EUGENE, Ore. -- One week after a season-defining victory over then-No. 7 Michigan State, No. 2 Oregon spent the first quarter Saturday trying regain its footing against upset-minded Wyoming.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota didn't let that happen, leading the Ducks on six consecutive scoring drives to lift Oregon to a 48-14 victory over the Cowboys.
Mariota became the fourth Oregon quarterback to pass for more than 7,000 yards. The Ducks junior completed 19 of 23 passes with 2 touchdowns. Mariota also rushed 5 times for 71 yards, including touchdown runs of 15 and 19 yards.
Mariota has thrown a school-record 71 touchdowns, with at least one TD thrown in all 29 games he's appeared in.
Oregon (3-0) had a rare scoreless first quarter, and found itself trailing 7-0 heading into the second quarter.
"We were a little sluggish at the beginning in every phase. Whether it's the early game or whatever, we're in the business of fighting human nature. It's impossible to ignore to some degree," Oregon Coach Mark Helfrich said. "Our guys did a decent job of shaking the hangover."
Mariota paced Oregon by leading the Ducks on four second-quarter scoring drives. Mariota ran for two scores and threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Devon Allen that gave Oregon a 27-7 halftime lead.
"I don't know if anyone in this room has a vote for the Heisman Trophy, but I encourage you to take a look at your ballot there for [this] quarterback. He's a tremendous player and I thought he played extremely well," Wyoming Coach Craig Bohl said.
Highlighting Mariota's performance was a second-quarter touchdown where the Honolulu junior gave Ducks fans a thrill and scare at the same time.
Scrambling to avoid a pass rush, Mariota ran 19 yards for a touchdown, finishing the play by diving head first over Wyoming tacklers to reach the pylon.
Mariota bounced off the ground and ran to the sideline.
"I hope he never does that again. Pretty sure all our coaches don't want to see him do that again," said Oregon receiver Keanon Lowe, blocking for Mariota on the play. "I'd rather see him run out of bounds at the 2. That being said, it was an awesome play."
Helfrich said that play was Mariota being Mariota.
"He can't sit there and think, don't do this, don't do that. The way he plays, that's one of his biggest strengths," Helfrich said.
Helfrich wasn't entirely thrilled with seeing his Heisman Trophy hopeful going airborne, however.
"He told me on the sideline to never do that again. I'll take that as a warning," Mariota said.
Byron Marshall ran six times for 80 yards and a touchdown to lead Oregon's running game. Freshman Royce Freeman had a 12-yard touchdown run. The Ducks had 556 yards, including 263 on the ground.
Oregon safety Erick Dargan had two interceptions, both in the first half.
Wyoming quarterback Colby Kirkegaard completed 19 of 33 passes for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cowboys running back Shaun Wick ran 16 times for 122 yards.
Wyoming, a 43-point underdog to Oregon, had some moments, but couldn't stop the Ducks offense after the first quarter.
The Cowboys (2-1) had 439 yards, including 282 during the first half. But Wyoming allowed Oregon to score on six consecutive possessions, three set up by Cowboy turnovers.
The loss ended a personal 26-game winning streak for Bohl, the first-year Cowboys coach who won three consecutive FCS national titles at North Dakota State (2011-13).
"We knew it was going to be an uphill challenge and we were going to have to play error free. We certainly didn't do that," Bohl said. "I'm not saying everything was beautiful out there, but by and large, I felt like our guys stayed in it, kept on trucking, kept on believing."
In other games involving Pac-12 teams, linebacker Shaq Thompson returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, picked up a fumble and returned it 52 yards for another score, and Washington routed Illinois 44-19 in Seattle, improving to 3-0 under Coach Chris Petersen. Thompson became the first Washington player in 20 years to score on fumble and interception returns in the same game. Reggie Reser accomplished the feat in 1994 in a victory over California. Washington quarterback Cyler Miles threw a 75-yard touchdown to John Ross as part of a 21-point blitz that took less than six minutes of the first half. Dwayne Washington's 12-yard touchdown run gave the Huskies a 28-3 lead on the first play of the second quarter. Wes Lunt threw for 230 yards for the Fighting Illini (2-1), but was unable to take advantage of Washington's depleted secondary. ... Kevin Hogan threw for 216 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 15 Stanford rebounded from a loss to Southern California with a 35-0 win over Army in Stanford, Calif. Devon Cajuste caught a career-high three touchdowns and finished with 52 yards receiving, and Ty Montgomery had two TDs to help the Cardinal (2-1) overcome a sluggish start on offense. Stanford led 14-0 at the half before overwhelming the Black Knights (1-1) in the final two quarters. The Cardinal outgained Army 415 to 207 yards.
Sports on 09/14/2014