Friday’s match between Oregon and Wisconsin had the makings to be something special. With the Pac-12 going up against the Big 10, the pair of power five conference schools are both coming off a second-round appearance in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

The Ducks and Badgers delivered.

A back-and forth doubles point, energetic crowd and strong battles in singles contributed one of the more entertaining matches of the young spring season. It was the Ducks, though, that came away with the 5-2 victory to improve to 5-2 in the 2018 campaign.

“I thought the focus was really good starting in warmups,” head coach Nils Schyllander said. “It carried over into doubles … and into singles for the most part.”

Oregon and Wisconsin didn’t waste any time ramping up the intensity, with doubles action not for the faint-hearted. The No. 37 pair of Simon Stevens and Ty Gentry took care of Daniel Soyfer and Jesper Freimuth swiftly with a 6-0 win to give the Ducks the early advantage.

Buckle up, though. As it turned out, this doubles party was just getting started. Immediately following the Stevens/Gentry sweep, what happened from then on was pure chaos.

With the Ducks needing at least one win in the two remaining matches, both games were tied at four. Soon after, both matches were tied at five.

And then — you guessed it — both matches were tied at six.

“It was exciting. I’ve been doing this for so long, I’ve seen a lot of exciting ones. But [Friday] is definitely up there,” Schyllander said.

With both matches entering a tiebreaker simultaneously, Soemarno and Roberts had match point, but the Badgers duo of Oscar O’Hoisin and Josef Dodridge rallied for the 7(7) -6 win over the Ducks No. 1 pair.

While O’Hoisin and Dodridge pulled Wisconsin even, the veteran duo of Laurent and Clissold clawed its way back from match point multiple times to come away with the 7-6(6) win to give Oregon the doubles point.

“It was really hard to focus,” said Cormac Clissold. “Honestly, I think that was probably the thing that kept me and Thomas [Laurent] in the match. We were just staying relaxed and just playing our game.”

Before the teams – or fans – could have a chance to catch their breath, singles was underway at the Student Tennis Center.

In its first four home matches, the Ducks outscored their opponents 22-0. The perfect streak, though, came to an end on Friday.

Coming off his win in doubles, O’Hoisin kept it going into singles with a 6-1, 6-3, win over the Ducks’ Riki Oshima to tie the match at one.

Oregon quickly responded. Gentry, playing in the No. 6 spot, gave Oregon the 2-1 advantage with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 win over Freimuth. Clissold put Oregon within one point of the match win after a 6-3, 7-5 over the Badgers’ Chase Colton.

The Ducks didn’t blow the 3-1 lead, capping off the hard fought win with Stevens 7-6, 6-4 victory over Dodridge.

“We’re getting into the meat of the season here, some tough matches,” Clissold said. “It’s important to step up and be more intense.”

The Ducks came together to take down Wisconsin. They’ll be broken up next weekend however, with matches both at the ITA National Indoors in Seattle and in Las Vegas versus San Diego State and UNLV.

Oregon 5, Wisconsin 2

Doubles

1. Oscar O’Hoisin/Josef Dodridge (WIS) def. Armando Soemarno/Charles Roberts (UO) 7(7) – 6
2. 17 Thomas Laurent/Cormac Clissold (UO) def. Chema Carranza/Chase Colton (WIS), 7-6(6)
3. 37 Simon Stevens/Ty Gentry (UO) def. Daniel Soyfer/Jesper Freimuth (WIS), 6-0

Oregon wins doubles point

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles

1. Laurent (UO) def. Carranza (WIS), ___*
2. Stevens (UO) def. Dodridge (WIS), 7-6, 6-4
3. Soyfer (WIS) def. Akihiro Tanaka (UO) 7-5, 4-6, 6-0*
4. O’Hoisin (WIS) def. Riki Oshima (UO) 6-1, 6-3
5. Clissold (UO) def. Colton (WIS), 6-3, 7-5
6. Gentry (UO) def. Freimuth (WIS) 6-2, 6-4

Order of Finish: 4, 6, 5, 2, 3, 1

*outcome of match already determined

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The Ducks are back in Eugene and back in the win column.

Following back-to-back losses to Stanford and Cal at the ITA Kick-off Weekend, Oregon bounced back with a 4-0 win over Pepperdine.

With clear skies on Sunday, the Ducks were able to play their first match of the season on the outdoor courts. The result outdoors was the same as the first three matches indoors — a clean sweep.

