University of Oregon
1-0 , 1-0
Stanford
0-1 , 0-1
Ducks Rush to Victory
09/02/06 | Football
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Jonathan Stewart rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns before hurting his ankle, and No. 21 Oregon defeated Pac-10 rival Stanford 48-10 on Saturday.
Dennis Dixon threw for a score and ran for another for the Ducks in the rare conference matchup to open the season.
Dixon, who has the starting job all to himself after rotating with Brady Leaf last year, completed 21 of 30 passes for 236 yards as temperatures at Autzen Stadium zoomed into the 90s.
Stewart, a sophomore, injured his right ankle late in the third quarter. He walked off the field unaided but did not return to the game. The team reported a "slight" ankle sprain.
Stanford's Trent Edwards completed 20 of 34 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown. Mark Bradford had nine catches for 108 yards.
Stewart burrowed in from a yard out to make it 10-3 for the Ducks early in the second quarter. Dixon's 15-yard scoring pass to Jaison Williams upped the lead.
Stanford answered with Edwards' 26-yard TD pass to Bradford.
Stewart scored again on a 3-yard run and Paul Martinez added a 24-yard field goal to make it 27-10 at halftime.
Dixon's 2-yard keeper put Oregon up 34-10 midway through the third quarter.
Aaron Zagory missed a 32-yard field goal attempt that would have narrowed it, before the Ducks scored on Jeremiah Johnson's 2-yard run.
Oregon blocked Zagory's 37-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter and it was scooped up by linebacker A.J. Tutele, who ran it back 72 yards for the score.
The game was originally scheduled for October, but the Pacific-10 Conference instituted a full round-robin conference schedule, forcing Stanford to chose between 12 straight games or the opener at Oregon.
Later, the Big Game against California was rescheduled for Dec. 2, giving the Cardinal a late bye.
Oregon had not opened against a conference opponent since 1997. Stanford opened against Washington State in 2000.
Oregon finished 10-2 last season, its best record since 2001. The Ducks were second in the Pac-10 behind Southern California with a 7-1 mark and suffered their only regular season loss to the Trojans. The Ducks lost 17-14 to Oklahoma in the Holiday Bowl.
Oregon got a big game on defense from the player replacing All-American defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.
Juco transfer Jeremy Gibbs recorded a sack, a blocked kick and caused a fumble.
The Cardinal, coming off their fourth straight losing season, are 43-26-1 in the all-time series with Oregon, but the Ducks have won the last five games, including a 44-20 victory last season.
The crowd at Autzen on Saturday numbered 58,450, a record for an opener and the fourth-biggest attendance ever.
Game Notes
- Today's crowd of 58,450 marks Oregon's 43rd consecutive sellout at Autzen Stadium, the Ducks' 4th-largest crowd ever and the record for an Oregon home opener. 
- Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti secured his 91st-career victory today and is now tied with Rich Brooks (1977-94) as the all-time winningest coach at Oregon. Bellotti is now 91-42 as a Duck head coach.
- The Ducks have won 20 of their last 23 season-openers and is 10-2 in opening games under Mike Bellotti. Oregon is also now 15-4 all-time when opening at Autzen and 7-2 in home openers under Bellotti.
- The Ducks have now won five straight contests against Stanford outscoring the Cardinal 184-57 in those contests. Stanford last won in 2001, winning 49-42 at Autzen Stadium.
- The 38-point margin of victory represents Oregon's largest ever against Stanford. The previous margin was 35 points twice: 35-0 in 2003 and 63-28 in 1998.
- Jonathan Stewart rushed for a career-high 168 yards after rushing for just 188 in 12 games a year ago. He surpassed 100 yards on his ninth carry of the game, which came in the 2nd quarter. Stewart also had 54 kickoff return yardage, giving the sophomore 222 all-purpose yards today. Stewart's two rushing touchdowns also matches his career best of two (Stanford, 10/1/05).
- Dennis Dixon completed a career-best 21 passes today and also threw for a career-high 236 yards. He was near-perfect on his last drive of the game, completing 5-of-6 passes for 55 yards.
- Dennis Dixon's two-yard rushing score in the third quarter was his second career rushing touchdown. His last rushing TD came in the 2005 season-opener at Houston.
- Wide receiver Garren Strong also had career bests in receptions 6 and receiving yards 78, while his 29-yard catch in the second quarter was also a career-long.
- Jeremiah Johnson's 79 rushing yards surpassed his previous career best of 63 (Stanford, 10/1/05) and his 52-yard run in the third quarter was a career-long.
- Junior transfer Jeremy Gibbs had (six) tackles, one forced fumble and a blocked kick in his Oregon debut.
Team Stats
STAN 0, ORE 3
ORE - Martinez, Paul 35 yd field goal 13 plays, 62 yards, TOP 3:08
STAN 3, ORE 3
STAN - Zagory, Aaron 34 yd field goal 9 plays, 63 yards, TOP 2:48
STAN 3, ORE 10
ORE - Stewart, J. 1 yd run (Martinez, Paul kick), 10 plays, 46 yards, TOP 4:01
STAN 3, ORE 17
ORE - Williams, J. 15 yd pass from Dixon, Dennis (Martinez, Paul kick) 2 plays, 44 yards, TOP 0:51
STAN 10, ORE 17
STAN - Bradford, Mark 26 yd pass from Edwards, Trent (Zagory, Aaron kick) 9 plays, 82 yards, TOP 3:07
STAN 10, ORE 24
ORE - Stewart, J. 3 yd run (Martinez, Paul kick), 9 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:33
STAN 10, ORE 27
ORE - Martinez, Paul 24 yd field goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 2:21
STAN 10, ORE 34
ORE - Dixon, Dennis 2 yd run (Martinez, Paul kick), 11 plays, 88 yards, TOP 5:09
STAN 10, ORE 41
ORE - Johnson, J. 3 yd run (Martinez, Paul kick), 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:25
STAN 10, ORE 48
ORE - Tuitele, A.J. 72 yd blocked field goal return (Martinez, Paul kick)
