Ducks Cap Regular Season With Win At Oregon State, 47-19

Saturday, November 29

Corvallis, Ore.

5:00 PM

University of Oregon

11-1 , 8-1

Oregon State

5-7 , 2-7

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oregon Ducks

Oregon State

Photo by: Chris Poulsen/GoDucks.com

Ducks Cap Regular Season With Win At Oregon State, 47-19

11/30/14 | Football

Box Score

By: GoDucks.com

by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon dominated its rival to maintain its position in the thick of the national championship race, beating Oregon State 47-19 before 45,722 in Reser Stadium on Saturday evening.

How It Happened: The Ducks scored early and often, with Marcus Mariota accounting for four touchdowns in the first half alone and six for the game, bolstering his case as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Charles Nelson caught a 29-yard TD pass on a wheel route just minutes into the game, Royce Freeman showed off soft hands to haul in a 12-yard screen pass for a score and Byron Marshall shrugged off a defender for a 77-yard TD reception from Mariota, all in the first half as the Ducks built a 30-3 halftime lead.

Oregon dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides, with the defense making two stops on fourth-and-one in the first half, and the offensive line providing huge holes in the run game and ample time for Mariota in the passing game. The second half was played nearly even, with the Ducks outscoring the Beavers 17-16. Mariota had his second rushing touchdown in the third quarter, and his second TD pass of the night to Nelson in the fourth quarter.

Who Stood Out: Mariota finished the night 19-of-25 passing for 367 and four touchdowns, a level of efficiency approaching his performance earlier in the season at Washington State. He also ran for 39 yards, surpassing 4,000 yards of total offense for the season; that's the second time Mariota has done so in his career, the only two times it's happened at Oregon. Freeman surpassed 100 rushing yards for the fifth time, running for 135 on the night. Marshall caught six passes for 131 yards and a score, giving him 56 receptions for the season, in the top 10 at Oregon for a single season. Matt Wogan made two field goals, and Derrick Malone Jr. had seven tackles to lead a balanced defensive effort.

What It Means: The Ducks completed an 11-1 regular season, winning 11 regular-season games for the third time in school history, all in the last five years. Oregon heads to the Pac-12 title game next week needing to win to solidify a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Odds and Ends: Freeman became the 12th different UO player to catch a touchdown pass this season, tied for most in the country with Mississippi State. … Mariota threw a touchdown in his 38th straight game, the most by any player in FBS history to start his career. … Offensive lineman Matt Pierson returned to action after a two-game absence. Tanner Carew returned after missing the Colorado game and snapped for placekicks Saturday, with Devin Melendez handling punts. … The Ducks ran a gadget play several times that involved Nelson taking a direct snap and handing off to Mariota, who threw a pass on one of them. … Regulars Hroniss Grasu, Keanon Lowe and Thomas Tyner were on the sideline but did not participate.

Up Next: As champions of the Pac-12 North, the Ducks will face South division champs Arizona in the conference title game Friday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (6 p.m., FOX).