Oregon took the doubles point to get out to a 1-0 lead. Playing in the No. 1 position, Armando Soemarno and Charles Roberts defeated Dennis Uspensky and Nicholas Baez by a score of 6-1. Simon Stevens and Ty Gentry secured the doubles point from the No.3 spot with a 6-2 victory over Yusef Khamis and Max Mendelsohn.

Stevens got the best of Khamis again, this time in singles, winning 6-2, 6-3 to give Oregon a 2-0 lead.

No. 6 Thomas Laurent topped No. 100 Uspensky in straight sets, 6-3,6-4 to put the Ducks up 3-0 and within one point of the victory. Freshman Riki Oshima sealed the deal with a 6-4, 6-3 victory playing in the No. 5 spot.

So far, so good for the Ducks when playing at home. Oregon has outscored its opponents 19-0 in Eugene. They’ll look to continue that streak on Friday, when they welcome Wisconsin.

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Over the course of the 2017 spring season, the Ducks rolled out eight different combinations of players in doubles action.

Head coach Nils Schyllander shuffled different players in, out and around the lineup. But there was one pair that Schyllander always sent out together: Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold.

That consistency has carried into the team’s 2018 campaign. Now at the start of their third season teaming up in doubles, the duo of Laurent and Clissold appear on track to challenge the program record of 57 wins by a doubles pair.

“We’ve come up with the chance to just stay together for a long time” said Laurent. “It’s just a huge advantage … we just know. We’ve played every match on this court. We always do the same thing.”

Clissold, now a senior, began his career at Oregon in the spring of 2015. In his freshman season, Clissold went 9-6 in doubles. The following year, Laurent arrived and paired with Clissold to begin their historic career.

Following four straight doubles losses in the early part of the 2016 season, Clissold was paired up with Laurent permanently. The rest is history.

The pair ripped off 15 consecutive wins to conclude the 2016 season, a program record. The impressive run put together by the underclassmen turned out to be a sign of good things to come.

Facing stiffer competition then they had before, Laurent and Clissold continued their dominance in 2017. The pair went 24-6 last season, this time playing in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, shooting their doubles ranking to No. 17 in the nation.

Many schools tend to pair their top two singles players together in doubles. While that may work for some schools, the Ducks don’t follow that standard. While Laurent is the clear No. 1 option in singles, Clissold mostly finds himself competing in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in singles.

As they have shown, though, it’s their comfort level in playing with one another that trumps all else.

“We have this immediate connection when we just relax and play with each other,” Clissold said.

The connection was quite evident for the duo, whose 24 wins were tied for the second most in a single season in program history, trailing only the 29 wins that Robin Cambier and Jeff Mullen put together in 2012. It’s Cambier and Mullen, too, who hold the program record for most doubles wins with 57.

That might not be the case for much longer, though. Playing in their third and final season together, Laurent and Clissold currently have 48 wins, well within striking distance of the record set by Cambier and Mullen from 2011-2013.

“Me and Thomas have a pretty good doubles record going, but it’s all about the team this year,” Clissold said.

Laurent and Clissold are focused on the team. If and when they set the program record for doubles wins, they’ll own an individual record that should not go underappreciated.

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Three matches in and three sweeps, zero sets lost in singles.

The 2018 season is just getting started, but one thing is clear. These Ducks are for real.

Oregon faced a valiant effort from Georgia State. In the end, though, the Ducks were just too much for the Panthers, coming away with a 4-0 win on Friday evening at the Student Tennis Center.

“We didn’t drop a set in any one of the six (singles) matches,” said head coach Nils Schyllander. “It was a very convincing 4-0 for me.”

Oregon took the doubles point to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. Armando Soemarno and Charles Roberts, playing in the No. 1 spot, improved to 3-0 as a pair in doubles with a 6-2 win over Andrei Andrukhou and Quentin Couland. Less than a minute later, the Ducks No. 2 pair of Cormac Clissold and Thomas Laurent clinched the doubles point with 6-2 win over Kevin Hugnh and Giles Hussey.

Schyllander and the Ducks have to like where they stand in doubles as they begin what hopes to be a successful 2018 campaign. Clissold and Laurent are entering their third season playing together, and stand just nine wins away from the program record for doubles wins. Soemarno and Roberts, in their first season together, have already built a strong connection in a short span. Schyllander hasn’t had any hesitation in putting Roberts, a freshman, into the No. 1 spot in doubles.

