QUICKIE RECAP
Saturday’s game against Oregon State in Corvallis was the 128th time these two in-state rivals have met on the football field.
And while anything can happen in a rivalry game, the Ducks seemed determined to quiet the naysayers regarding their lackluster play over the last two weeks.
And boy did they quiet the noise.
Oregon scored a total of 49 points – 27 of those in the second half with three touchdowns and two field goals to send the Beaver crowd home early in a 49-14 win. Oregon State scored 14 points on impressive drives in the first half, however, the Oregon defense made adjustments in the second half and held the Beavers scoreless.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a blocked field goal against the Beavers in their opening drive of the game, the Oregon offense immediately went to work and drove the length of the field to score their first touchdown of the game. Dillon Gabriel navigated an 8-play / 74 yard drive that ended with a Jordan James 4-yard run up the middle for the score.
Oregon took the early 7-0 lead at the 6:39 mark of the first quarter.
The Ducks would only touch the ball one time in the opening quarter, while the Beavers played keep away trying to run a ball-control offense.
And it worked until – for a while!
Oregon State scored its first touchdown of the game on the last play of the 1st quarter when RB Anthony Hankerson scored on a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle. The game was tied at 7 at the end of the first quarter.
Oregon wouldn’t touch the ball again until two and a half minutes into the 3rd quarter.
Gabriel went to work and once again made it count. At the 13:36 mark of the 2nd quarter, Gabriel raced around the left edge and found the endzone on a 56 yard run that pushed the Oregon lead to 15-7 after the two-point conversion was successful.
The Oregon defense stiffened and once again gave the ball right back to the Ducks offense. And Gabriel once again took advantage. Gabriel navigated an 8-play 84-yard drive that found paydirt when Gabriel hooked up with WR Traeshon Holden on a rolling 20 yard pass to the back of the endzone.
Oregon led 22-7 at the 6:43 mark of the second quarter.
The Beavers would draw within a touchdown at 22-14 late in the quarter when Hankerson once again found the zone on a 1-yard run up the middle.
But that was all the scoring Oregon State would have for the rest of the way.
In the third quarter the Ducks offense put another 10 points on the scoreboard – a 25-yard field goal by Atticus Sappington and a 1-yard touchdown run by Jordan James.
The Ducks led 32-14 at the end of three.
In the fourth quarter, the Oregon defense continued to stymie the Beaver offense with several three-and-outs. And at each opportunity the Oregon offense shined.
The Ducks scored two touchdowns and a single field goal in the final 15 minutes of play.
On the first play of the 4th quarter RB Noah Whittington raced around the left side on a well-blocked play to find the endzone on a 27-yard run to give Oregon a 39-14 lead.
Later in the quarter at the 10:43 mark, Gabriel threw a bubble screen to RB Jayden Limar who found daylight and scored on a 65-yard catch and run. The Ducks extended their lead to 46-14.
Oregon would add a 39 yard field goal by Sappington to give the Ducks the 49-14 win and keep them undefeated at 3-0 while the Beavers would fall to 2-1.
MOST IMPRESSIVE PLAYER
Easily the most impressive player of the game was quarterback Dillion Gabriel who was masterful at leading the Oregon offense. Gabriel was 20 of 24 for 291 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He also used his legs to rush for 64 yards on 4 carries and find the endzone once on the 56-yard run.
Receiver Tez Johnson was also impressive catching the ball 7 times for 110 yards.
The Ducks racked up 546 total yards and limited the Beavers to 309.
NEXT UP; Bye Week