When Samie Parker went down with a right ankle sprain in the first half of Oregon’s game Saturday against Arizona in Tucson, Demetrius Williams stepped up.
The sophomore caught three touchdowns — two in the second half — as the Ducks defeated Arizona, 48-10.
Williams ended the night with five receptions for 139 yards in place of the injured Parker.Williams now has 15 catches on the season and has found the end zone a team-leading five times.
As expected, both Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife saw time behind center. Clemens finished the game 11 of 17 for 168 yards in his third straight start this season, and the sophomore did not see action in the fourth quarter.
Fife ended the win 11 of 15 for 116 yards. Both threw for two scores and kept the ball out of Arizona’s hands.
The win gives Oregon five straight over the Wildcats and is head coach Mike Bellotti’s 70th all-time while at the helm of the Ducks. He will coach in his 100th career game when Michigan visits Autzen Stadium next week.
Oregon outgained Arizona 494-188 in total yards, limiting the Wildcats to 40 yards on the ground in 25 attempts.
At the same token, the Ducks — led by Chris Vincent’s 79 yards in his first collegiate start — put together 210 total yards rushing on 56 attempts.
For the third straight game, the Ducks were plagued by penalties. After committing 13 against Mississippi State to open the season, Oregon was flagged for nine against Nevada. Against Arizona on Saturday, the Ducks were called for 10, costing the team 80 yards.
Oregon, leading 20-0 at halftime, spotted the Wildcats three points on a Bobby Gill 44-yard field goal to start the third quarter. The Ducks proceeded to score 21 straight points in the third quarter before ending their scoring output with a 7-yardtouchdown run by Ryan Shaw in the fourth quarter.
Fife scored Oregon’s first touchdown of the game in what appeared to be a broken option play with 8:56 left in the second quarter.
The senior looked to pitch the ball to Vincent, but instead tucked the ball away and broke three tackles before crossing the scoring plane for a 5-yard run.
With 1:02 left in the first half, Williams put the Ducks up by 20 after catching a 3-yard pass from Clemens. Williams beat the Arizona secondary after a shallow crossing pattern.
He scored his second touchdown of the day on a home run pass by Clemens with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Williams was able to sneak past the Arizona secondary on broken coverage and was wide open for a 65-yard touchdown strike.
He finished his scoring output with a 30-yard catch from Fife, tight-roping the sideline before lunging in the end zone for the score.
Arizona scored its only touchdown of the game with 3:42 left in the fourth, when Biren Ealy went deep against the Oregon secondary and caught a 53-yard pass from Arizona backup quarterback Ryan O’Hara.
Parker, who had to leave the game after spraining his ankle when an Arizona defender fell on him awkwardly, finished the game with 36 yards on three receptions.
The Ducks now turn their attention to No. 5 Michigan, whichdefeated No. 14 Notre Dame, 38-0, early Saturday.
The game, which starts at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 20, is the first between the teams since 1973, when the Wolverines shut out the Ducks, 24-0.
Oregon is 0-3 all-time against Michigan.