Washington comes up empty again against Oregon
Originally published October 18, 2014 at 8:29 PM | Page modified October 18, 2014 at 8:34 PM
The Seattle Times
Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times
EUGENE, Ore. - Washington's many missed tackles added up to another missed opportunity against rival Oregon.
The Huskies came into Saturday's game with what many believed to be its finest defense in at least a decade. Didn't matter. The No. 9 Ducks piled up 380 yards and 28 points in the first half alone and extended their winning streak over Washington to 11 with a 42-20 victory before a crowd of 57,858 at Autzen Stadium.
The Huskies' last win in the series was in 2003.
Oregon freshman running back Royce Freeman rushed for 81 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to help the Ducks (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) to a 28-6 lead at halftime.
On Oregon's first drive of the third quarter, quarterback Marcus Mariota threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Stanford to extend the Ducks' lead to 35-6.
The Huskies (5-2, 1-2) had held a potent California offense to just seven points a week earlier, giving them hope that this might be the year they could finally slow down Oregon's lightning-fast attack. Instead, Freeman and the Ducks gashed UW for big play after big play, aided in part by a number of missed tackles by UW defenders.
UW's inability to put together sustained drives added to its defensive struggles. The Huskies' defense was on the field for 18 minutes, 5 seconds in the first half and defended 52 plays. Oregon was 7 of 11 on third downs in the first half.
UW's starting running back, Dwayne Washington, left the game in the first half and didn't return, reportedly because he was having trouble breathing. The Huskies failed to gain any extended momentum in the run game.
Cyler Miles, UW's sophomore quarterback, threw his first interception of the season late in the first half. Two plays later, Mariota threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Byron Marshall, who made several UW defenders miss. That gave Oregon its 28-6 halftime lead.
Washington scored its first touchdown on Miles' 3-yard pitch to Deontae Cooper with 4:45 left in the third quarter. That cut Oregon's lead to 35-13.
Miles also lost a fumble on the third play of the fourth quarter near midfield. The Huskies had come into the game having committed only one turnover in their first six games, the fewest in the nation.
Nine plays later, Freeman rushed for his fourth touchdown to push the Ducks' lead to 42-13.
The Huskies then inserted Troy Williams at quarterback for Miles and the freshman led a 75-yard scoring drive, which Wiliams finished with a 7-yard touchdown run.
Oregon concluded the scoring with a field goal.
The UW offense was 2 of 7 on third downs in the first half, frequently finding itself in difficult third-and-long situation.
After UW's defense forced an Oregon three-and-out to start the game, Cameron Van Winkle capped the Huskies' first drive with a 33-yard field goal.
Oregon answered with Freeman's 37-yard touchdown run on third-and-7, giving the Ducks the lead for good.
Van Winkle added a 40-yard field goal later in the first quarter, cutting UW's deficit to 7-6. The Huskies didn't get any closer, as the Ducks scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter.
Adam Jude: 206-464-2364 or ajude@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @a_jude.
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