Things looked pretty good for Washington State at the half. They were down by only four to the offensive powerhouse of Oregon. And then the second half happened. Whatever Chip Kelly said to his squad in the locker room worked. The Ducks would come out and do what they do best - run up the score. Oregon scored 28 points in the second half to Washington State’s three, winning the game 51-26.
Oregon vs. Washington State 2012 results: Ducks overpower Cougars, 51-26
Washington State was still in it at the half by being down by only four to Oregon. The Ducks would go on to score 28 points unanswered and win the game 51-26.
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It was a bad night for Washington State quarterback Conner Halliday. He was sacked seven times and threw one interception, in addition to his eight carries for a negative-46 yards. Halliday was pulled in favor of backup Jeff Tuel. With a little short of five minutes to go and the game completely out of reach, Tuel would go 4-for-4 with 63 yards and one touchdown.
Oregon's freshman quarterback Marcus Mariola had a good, not great, game. He was 21-for-31 for 168 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked twice and intercepted twice. Mariola was second on the team in rushing with 57yards on nine carries and one touchdown. First in rushing was running back Kenjon Barner. Barner carried the ball 20 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Preferring the ground game to the passing game, wideout Will Murphy lead the team in receiving with 38 yards on two carries.
Box Score Hero: While there wasn’t much to cheer about for the Cougars, one stat likely to impress is the kick returns by Teondray Caldwell. Caldwell caught the ball eight times and ran it back for a total of 232 yards. He averaged 29 yards per carry.
Rankings Ramifications: WIth Washington State being unranked, Oregon will likely remain comfortably in the No. 2 position.
But Did They Cover? Oregon was favored by 31 coming in. Yes, the Cougars covered.
Next Week’s Schedule:
Washington State takes on another Oregon team, Oregon State at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 6th.
Oregon welcomes a different Washington team at 10:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 6th.
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