“He’s not scared,” Schyllander said. “It helps playing with Armando, who has a lot of experience from doubles. … They complement each other very well.”

While the Ducks seemingly have a strong balance of talent for doubles, there’s no doubt that Laurent is the man when it comes to singles. Ranked No. 6 in the country, the Frenchman didn’t waste any time in his match, putting the Ducks up 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Andrukhou.

Laurent is entering his second full season in the No. 1 spot for the Ducks. With the success he has accumulated, Laurent embraces the target on his back.

“You can see it as an advantage, because most of the other players will overplay sometimes,” Laurent said.

The Ducks other freshman, Riki Oshima, put the Ducks up 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Sebastian Acuna. Oshima has hit the ground running to begin his Ducks career, improving to 3-0 in singles play.

Simon Stevens clinched the match for the Ducks, taking down Quentin Couland 6-4, 6-4.

It’s an impressive start to the season for Oregon, which has yet to drop a single set in the 18 combined singles matches they have played this season. They know there’s a lot of work left to reach the goals they have set out, but make no mistake about it; the Ducks are a confident bunch moving forward.

“Everyone has the mindset of focusing on every point,” Laurent said. “We’re taking it match by match. We’re far from where we want to be.”

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Lexi Bando is out indefinitely with a leg injury, Oregon announced on Friday. The shooting guard will miss the No. 7 Ducks’ weekend series against No. 18 Oregon State.

Bando, the lone senior in the Ducks starting lineup, is averaging 10.5 points per game in 25 minutes per game. The Ducks will have a different look without Bando on the floor, who has started all 19 games of the 2017-18 season thus far.

I’m Oregon’s most recent game, a 74-64 win over Arizona State, Bando attempted just one shot and finished with zero points.

Head coach Kelly Graves and the Ducks will have a different look without Bando on the floor. Bando has remained a threat from behind the arc, shooting 44.7 percent on 3-pointers. Bando’s shooting forces opposing defenses to guard her on the perimeter, which opens the court up for her teammates to make plays.

Satou Sabally started in Bando’s place for the Ducks against Oregon State on Friday night.

Bando was seen on the sideline in crutches. An exact timeline for her return has not been given.

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Following an impressive 2017 campaign, the Ducks knew they would enter the 2018 season with a target on their backs.

The momentum created by last season’s team can only be taken so far. On Friday, a doubleheader was the first chance for Oregon to show that the expectations surrounding their program are warranted.

So far, so good.

Whether it was one of the seven returning players, or new faces Charles Roberts or Riki Oshima on the court, Oregon started its season off on the right foot, sweeping Idaho and Portland State.

IDAHO

While it wasn’t close on the scoreboard at the end, Idaho gave the Ducks an early scare in doubles.

Simon Stevens and Ty Gentry made quick work in their match with a 6-1 win. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing in the other pair of matches.

The Ducks No. 1 pair of Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold have put together a historic run over the past two seasons, compiling a 52-10 record. Their third season together, though, began with a 6-3 loss to the Vandals’ Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto.

Idaho looked on its way to stealing the opening point of the match when Lucas Coutinho and Guilherme Scarpelli took a 5-2 lead against Roberts and Soemarno.

On the brink of a loss, Armando Soemarno and Roberts rallied, winning 7-5 to clinch the doubles point for the Ducks.

“Doubles this morning, we were really flat,” head coach Nils Schyllander said. “They know they’re good in doubles and they thought it would just take care of itself. We had to squeak it out pretty unnecessarily.”

Oregon flipped the switch in singles.

Oshima kicked off his singles career with a convincing 6-0, 6-0 win over Bence Da Re to give Oregon a 2-0 lead. The freshman from Toyama, Japan, looked far from overwhelmed in his first collegiate match and on the day.

“Riki played great singles. He did not give anything away,” said Schyllander. “He was rock solid.”

Stevens defeated Carlos Longhi Neto 6-0, 6-3 to put the Ducks up 3-0 before Clissold clinched the win for the Ducks with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lucas Coutinho.

Gentry, Tanaka and No. 6 Laurent each went on to win their respective matches to complete the opening match sweep for the Ducks.

Oregon 7, Idaho 0

Singles

• Laurent (UO) def. Kovacs (UI) 6-0, 6-4
• Stevens (UO) def. Longhi Neto (UI) 6-0, 6-3
• Tanaka (UO) def. Scarpelli (UI) 6-0, 6-4
• Clissold (UO) def. Coutinho (UI) 6-2, 6-1
• Gentry (UO) def. Shin (UI) 6-3, 6-1
• Oshima (UO) def. Da Re (UI) 6-0, 6-0

Order of Finish: 6, 2, 4, 5, 3, 1

Doubles

• Kovacs/Longhi Neto (UI) def. No. 17 Clissold/Laurent (UO) 6-3
• Soemarno/Roberts (UO) def. Coutinho/Scarpelli (UI) 7-5
• Stevens/Gentry (UO) def. Crow/Shin (UI) 6-1

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

PORTLAND STATE

Oregon took the court again at 3 p.m. to take on Portland State. It was the Ducks’ second match of the day, but the result was the same.

Against Portland State, though, Oregon came out with a sense of urgency in doubles. Oshima and Tanaka didn’t waste any time in a 6-1 victory over Boniel and Roberts. Roberts/Soemarno and Stevens/Gentry weren’t far behind, with each pair coming away with a 6-2 win to seal the opening point of the match.

Schyllander decided to take Laurent out of singles competition (rest). With the Ducks No. 1 player out, each player slid up one spot, with Ethan Young Smith entering in the No. 6 spot.

On Friday evening, though, it didn’t matter who was playing for the Ducks or in what position; they kept their foot on the gas pedal.

Tanaka gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Tommy Edwards. Oshima capped off his debut with a 6-1, 6-0 win out of the No. 4 spot, dropping only one game in his two matches on the day.

With a 3-0 lead, Gentry clinched the match for the Ducks with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Majeed Bukhari.

Young-Smith and Clissold followed up with straight set wins to put the Ducks up 6-0 and within one point of sweeping both ends of the doubleheader. It came down to Stevens, who was moved to the No. 1 spot following the removal of Laurent from the lineup. Nathan Boniel threw it all at Stevens. However, with all eyes on court No. 2, the senior ultimately grinded to a three-set victory to close out the match, 6-2, 6-7, 10-9.

“I knew this was the type of match that can make me feel better,” said Stevens. “It was not easy physically.”

Friday was just the beginning of what hopes to be a long and successful season for one of the more talented rosters in the history of the program.

“They’re confident. I just hope they’re not overconfident,” Schyllander said. “We’re back at square one. Every season is its own life.”

Oregon 7, Portland State 0

Singles

• Stevens (UO) def. Boniel (PSU) 6-2, 6-7, 10-9
• Tanaka (UO) def. Edwards (PSU) 6-0, 6-1
• Clissold (UO) def. West (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
• Oshima (UO) def. Roberts (PSU) 6-1, 6-0
• Gentry (UO) def. Bukhari (PSU) 6-1, 6-1
• Young-Smith (UO) def. Souza (PSU) 6-2, 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 1

Doubles

• Roberts/Soemarno (UO) def. Edwards/West (PSU) 6-2
• Oshima/Tanaka (UO) def. Boniel/Roberts (PSU) 6-1
• Stevens/Gentry (UO) def. Souza/Bukhari (PSU) 6-2

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

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The Ducks have the Aggies number.

Back on November 16, Oregon defeated Texas A&M 83-68 in an early-season contest at College Station.

In that game, the Ducks’ Maite Cazorla scored 10 points. On Thursday, however, the Spaniard tied her career high of 26 points in the No. 10 Ducks 84-62 win over the No. 19 Aggies in the opening game of the Duel in the Desert tournament in Las Vegas.

Cazorla led the way, and the rest of her teammates followed in a game that the Ducks (10-2) dominated from start to finish. Oregon seized control early and never let up, leading for over 38 minutes of action.

In their last matchup, the Ducks fell behind early and trailed the Aggies (10-3) 34-28 at the half. On Thursday, however, Oregon came out with guns blazing and outscored Texas A&M 34-17 in the first quarter.

In her first game since tying the NCAA record for triple-doubles, Sabrina Ionescu led the charge early. She scored 14 points in the opening 10 minutes. The sophomore finished with 25 points.

While Ionescu’s excellence has become seemingly routine, Cazorla’s outbreak on Thursday was welcomed for the Ducks. After averaging 7.3 points over her last six games, Cazorla exploded for 26 points, along with five rebounds and four assists.

