today.”
But Oregon’s defensive 11 could only play like 22 for
so long. After holding the Cougars to just a field
goal in three straight possession that started in
Oregon territory in the third quarter, the Duck “D”
bent in the end.
Washington State 6-foot-6 receiver Mike Bush beat
freshman corner Marques Binns for a jump ball in the
end zone to give the Cougs a 26-21 lead with 8:56
left. Less than a minute later, Binns was again beat –
this time by Devard Darling for a 46-yard score –
thought that play was a bit out of the ordinary. Binns
made a nice play to tip the ball, but it bounced up
and fell into Darling’s hands.
“This is very frustrating,” said senior receiver Jason
Willis, who had his first career touchdown catch in 87
career receptions, which turned out to be Oregon’s
only offensive score. “This is the first time I’ve
lost to WSU. It hurts. It’s hurts a lot.”
Oregon has three losses for the first time since 1999.
“Our goals were shattered,” Moore said.
With two games remaining – the home finale Saturday
against Washington State and the Civil War in
Corvallis – the Ducks stand in fifth place in the
Pac-10, and are projected to go to the Las Vegas Bowl
on Dec. 25.
“There’s nowhere to go but up,” Oregon senior receiver
Keenan Howry said. “Even though we’re out of the Rose
Bowl picture, there’s still a lot to play for.”
Smith, who sat out of the Stanford game last week with
a minor knee injury, was poked in the eye during
Oregon’s first drive Saturday. As he was escorted off
the field, Cougar fans cheered. He also injured his
foot in the second quarter, and took just three
handoffs in the second half.
“That was without class,” Bellotti said of WSU fans’
cheerful reaction to Smith’s first-quarter injury.
“This is the only stadium where I’ve heard someone
cheer when a player got hurt.”