Only four time in the past three seasons have the Oregon Ducks failed to score points in the first quarter of a football game. Until Saturday, all of those scoreless opening frames led to defeats.
However, such was not the case this time. After allowing an early Wyoming touchdown, the Ducks rebounded nicely to rattle off 41 straight points to win in decisive fashion over the Mountain West Conference Cowboys, 48-14 Saturday in Outzen Stadium in Eugene.
The Pokes held the Ducks out of the end zone and scored their early touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Colby Kirkegaard to Tanner Gentry with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter.
It was all Oregon from there as the #2 team in the nation put up 27 points in the second quarter to begin the rout.
As usual, the Ducks offense was superb. Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Mariota completed 19 of his 23 passing attempts for 221 and two touchdowns. Even more impressive were his numbers on the ground. Mariota scrambled 5 times for 71 yards and two more scores.
For the game, Oregon tallied 556 total yards including 236 on the ground in only 37 attempts. The Ducks repeatedly gashed the Wyoming defense and scored on runs of 15, 30, and 19 yards in the second quarter alone. Byron Marshall led the Ducks in rushing with 80 yards on 6 carries and one touchdown.
As electric as the Ducks offense was on Saturday, their defense was just as stellar. Oregon’s Erick Dargan picked off a pass to end a long drive by Wyoming late in the second quarter. 7 plays and 85 yards later, the Ducks scored on a 16 yard strike from Mariota to Devon Allen and went into the locker room with a 27-7 bulge.
On the afternoon, the Ducks picked off Kirkegaard twice (both by Dargan) and forced him to fumble once. The Cowboys were limited to just 155 yards rushing by an inspired Oregon defense.
Mariota continued to make a case for the Heisman Trophy. The junior from Hawaii now has thrown for more than 7,000 yards for his career and has a total of 71 touchdown through the air, a school record.
He also made the play of the day with his feet. With the score tied at 7, Mariota tucked the ball and raced towards the end zone, leaping over the goal line from 3 yards out for the touchdown.
Oregon moves to 3-0 on the year while Wyoming dropped its first games to fall to 2-1. The Ducks will travel to Pullman, Washington next Saturday to face Mike Leach and the Washington State Cougars in their Pac-12 opener. Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium in Laramie to face Florida Atlantic at an altitude of over 7,000 feet.
