You may’ve heard, Oregon responded in a big way Saturday following its first loss and much of the storyline had to do with the rushing attack finding its footing with the return of left tackle Jake Fisher. With Fisher taking over and the line creating holes like it couldn’t in previous weeks against Washington State and Arizona, the combination of Marcus Mariota, Thomas Tyner and Royce Freeman reeled together 259 yards of rushing and four touchdowns on its way to building a 42-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Tyner and Freeman specifically, carrying the ball 31 times between the two, undoubtedly churned out their best performance of the year.
“I think both both backs ran and played really hard,” running backs coach Gary Campbell said.
Shedding tacklers and finding lanes like they hadn’t been able to do before, an Oregon rusher eclipsed the century mark in a game for the first time this season and the game plan was finally able to work effectively around the two backs.
“It’s like anything else, when you have some success doing something, you’ll do it again,” Campbell said. “I’m hoping we’re going to see more of that.”
With Washington coming to Autzen Stadium this Saturday, if Campbell is going to see more of it, it will surely start with the offensive line’s ability to stave off a vaunted Huskies defensive attack. Only allowing 366 yards of offense per game, Washington ranks second in the Pac-12 in total defense.
“They’re talented,” offensive coordinator Scott Frost said. “They’ve got a good secondary, Shaq Thompson’s obviously really talented, they got a couple defensive lineman playing really well and getting to the quarterback. Everybody in our league has talent and they’re no exception to it.”
Frost’s mention of Thompson comes as no surprise. The 6-foot-1, 228-pound linebacker has burst onto the scene as one of the best defenders in college football and his four touchdowns on that side of the ball are there to prove it. Last week was no different, as Thompson was able to pick up a fumble on Cal’s second possession at the goal line and proceed to run 100 yards for a touchdown as part of a 31-7 win in Berkeley.
Behind Thompson defensively, it may be Washington’s (5-1) best unit they’ve assembled to finally end Oregon’s winning streak that has lasted an entire decade.
“We just got to do what we do,” Frost said. “He’s going to make his plays and hopefully we’ll make ours.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise