Oregon Destroys Arkansas State 57-34

In only 23 minutes of game time, a brand new quarterback was able to get over 300 yards of offense, a potential player of the year was able to get three touchdowns, and a potential defensive player of the year picked up a two-point conversion.

Also, the Ducks ultimately scored 50 points in those first 23 minutes of the game.

And that’s really all that matters.

With seven minutes to go in the second quarter, Oregon put in Bryan Bennett and a large portion of the second string to finish out the game.

Because they led 50-3.

Before that, Mariota showed all the reason why he was selected as the starter. He went 19-23 passing for 213 yards and three touchdowns.

Don’t let that jaw drop just yet. Running back Kenjon Barner had two touchdowns and 65 yards rushing on nine carries. Super-stud De’Anthony Thomas had two carries for 49 yards and a touchdown, along with five receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

Star defensive end Dion Jordan also had a two-point conversion after the Ducks’ first touchdown score of the night.

Outside of the box score, Thomas looked faster than everybody on the field. And Mariota looked like he was mid-season form passing the ball and running the offense.

A freshman quarterback. Running the offense.

Folks, this game isn’t about stats or the box score. The final score doesn’t even nearly indicate the damage that Oregon could have done in this game.

Oregon was on pace to score over 150 points in this game, and they called off the dogs with about seven minutes to go in the second quarter.

Chip Kelly nor the Ducks cared about what happened after the game. They gave Bryan Bennett and the rest of the team their experience, and hoped that’s what the rest of the nation saw.

They didn’t take things personal like Oklahoma State and run up the score 84-0 against some dog team like Savannah State.

Oregon took a respectable Sun Belt program and thrusted everything we thought was respectable about the Red Wolves into the ground with a huge 68-inch Sephiroth Masamune sword.

The Ducks looked like the best team in the nation tonight, regardless of the final score of the game.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Autzen Zoo, follow the site on Facebook and Twitter. Read his other work on the Iowa State blog, Clones Confidential, and Lacrosse the Web.