Oregon Ducks fall to Washington State again

If you were looking to see stronger defensive efforts from the two major college football programs residing in the state of Oregon, then the first day of October was probably a big letdown for you. The Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers surrendered over 1,200 yards of total offense and 98 points to their opponents, with both of them losing their respective games.

The Washington State Cougars, led by pass-happy head coach Mike Leach, gashed the Oregon Ducks almost equally through the air as they did on the ground, en route to a 51-33 victory in Pullman, Washington. Cougars junior quarterback Luke Falk threw for 371 yards and a touchdown, while the Cougars’ ground game tallied 280 rushing yards and a whopping six touchdowns.

The Ducks defense was giving up just under 32 points per game this season heading into the game, and the 51 points they surrendered against Washington State represents the highest point total allowed in almost a year (they allowed 55 points in a triple-overtime loss against Arizona State in late October of 2015).

The lone bright spot for the Ducks was junior running back Royce Freeman, who returned to the lineup after suffering a leg injury during Oregon’s loss to the University of Nebraska. Freeman ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, including a 75 yard touchdown run in the third quarter which could have cut the Cougars lead down to eight points. Trailing 30 to 14, Freeman’s touchdown run late in the fourth quarter cut the lead to 30-20, but Ducks two point conversion attempt after the touchdown was no good. The Cougars outscored the Ducks by a 21 to 13 margin in the fourth quarter, putting the game away.

Life isn’t going to get any easier for Oregon, as they host the University of Washington in their next game. The Huskies have lost 12 straight games in Eugene, but enter the game playing as well as anyone in the Pac-12 under head coach Chris Peterson.

Things were even uglier for Oregon State, who could only muster 226 yards of total offense in their 47-6 loss to the University of Colorado. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes had 563 yards of total offense of their own.

Junior quarterback Darell Garretson and freshman quarterback Conor Blount had absolutely miserable afternoons, with the two of them combining for only 100 total yards passing — and two touchdowns — on 13 of 32 attempts.

Ironically, the Beavers actually held the lead midway through the first quarter, after the Beavers capitalized on great field position. Kicker Garrett Owens kicked a 32 yard field goal to give Oregon State a 3-0 lead.

But it was all Colorado after that. The Buffaloes outscored the Beavers 37-3 in the first half alone, with freshman quarterback Steven Montez throwing three touchdowns passes, and Colorado adding two more touchdowns on the ground. By halftime, Colorado owned a 37-6 lead, and spent much of the second half on “cruise control,” doing just enough to secure the win.

The Beavers defense won’t get much of a break themselves, as they’ll travel to Berkeley, California to take on the University of California Golden Bears, led by head coach Sonny Dykes and his “Bear Raid” offense.