University of Oregon
4-2 , 1-2
Washington State
6-0 , 3-0
Early Lead Dissolves In Loss To WSU
10/07/17 | Football
Oregon started well in the first career start for QB Braxton Burmeister, but WSU finished well to win 33-10 on Saturday in Autzen Stadium.
How It Happened: Oregon (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) used stout defense and some good fortune to take an early lead. The Ducks had two possessions in the first quarter that began in WSU territory after defensive stops and subpar punts by the Cougars, both resulting in scores. Aidan Schneider's 20-yard field goal got Oregon within 7-3, and Jacob Breeland hauled in a beautiful 30-yard pass from true freshman Braxton Burmeister for a 10-7 lead with 3:37 left in the opening quarter.
But other than that, offense was hard to come by for Oregon. Washington State loaded up to stop the run, and the Ducks couldn't get enough strikes in the passing game to loosen up the defense. The vaunted UO running game averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, and the Cougars scored the final 26 points of the game to remain unbeaten.
Who Stood Out: Troy Dye set the tone defensively with 11 tackles, and the Ducks got a sack each from Jalen Jelks, Henry Mondeaux, Jonah Moi and Jordon Scott. Burmeister, making his first college start a week after taking off his redshirt, went 15-of-27 for 145 yards and a touchdown. Royce Freeman started after being injured a week early, and had 62 yards on 12 carries.
What It Means: The Ducks knew they'd need to reinvent themselves offensively without Herbert, and that adjustment period began Saturday. With tough games against Stanford, UCLA, Utah and Washington over the next four weeks, they'll look to flesh things out quickly this week in practice.
Quotable:
Willie Taggart, UO head coach
"Braxton did some good things, he did some bad things. He did some things most freshmen do sometimes. I think, this game, he can learn a lot from. He's gotten that first game out of the way. I think he'll be better as we move forwrd. But he needs a lot more help around him."
"We didn't play our best ballgame up front. Washington State did a great job, their defensive line, with the movement, and our guys didn't handle that well. And that cost us big-time in the run game."
"It thought our defense played well. I didn't think we did enough offensively to show how well they played."
Notable: Senior quarterback Taylor Alie, the backup earlier this season to Herbert, was ruled out for Saturday's game a day earlier, Taggart said. Receiver Dillon Mitchell (concussion) also didn't play after being injured a week earlier. ... The Ducks committed 10 penalties for 95 yards and were 2-of-17 on third down. … Oregon's defense held WSU to 282 passing yards, well off their season average. … Senior receiver Charles Nelson suited up pregame and participated in warmups but was int street clothes when the Ducks returned to the field for the opening kickoff. … Linebacker Sampson Niu made his collegiate debut, becoming the 13th true freshman to see action for Oregon this fall.
Up Next: Oregon goes on the road to play Saturday at Stanford (8 p.m. PT, FS1).
Team Stats
WSU 7, ORE 0
WSU - Morrow, Jamal 41 yd pass from Falk, Luke (Powell, Erik kick) 1 plays, 41 yards, TOP 0:14
WSU 7, ORE 3
ORE - Schneider, A. 20 yd field goal 11 plays, 40 yards, TOP 4:58
WSU 7, ORE 10
ORE - Breeland, Jacob 30 yd pass from Burmeister, B. (Schneider, A. kick) 1 plays, 30 yards, TOP 0:07
WSU 10, ORE 10
WSU - Powell, Erik 25 yd field goal 9 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:22
WSU 13, ORE 10
WSU - Powell, Erik 52 yd field goal 9 plays, 38 yards, TOP 3:12
WSU 20, ORE 10
WSU - Bell, Renard 10 yd pass from Falk, Luke (Powell, Erik kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:58
WSU 23, ORE 10
WSU - Powell, Erik 47 yd field goal 8 plays, 14 yards, TOP 2:28
WSU 30, ORE 10
WSU - Johnson-Mack, I 25 yd pass from Falk, Luke (Powell, Erik kick) 1 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:08
WSU 33, ORE 10
WSU - Powell, Erik 29 yd field goal 8 plays, 37 yards, TOP 4:21
