Both Oregon and Oregon State Fall to PAC-12 Rivals

Both the University of Oregon and Oregon State University played Pac-12 rivals featuring quarterbacks who could be taken very early in the 2018 NFL Draft.

And it showed.

The Oregon Ducks actually jumped out to a 10-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, in their game against the Washington State University Cougars. But the 30-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Braxton Burmeister – who became the starter after promising sophomore Justin Herbert was lost to a season-ending collarbone injury – would be the last time the Ducks would put points on the board.

The Cougars went on to score 26 unanswered points from the second quarter onwards, holding the Ducks to only 172 yards of offense after the first quarter, including only 95 yards of offense in the second half.

Washington State senior quarterback Luke Falk threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns; while it was his second-lowest passing yardage output this season, it was more than enough for his team to pull off the win. If it’s any consolation for Oregon, they did hold Faulk to a season-low completion percentage of 57.1% in the game.

But for all the good things the defense was able to do, the offense simply couldn’t capitalize. Burmeister looked overwhelmed for much of the game, finishing with 145 yards passing, and a paltry 5.4 yards per completion. His final quarterback rating (QBR) for the game was a miserable 11.5. The potent Duscks rushing attack could only muster 132 yards on 45 carries.

Oregon’s 10-point output was their lowest point total in nine years, since they lost to Boise State University in the opening game of the 2009 season. They’re going to have to spend this week hoping they can find a major jumpstart somewhere, considering they’ll have to take on a well-coached Stanford University team next Saturday in Palo Alto.

Meanwhile, coming off what many would consider the worst performance of his career, University of Southern California quarterback Sam Darnold made short work of the Oregon State University defense, carving them up for 316 yards and three touchdown passes.

Darnold had 185 yards passing and two touchdowns by halftime, giving the Trojans a seemingly insurmountable 21-3 lead at intermission. There was simply nothing that overmatched senior quarterback Darell Garretson could do in response, as evidenced by the 197 yards passing he had all game long.

USC piled up 512 yards of total offense on the day, getting another 184 yards on the ground, in addition to Darnold’s work through the air. Junior running back Ronald Jones II led the Trojans with 79 yards rushing – on only 12 carries – and a touchdown.

Sophomore Artavis Pierce was one of the few lone bright spots for the Beavers offense, recording 69 yards of offense (60 of them rushing) and the team’s lone touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

The Beavers will get a chance to lick their wounds on the way back up to Pullman, as they prepare to host the University of Colorado Buffaloes next Saturday afternoon. Both Colorado and Oregon State are winless in the Pac-12 this season – a fact which will change by the end of the day