Connor Halliday took shot after shot at the Oregon secondary, throwing four touchdown passes and close to 500 yards. His receivers victimized Don Pellum's defense the way no team had.
Oregon vs. Washington State final score: 3 things we learned from Ducks’ 38-31 win
Marcus Mariota was flawless on Saturday night. The Ducks needed every bit of it. The important part is the Ducks are 4-0.
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Marcus Mariota was under duress the entire way, sacked five times in the first half -- and seven overall -- after having never even suffered more than four in a whole game.
It didn’t matter. The Ducks, and their championship aspirations remain intact, thanks to one final Mariota touchdown pass. The Heisman candidate (frontrunner?) was nearly flawless on the evening, tossing five scores and rescuing a largely anemic rushing attack by accounting 387 yards of offense.
Three things we learned
1. Hanging close means only a little with Oregon. We learned it against Michigan State, and we learned it again Saturday against the Cougars. Tying the Ducks -- or even leading them -- at the half means very little, because it is in the third quarter that the fatigue really begins to set in. The Cougars managed to keep it close the entire way, which is a rarity against Oregon, but even then, it wasn’t enough to pull the win.
2. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is not invincible...and neither is the Oregon rushing attack. The future first round pick gave up two early touchdowns, with both coming when he was matched up to Dom Williams in the red zone. All cornerbacks will, of course, get beat, and those two scores were only the start of a fairly difficult evening for the senior defensive back. This is an inevitability -- it was simply surprising considering his level of play through the season's first three weeks. You saw the almost inhuman Michigan State interception, didn't you? As far as the play up front, well, it appears that the rash of injuries is now beginning to take its toll on the Ducks, who rushed for only 4.1 yards per carry on 42 attempts.
3. The Cougars may have found their feet a bit after their 0-2 start. They mounted a surprisingly strong effort at home against the No. 2 team in the country, and if this same Wazzu team shows up against Utah, they could easily add their first conference victory.
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