Satou Sabally played only four minutes in the teams’ November matchup and was held scoreless. The freshman, though, introduced herself to Texas A&M on Thursday, finishing with 14 points in 31 minutes of action.

The Ducks’ win over the Aggies concludes a three-game stretch versus SEC opponents in which Oregon went 2-1, with the one loss coming at No.5 Mississippi State.

Oregon looks to extend their win streak to three versus Hawaii on Friday.

Follow Cole Kundich on Twitter @ckundich 

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If you thought that the Ducks might come out with some rust in their first game in seven days, you’d be sorely mistaken.

Especially when Sabrina Ionescu is steering the ship.

Oregon’s attention was shifted toward the classroom over the past week for final exams. Even so, Ionescu and the No. 9 Ducks didn’t skip a beat on the hardwood, blowing past Southern Utah 98-38 in a nonconference matchup on Saturday.

“I loved our energy early,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “We just wanted to get our kids jumpstarted. They responded. That was a really good effort by them.”

Once again, it was the Ionescu show at Matthew Knight Arena. In her first game since tying the Ducks’ single-game record with 14 assists in a 114-87 win over Weber State, Ionescu came out firing. The sophomore scored 16 points in the first quarter on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field.

The Ducks followed Ionescu’s lead, especially on the defensive end, holing Southern Utah to just 16 points in the first half alone. After leading 26-12 at the end of the first quarter, Oregon locked down defensively, limiting the Thunderbirds to just four second-quarter points to take an overwhelming 57-16 lead into the half.

“We’re definitely passing the ball well, and getting open shots and making our shots,” Ruthy Hebard said.

While Ionescu didn’t score any more points after her first quarter outburst, the Walnut Creek native added 12 assists and four rebounds to her 16 points.

Ionescu still remains one triple-double away from tying the NCAA record, and she’s still just a sophomore.

In a blowout game in which she easily could’ve chased that, Ionescu didn’t force anything. Simply put, Ionescu is just providing whatever is needed.

“We’re watching a phenomenal player and competitor,” Graves said. “She doesn’t need to score to feed her ego. She does whatever it takes to make the team successful.”

While Ionescu had it going to start the game, it was Lexi Bando that had the hot hand to start the second half. The senior hit a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter to finish with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

“We want to set the tone,” Bando said. “We’re just taking it one game at a time.”

Ruthy Hebard pitched in 13 points, and Mallory McGwire finished in double digits with 10 points. Eleven of the twelve players to enter the game found the scoreboard for the Ducks, who shot 50 percent from the field. Oregon was even more efficient from behind the arc, hitting 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) 3-pointers attempted.

It was an all-around effort for a Ducks team that looks as deep and as strong as they ever have in Graves’ tenure as head coach. Since losing to No. 5 Louisville in the Preseason WNIT championship game, the Ducks have put up video game numbers, going 5-0 with an average margin of victory of 37.6 points.

“We’re maturing as a basketball team,” said Graves. “This team is getting better. And that’s scary.”

They’ll continue to mature on Wednesday, when they take on No. 6 Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi. The Bulldogs defeated the Ducks last season, and later went on to shock the sporting world by taking down Connecticut in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.

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Oregon has a new winning streak at Matthew Knight Arena.

One.

A week after a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Boise State ended the Ducks’ 46-game home-winning streak, Oregon got back in the win column. It wasn’t pretty to start, but the Ducks (6-3) eventually pulled away from Colorado State (4-6) for a 95-65 win on Friday night.

After a less than inspiring first half of basketball, the Ducks stepped on the Rams’ throat in the second half. Holding a 38-32 advantage entering halftime, Oregon pummeled Colorado State in the final 20 minutes to put any chance of a second straight loss at home to rest.

“The first half was kind of a grind,” said head coach Dana Altman. “The second half, I thought our depth was something [Colorado State] had trouble with.”

Troy Brown missed the Ducks’ 73-70 loss to Boise State with a concussion but returned to action on Friday night. The freshman brought it early, scoring 10 points along with 8 rebounds and three assists in the first half. Foul trouble limited him in the second, but he still finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

“We know we’re a lot better than what we’ve been proving,” said Brown. “Everybody is all on board of just making the right plays and playing defense as hard as we can.”

