Oregon adds to its streak of games with 50 plus points, making it five after trampling over Colorado 57-16.
45, 944 fans were in attendance at Folsom Field as it started out at 61 degrees with blue skies.
The game started out in the Buffaloes’ favor, putting the first points on the board with a 33-yard field goal. Oregon answered with a touchdown from quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Ducks then went for a two-point conversion and scored. The Buffaloes received the ball next, and quarterback Connor Wood handed the ball to Michael Adkins, who tossed to Paul Richardson, who then threw 75-yards to fellow wideout D.D. Goodson. The touchdown brought the score to 10-3.
However, after that, the Ducks continued to lead on the scoreboard until the final buzzer.
Tight end Colt Lyerla did not travel with the team to Boulder after serving a one game suspension, so backup Pharaoh Brown took over and caught his first reception of the season after recovering from surgery.
De’Anthony Thomas still remains sidelined for the Ducks after an ankle sprain during the California game. He was dressed in uniform, but also with a boot on his right ankle. Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner took over for the running back position. Marshall ran for 122 yards and Tyner added 30 yards.
Colorado completed its 16 points all during the first half, which included one touchdown and three field goals.
Colorado’s Richardson leads the nation in yards received per game with 162.3 before playing the Ducks. However, Oregon held him to just 134 yards.
“We played a little better as the day went on, but that guy, wow, a couple of those one-handed catches. That guy’s impressive; a very good football player,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said of Richardson.
In the third quarter, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota completed a pass to Bralon Addison for a 44-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 50-16 after Alejandro Maldenado’s kick. Addison led the game in receiving with 158 yards.
Mariota then completed a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Josh Huff after tugging his way into the end zone to score another touchdown for the Ducks.
Huff completed the 100th reception in his career with his second reception of the game from Mariota. Huff added three more receptions to his résumé after the 100 mark, totaling five catches for 103 yards.
Mariota would finish the game with 355 passing yards and seven total touchdowns. Mariota has thrown 14 touchdown passes this season without any interceptions.
The Honolulu native’s seven touchdowns are a career high for the sophomore.
“As a whole unit, us guys, we’ve gotten better with Marcus since last year,” Addison said of Mariota. “Last year, you saw a lot of times where we would disconnect on things, and I think the past off-season we worked with Marcus a lot and I think it’s going to pay off. We continue to get better each week.
“That guy can do some amazing things with his legs, and he has a great arm to compliment those legs. He just improvises out there, and it’s kind of like he’s playing a video game.”
Helfrich replaced the starters with the back-up players during the third quarter, including Jeff Lockie who took over for Martiota. Lockie then threw an intercepted pass intended for Eric Dungy. It was the first interception of the season for the Ducks. Oregon previously led the nation with zero interceptions.
Both Lockie and Jake Rodrigues split reps until the game’s end, but the two combined for two interceptions.
Oregon finished out the night with its back-ups racking up time as it completed its first Pac-12 road game overcoming the Buffaloes and accumulating 756 yards of total offense.
“We’re 5-0, that’s our best statistic, and we haven’t played remotely to what we can in any phase in any game, so that’s encouraging. The guys we have on this team are excited to get better, excited to come to work and get better on Monday,” Helfrich said.