Mariota Flies and Ducks Get Defensive in Win Over Wyoming
It was a day of records for the Oregon Ducks. Fans went home happy as 56533 watched Oregon come back and beat Wyoming on Saturday afternoon. It was sunny in Eugene, and close to ninety degrees on the field. The Ducks started out a little sluggish, but did not take long to get it in gear. Before they had the chance they were down 7-0 to Wyoming who throughout the first half found a way to pass and run the ball against Don Pellum’s Defense. Shortly before halftime, that came to and end as Erick Dargan picked two balls for interceptions in the game.
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Wyoming Quarterback Colby Kirkgaard was accurate, but clearly not when he needed to be. He did throw for over two hundred yards in the game. Oregon’s Offense was the difference with Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota not only leaping for a score but finding outlets throughout the game in the air. One of those outlets included a former Oregon Ducks Basketball player in Johnantan Loyd who had a six yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter Wyoming added a score with Colby Kirkgaard passing to D.J. May giving oregon a 41-14 lead.
The Oregon Ducks Defense was swarming over the Wyoming QB in the second half causing a force fumble and several sacks. Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota left in the middle of the third quarter, his day done. He was relieved by Backup Jeff Lockie. Mariota ended the day 19-23 for 221 yards and two touchdowns and on the ground rushing for seventy one yards and two scores.
The game marked the fiftieth win this decade for the Oregon Ducks, the first team to fifty wins in that span leading the pack ahead of Florida State, Alabama and Stanford. Autzen Stadium also saw the consecutive sellout streak hit ninety-nine giving an extra special meaning to the Thursday night game in a few weeks against Arizona.
It was a solid victory for Oregon, but with Wyoming showing it could pass still on Oregon still left some questions.
The Oregon Ducks are now 3-0 on the season and the Pac-12 Conference beckons starting next weekend. A win is a win, but next week Oregon hits the road to pass happy Washington State, a scheduled night game on ESPN at 7:30pm Pacific Time.