Oregon 62, Washington State 38
EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota boosted his Heisman Trophy hopes and the Ducks continued their quest to reach the BCS National Championship game.
Mariota was 23-for-32 for 327 yards and two touchdowns to lead the second-ranked Ducks to a 62-38 win over Washington State on Saturday night in Pac-12 Conference football at Autzen Stadium.
Mariota also ran for 67 yards and a touchdown, giving him nine straight games with a rushing and passing touchdown. The sophomore has thrown a touchdown pass in all 20 career games, boosting Oregon's record to 19-1 in his two seasons as the starter.
The Ducks improved to 7-0 and 4-0 in the conference as they await the first BCS standings of the season to be released on Sunday.
Mariota faked a handoff and ran 57 yards for a touchdown on Oregon's sixth play of the game to give the Ducks a quick 6-0 lead when the two-point conversion failed.
Washington State went for a first down on fourth-and-six from the Oregon 45-yard line on its second drive, but Connor Halliday threw an incomplete pass. Oregon needed just six plays before Byron Marshall scored on a 1-yard run to push Oregon's lead to 13-0.
Washington State answered when Halliday threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dom Williams to cut the lead to 13-7 with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter.
Oregon's next drive lasted just 49 seconds before Marshall scored on a 26-yard run to push the lead to 20-7.
Oregon had 244 yards of offense in the first quarter as Mariota was 10-for-12 for 139 yards and ran for 48 and a score while Marshall had 57 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Oregon made it 27-7 early in the second quarter when freshman Thomas Tyner scored on a 1-yard run.
Mariota committed his first turnover of the season, a fumble, that gave WSU the ball at Oregon's 33-yard line. On fourth-and-five, Halliday threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to River Cracraft to get the Cougars within 27-14.
Mariota fumbled again on Oregon's next drive and Xavier Cooper recovered and ran 29 yards for a touchdown as the Cougars closed within 27-21.
The Ducks needed just three plays to answer with a score as Tyner ran 66 yards for a touchdown that boosted the lead back to 34-21.
Andrew Furney kicked a 49-yard field goal for WSU as time expired in the first half to get the Cougars within 34-24 at the break.
Mariota was 18-for-23 for 270 yards in the first half and also ran for 58 yards and a touchdown. Halliday was 27-for-43 for 319 yards and two touchdowns.
Oregon drove 80 yards on seven plays in two minutes on its first drive of the third quarter before Mariota tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keanon Lowe to push Oregon's lead to 41-24. Marshall added a 30-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to 48-24.
Marshall had a career-high 192 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns.
Mariota added a 17-yard touchdown pass to Josh Huff early in the fourth quarter before Terrance Mitchell had a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown for the Ducks to push the score to 55-24.
Halliday, who finished the game with an NCAA record 89 pass attempts, threw two fourth quarter touchdowns -- one to Gabe Marks and one to Bobby Ratliff -- but it was too little, too late.
NOTES: Oregon wore pink helmets, shoes and socks to honor cancer survivors and help raise money to fight against cancer. The Ducks are auctioning off the helmets to raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. ... Oregon did not have a player with 500 receiving yards last season, but Josh Huff and Bralon Addison both eclipsed that milestone during the sixth game of the year. ... Washington State has not beaten a top-five opponent since 2003 when it defeated No. 5 Texas 28-20 in the Holiday Bowl.
