SEATTLE — Last year, Washington got the chance to dance on the Oregon “O” after defeating the Ducks in Autzen Stadium.
This year, the opportunity to dance on the Washington “W” came at Husky Stadium. And again, the Huskies took full advantage of it.
Washington hung 42 unanswered points on the board, including 35 in the second half, en route to a 42-10 victory over Oregon in front of 72,450 on Saturday.
“We played very poorly,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “We turned the ball over, we gave them the big plays, we broke ourselves down. It was very horrible.”
Washington didn’t have Rich Alexis. They didn’t have Cody Pickett in the second half. They didn’t have wide receiver Charles Frederick fully healthy.
And it didn’t matter.
Kenny James, Shelton Sampson and Casey Paus proved to be more than adequate replacements for the Washington offense. James — who had only been named the starter a few days before the game, when it was apparent Alexis could not play — became the first running back to rush for more than 100 yards in a single game against the Ducks this season.
James finished with 104 yards on 18 carries, and Sampson scored three touchdowns. Sampson, almost a side-note name before the game started, ran for 131 yards on just six carries.
“The key to our running game was blocking, good blocking,” Washington head coach Keith Gilbertson said. “The guys up front blocked very well. (James and Sampson) did a nice job of running the football.”
Pickett started the game, but did not come in at the start of the second half because of a head injury he suffered in the first half. Paus came in for Pickett in the second half and delivered 117 yards through the air on 5 of 8 passing, including a 63-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Reggie Williams with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter.
“When we came in at halftime, the trainers said that Cody couldn’t remember anything about the first half of the game he had played,” Gilbertson said. “So, we said, ‘That’s it, we have to make a change.’”
James and Sampson were the catalysts for a Husky offense that broke four plays of 50 yards or more, all in the second half. James started that string with a 56-yard run on the first Washington drive, which set up Sampson’s second touchdown of the game.
Williams then caught the 63-yarder, which helped vault him to 130 receiving yards on the day. He finished with seven catches a year after burning the Ducks (5-4 overall, 2-3 Pacific-10 Conference) for 14 catches and 198 yards.
Oregon quarterback Kellen Clemens fumbled the ball with 10:56 left in the fourth quarter, allowing Greg Carothers to return the ball for a 55-yard touchdown return.

“We were just executing better (in the second half),” Williams said. “In the first half we didn’t have the ball that much. In the second half we took advantage of every opportunity we got.”
Sampson ended Washington’s (5-4, 3-2) offensive day with a 77-yard touchdown run with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter.
“They caught us in a couple of blitzes and took advantage of our defense,” Oregon safety Marley Tucker said. “Those exposure plays killed us. Up until the second half we were controlling the game, we were controlling the ball, and we were up. Then it took a turn for the worse.”
Mistakes and penalties cost Oregon. Washington didn’t receive a penalty until the fourth quarter.
Oregon was charged with 10 penalties for 75 yards, compared to just two for 25 yards for the Huskies.
“Penalties are the most infuriating thing about this game,” Bellotti said.
Clemens ended the day with 14 of 24 for 230 yards passing. Jason Fife was 2 of 5 for 16 yards. He did, however, run the ball six times for 42 yards.
Both, though, were pressured throughout the game. Washington recorded seven sacks and picked off one Clemens pass.
“We didn’t execute very well in the second half,” Clemens said. “Washington did a good job of sustaining momentum.”
“I was disappointed that we didn’t throw more catchable passes,” Bellotti said. “I don’t know if that was the elements or just the pressure of Washington. A couple of times we had people open and didn’t get them the ball.”
Clemens did get the ball to his receivers early, highlighted by an 85-yard touchdown strike to Demetrius Williams. Clemens was pressured from the right and lofted a pass to Demetrius Williams, who had beat Washington’s Sam Cunningham. He ran unabated to the end zone for an early Oregon lead.
Sampson ended a 17-play scoring drive for Washington with a one-yard plunge at the 12:09 mark of the second quarter for his first touchdown of the night. The Huskies had started on their own 17-yard line, and had just one play of 20 yards or more.
Oregon linebacker Marcus Miller most likely tore his ACL during the game, Bellotti said, and cornerback Rodney Woods also suffered a stinger.
“Even if you’re not the starting guys, you’ve got to step up and make plays,” Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell said.
That about sums it up.