Ducks Can't Find Breakthrough At WSU

Saturday, October 1

Pullman, Wash.

6:30 PM

University of Oregon

2-3 , 0-2

Washington State

2-2 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Oregon

Washington State

10/01/16 | Football

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Oregon drops its third straight game, 51-33, at Washington State.

By: Rob Moseley

PULLMAN, Wash. — Oregon suffered its third straight defeat and second of conference play this season Saturday evening, dropped a 51-33 decision at Washington State in Martin Stadium.

How It Happened: The Cougars used a second-quarter explosion to break a 7-7 tie and build a lead the Ducks (2-3, 0-2 Pac-12) could never overcome. Royce Freeman's second of three touchdowns on the night tied the score late in the first quarter, but Washington State rushed for three scores of its own in the second quarter to build a 28-14 halftime lead.

Oregon's defense buckled down in the third quarter, as the Ducks blocked a field goal, forced a turnover on downs for another stop in the red zone and also forced a punt. But Oregon's offense capitalized on only one of those stops, with Freeman rushing for a 75-yard touchdown. The Cougars, meanwhile, tackled Dakota Prukop in the end zone for a safety, and so led 30-20 entering the fourth quarter.

Washington State re-established its running game in the final period, with Jamal Morrow and James Williams rushing for touchdowns that put WSU up 44-20. Charles Nelson returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score midway through the quarter, but Williams answered it to give the Cougars three backs with two rushing touchdowns, and more than 650 yards of offense for the game.

Who Stood Out: Freeman rushed 19 times for 138 yards and three scores, continuing his assault on the UO record books. Nelson accounted for 233 all-purpose yards. Defensively, freshman safety Brenden Schooler led the Ducks with nine tackles, and Johnny Ragin III had eight before leaving with an injury in the second half.

The Ducks got backup quarterback Justin Herbert some experience on their final possession. He directed an eight-play, 85-yard scoring drive that lasted 2:01 and ended in Herbert rushing four yards for a touchdown. He was 3-of-5 passing for 70 yards on the drive.

What It Means: The Ducks last lost three straight games in the same season back in 2007, following the knee injury to quarterback Dennis Dixon.

Notable: Freeman now has 4,204 career all-purpose yards, ninth-most in UO history. He passed Kenjon Barner in career rushing yardage with 3,664 and now trails only LaMichael James on that UO career list. … Nelson had 195 kickoff return yards, giving him 1,877 for his career, second all-time for the Ducks. … Oregon is 2-3 for the first time since 2004, the last losing season for the program. … The UO defense played without outside linebacker Troy Dye, who did not make the trip.

Up Next: The Ducks return home to host Washington in Autzen Stadium next Saturday (4:30 p.m., FOX).