Brown’s spark was needed for a Ducks team that looked directionless at times through the first twenty minutes of action. Oregon struggled to find any sort of rhythm on the offensive end, and as a result, the Rams’ kept it close. Led by guard Prentiss Nixon’s 11 first-half points, Colorado State refused to give in.

The Rams, however, had no answer for the Ducks outburst in the second half. A quick 9-2 run by Oregon to start the second half forced a timeout from Colorado State.

The timeout wouldn’t halt the Ducks momentum, though. Oregon bullied its Mountain West Conference opponent in the second half, throwing down a healthy dose of dunks to pair with 7-of-13 shooting from behind the arc. After being held silent in the first half, Elijah Brown led the way in the second half, scoring 18 points and finishing with a game-high plus-35 on the night.

“I’m hoping tonight is how it is every game. That would be a big help for us,” said Payton Pritchard. “He can catch fire; that’s big for our team.”

It was an inspiring effort from Colorado State to start, but Oregon’s depth overwhelmed the Rams. Nixon didn’t get much support outside of his 25 points, while Oregon finished with six players scoring in double digits, led by Elijah Brown’s 20.

Kenny Wooten, who finished with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, brought the Matthew Knight fans to their feet with a thunderous slam that pushed the lead to 84-50. It provided extra juice to a home crowd that was already amped on a night in which new head football coach Mario Cristobal was introduced at center court.

Cristobal talked about taking the football program to the “next level” like Altman has done with his team on the hardwood. There’s still a lot of work left to be done, though, for this young Ducks squad to reach the level that prior teams have.

“Eventually throughout the season, we’re going to ‘click, click, click’ more,” said Pritchard. “It’s a work in progress. Tonight we made a big jump.”

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It didn’t take long to tell how the 121st edition of the Civil War would shake out.

The Ducks elected to receive the opening kickoff, and on their return, Oregon State was flagged 15 yards for an unsportsmanlike penalty.

Just seconds into the game, it was a sign of what became crystal clear throughout: Oregon State wasn’t prepared, mentally or physically, for what they were about to be in for. On Saturday night, the Ducks hit Oregon State in the mouth. Oregon sent off their seniors with 69-10 win, and took some of the sting away from last year’s loss to the Beavers.

“We did what we expected to do,” Troy Dye said. “Go out there and shut them down.”

The 15-yard penalty offered the Ducks’ offense a jumpstart that they ended up not needing but nonetheless appreciated. Oregon electrified Autzen Stadium early and often, throwing 266 yards in the air and adding 311 on the ground. The 52 points scored in the first half was the most by any FBS team this season.

Leading the way in the opening half onslaught was Royce Freeman. Playing in his last game at Autzen, Freeman was given the ball a lot early in the game and punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Ducks up 10-0 just minutes later. Freeman finished with 142 yards and his two scores put him first in Pac-12 history in rushing touchdowns — sixth among NCAA career rushing leaders and 10th among NCAA career rushing touchdown leaders.

“Royce is a really special player,” quarterback Justin Herbert said. “I told him earlier today, ‘I was a big fan of you before I came here, but even a bigger fan now.’”

Herbert completed just 13 passes on the night in 23 attempts but made them count, throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns. A 29-yard dart from Herbert to Dillon Mitchell in the back of the end zone highlighted what had been missing when he was out with a broken collarbone.

He didn’t finish the game, as both freshman Braxton Burmeister and senior Taylor Alie earned snaps.

“Justin, he’s our franchise quarterback,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “Not just to our offense, but to our entire football team.”

At first glance, the scoreboard might read into it being all offense, but three turnovers forced from the Ducks’ defense complemented what Herbert and company were able to do on the offensive end.

“It was Oregon. You know Oregon did what Oregon came to do, and they were successful at it,” Oregon State interim head coach Cory Hall said.

The Beavers were anything but in control on Saturday. Following a 53-yard touchdown completion to Mitchell to make it 52-7, Oregon State coaches had to break up Beavers’ players involved in a scuffle on the sidelines. In the aftermath, the Ducks added 14 points in the second half on its way to a 59-point win.

Since taking over as head coach, Taggart has grown to understand the pain felt from the 2016 Civil War loss. While there’s no shortage of things to improve moving forward, dealing with a second consecutive loss to the Beavers won’t be on the list.

“I definitely didn’t want to be that coach that goes to offseason with a loss to the school up north,” Taggart said. “Didn’t want to be that guy.”

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