Oregon Football: Three Things We Learned Against Washington
The Oregon Ducks improved to 6-0 on the season with a 52-21 beating of Washington yesterday at Autzen Stadium. The win was the second victory over a fellow Pac-12 team in the last three weeks. Oregon is now tied at the top of the Pac-12’s North Division with in-state rival Oregon State. Both teams are 3-0 in conference.
Colt Lyerla (Scott Olmos-US PRESSWIRE)
Sophomore tight end Colt Lyerla is emerging as a top playmaker on offense. Lyerla had six touches during the first three weeks but has 18 in the past three games. He caught three passes yesterday for 71 yards and two scores and added one rushing attempt for four yards. He is now fourth on the team in receptions with 12 and leads the team in touchdown receptions with four.
Marcus Mariota continues to spread the football around on offense. Seven different Ducks caught a pass in the route of Washington with the highest total being four. Will Murphy led the team with four catches while Josh Huff, Keanon Lowe, Daryle Hawkins, De’Anthony Thomas, Bralon Addison and Lyerla all caught at least one pass.
Mariota completed 15 of 24 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns. He was picked off once and sacked once as well. Mariota had a passer rating of 178.5 which was his highest since he posted a 207.4 against Tennessee Tech on September 15th.
The defense continues to force turnovers and gets points from them. The Ducks forced five turnovers in the victory including a 43 yard interception return for a score by Avery Patterson that made the game 21-0 Oregon in the first quarter. The Ducks now have ten interceptions on the season and have brought four of them back for touchdowns. They have recovered seven fumbles and they are now tied for third place in the Pac-12 in turnover margin. They are a +3 tying them with Oregon State.
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