Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers get the Win

If there was any concern about whether the fast-paced style of the Oregon Ducks would be curtailed under new head coach Willie Taggart, those were quickly put to bed this past Saturday evening. Oregon took the opening kickoff 100 yards the opposite way put up 408 yards of offense in the first half, and scored 42 points by halftime, en route to a 77-21 win over the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds. With just over less than three-and-a-half minutes left in the first half, Oregon held a 42-7 lead. Southern Utah scored two touchdowns before halftime to cut the lead to 42-21, but the Ducks scored touchdowns on five of their seven second half possessions, resulting in 35 unanswered points.

Despite actually holding the ball for more than seven minutes less than Southern Utah, Oregon accumulated 703 yards of total offense. The Ducks rushing attack put up a whopping 348 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, led by senior Royce Freeman’s 150 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. Freeman ended the day with 200 yards of total offense, catching four passes for 50 yards as well. Senior running back Kani Benoit also had 107 yards and three touchdowns rushing on just seven carries.

Oregon Sophomore quarterback Justin Herbert played an efficient game and kept the offense on track, completing 17 of 21 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown pass. Senior backup quarterback Taylor Alie even got mop-up duty action as well, completing all six of his attempts for 74 yards. Both quarterbacks combined to complete passes to 10 different players.

The Ducks offense will very likely face much more resistance next Saturday, when they host the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers at Autzen Stadium. Nebraska held their Week 1 opponent (Arkansas State) to less than 85 yards rushing, en route to a 43-36 win.

For an Oregon State University team that finished with a 4-8 record in 2016 and already lost their opening game of the season, they’ll take a win any way they can get one. And after entering Saturday’s game as 24.5 point favorites against the Portland State Vikings, the Beavers will still savor their 35-32 victory, even though it was a much closer call than most people expected.

After trailing for all but 22 second during the first 53 minutes of the game, Portland State capped off a nine-play, 67-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge by reserve quarterback Josh Kraught, giving the Vikings a 32-28 lead with only 2:43 left in the game. But the Beavers responded in kind, with junior quarterback Jake Luton completing all six of his passing attempts for 76 yards, including his 17-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins with 1:08 left in the game.

The Vikings found themselves in position to tie the game at the end of regulation, going 53 yards on the final drive of the game, but after driving the ball down to the 29 yard line of the Beavers, Portland State kicker Graycen Kennedy missed a 46 yard field goal attempt as time expired, allowing Oregon State to hold on for the win.

Despite Oregon State being the heavy favorite entering the contest, Portland State dominated the time of possession by a 36:22 to 23:38 margin, and put up 515 yards of total offense, compared to the 389 yards by Oregon State. The Beavers did little to stop the Vikings rushing attack, as the Vikings tallied 291 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, Portland State held Oregon State to only 154 yards rushing on 32 carries.

The Beavers will take the positives from this win, and hopefully apply it next week, when they host the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in Corvallis.