At the final horn of Saturday’s 43-19 win against the University of Washington, defensive tackle Simi Toeaina led a charge of Oregon players through the west end zone of Husky Stadium to the celebrate with the couple thousand Duck fans who stayed. The players jumped up and down, the band was blaring the fight song and the yellow and green clad fans were in general rowdy and raucous.
They had reason to celebrate.
The Ducks (6-1 overall, 4-0 Pacific-10 Conference) had just controlled the Huskies (3-5, 2-3) and sacked Washington quarterback Jake Locker four times for negative 25 yards.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but it got the job done.
“Our guys compete,” head coach Chip Kelly said after the game. “This team has as a bunch of resiliency and character — it’s a great bunch of guys to be around right now.”
The Ducks did it behind another strong performance from the defense and their patented running attack. There were three turnovers and a blocked punt for a touchdown. Running back LaMichael James broke a 56-yard touchdown run and rushed for 154 yards and
two touchdowns.
And despite 266 yards passing from Locker, the Ducks were in control from the second quarter on.
“(Our defense) contained,” Kelly said. “(Locker) is the scariest guy we play against just because when things break down he can take off and go… you gotta make sure to keep him inside. Our guys did a great job of containing him and keeping him back there and making him throw the ball.”
Oregon rushed for 259 yards to Washington’s 129, but the overall offensive yards were close. Oregon only out-gained Washington 416-395 and the Huskies actually ran 17 more plays than the Ducks did.
“We started off a little sluggish,” offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. “Our goal was to weather that storm and hang tough. I’m very proud of our overall effort.”
The sluggish start that Helfrich talked about extended through the first quarter. The Ducks were down 3-0 at the start of the second quarter and it wasn’t until wide receiver Rory Cavaille blocked a punt and Tyrell Irvin recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown that things got going.
“When Rory blocked the punt it gave a lot of juice to everyone on the team and got us rolling,” quarterback Jeremiah Masoli said.
The team ended up scoring 15 points in the second quarter and another 21 in the third to put the game on ice.
“You have that kind of swagger out there and on the field,” Masoli said. “That’s how you have to approach the defense when you’re out there. It’s an unstoppable mentality.”
And perhaps the play of the game wasn’t James’ long run or Cavaille’s block; it was cornerback Cliff Harris’ interception on Locker in the third quarter. The Huskies were down to Oregon’s 32 yard line after Locker had connected with receiver Jermaine Kearse for 47 yards a couple of plays previously, and they were looking to score. But Harris, who was playing for the first time after defensive back Talmadge Jackson III went down with an ankle injury, jumped the route and snatched Locker’s pass out of the air.
“Cliff played great,” Kelly said. “You gotta learn that when you play back there you’re going to miss some but then he comes back with a big pick on the goal line and that’s the great thing about our defense. Even when you get the ball in tight, they’re going to come up big. It’s a group of ball hawking guys that are giving us an opportunity.”
Masoli finished with 157 yards passing and a touchdown and 54 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
And as the focus now shifts to USC on Halloween night next Saturday. Masoli said that it was just nice to get a win against Washington.
“This is definitely a big rivalry,” Masoli said. “A lot of people were telling me how big it was and it’s special for me to be able to give back to the Oregon fans.”
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