Better late than never.
After two sub-par performances, everyone was asking what’s wrong with the Ducks and whether the Ducks were overrated.
No one will be asking those questions now.
Oregon came into the Civil War in Corvallis and took out some frustration and played like everyone expected them to before this season began with a 49-14 stomping of the Beavers.
Dillon Gabriel was nearly flawless, going 20-of-24 passing for 291 yards and two touchdowns. He spread the wealth around as nine different Ducks caught at least one ball.
The Ducks ran for 250 yards and totaled 546 yards of offense.
“We live in a world where if it doesn’t look a certain way there’s opinions, but there’s also panic,” Gabriel said after the game.
“I love how everyone in the building has continued to focus on the process and getting better every day. That allowed us to play with confidence and just let it loose.”
Things went well for the Ducks in the first half as they took a 22-14 halftime lead, but then absolutely dominated the Beavers in the second half, outscoring OSU 27-0.
Oregon State’s game plan was to keep the ball out of Gabriel’s hands as much as possible and the Beavers accomplished that in the first half.
Oregon had the ball just three times and a little over eight, minutes of possession time. The bad news for the Beavers is that the Ducks scored a touchdown on each possession, including a two-point conversion for the 22 points.
After halftime, the Duck defense stifled the Beavers, allowing just one first down and controlling the ball for the entire third quarter. They made it 25-14 on a 25-yard field goal and then put the game almost out of reach with a Jordan James 1-yard score to complete a 75-yard drive to make it 32-14.
The Beaver fans headed for the exits soon after the fourth quarter started as Noah Whittington scored from 27 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter and it was 39-14 Ducks.
Tez Johnson led the receivers with 110 yards on seven catches.
It was then all gravy from there.
“I always tell the O line,” Gabriel said,… “you give me the time, I’ll do the crime.”
There would be no sweating it out in the fourth quarter this time around as it was in Dan Lanning’s first trip to Corvallis in 2022.
Oregon will now enjoy a bye week, tweaking some things, getting better, and getting ready for the Big Ten opener in Pasadena when the Ducks face UCLA on Sept. 28.