Oregon stomps Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Marcus Mariota and No. 2 Oregon wasted no time showing Virginia all that speed the Ducks bring is more than just talk.
Mariota ran 71 yards for a touchdown on the Ducks’ sixth play from scrimmage, turning a third-and-5 that had the crowd jacked up for a defensive stop into a demoralizing introduction into what Oregon football is all about.
“They came out in a man-free look and they all kind of ran with their guy and I just kind of hit it up the middle,” Mariota said of the play, on which he flared five receivers out, then ran a draw. He was virtually untouched on the play.
“The guys did a good job blocking and the receivers did a good job blocking downfield,” he said.
Mariota finished with 122 yards on four carries and threw two touchdown passes. De’Anthony Thomas added three touchdown runs, and the Ducks piled up 557 yards of offense in their first trip to Charlottesville on the way to a 59-10 victory that looked frighteningly easy.
Still, it left first-year head coach Mark Helfrich with plenty to complain about, namely 11 penalties for 119 yards.
“Obviously we will clean that up,” Helfrich said.
The offense, which built a 21-0 lead in the first 10:32, felt like it left a lot on the field, too.
“I thought we did all right,” Mariota said. “There were some times that we slowed ourselves down with penalties and bad throws. If everything starts to click for us, like those first three drives, I think things will get rolling and we’ll be pretty good.”
Thomas ran for 124 yards on just 11 carries, and the Ducks (2-0), who gained a school-record 772 yards last week in beating Nicholls State, looked capable of doing it again against a Virginia defense that hoped to keep the Cavaliers in the game. Oregon’s up-tempo offense did all its damage while possessing the ball for just 21:25. N.C. State 23, Richmond 21 At Raleigh, N.C., Niklas Sade’s 48-yard field goal with 33 seconds left lifted North Carolina State past Richmond.
N.C. State freshman Bryant Shirreffs accounted for two touchdowns and Pete Thomas was 24- of-31 for 237 yards while helping the Wolfpack ( 2- 0) rally from an 11-point deficit.
The Wolfpack took over at their own 21 with 1:59 left and Thomas led them 48 yards in seven plays.
He completed 4 of 5 passes during the drive for 31 yards — including a critical 13-yard throw to Rashard Smith at the sideline — before things stalled at the 31. Sade’s kick from the right hash cleared the crossbar with ease.
No. 4 Clemson 52, South Carolina State 13 At Clemson, S.C., Tajh Boyd ran for a touchdown and No. 4 Clemson returned two interceptions for scores for the first time in program history.
Boyd accounted for five TDs a week ago and became a prime Heisman Trophy contender as the Tigers (2-0) defeated No. 11 Georgia 38-35.
In this one, Boyd scored Clemson’s first touchdown and played only a half against the Bulldogs (0-2) before finding a spot on the Death Valley sidelines next to offensive coordinator Chad Morris. That was more than enough, though, for Clemson to move to 27-0 all-time against FCS teams.
Maryland 47, Old Dominion 10 At College Park, Md., C.J. Brown threw for two touchdowns and ran for two, Brandon Ross rushed for 149 yards and Maryland capitalized on three interceptions.
Brown directed touchdown drives of 77, 46, 97 and 80 yards to stake the Terrapins (2-0) to a 31-3 halftime lead. Ross had 126 yards rushing during a first half in which Maryland amassed 392 yards and 20 first downs.
After missing all of last year with a knee injury, Brown accounted for five touchdowns in the Terrapins’ season opening 43-10 win over Florida International. For an encore, the fifth-year senior completed 14 of 22 passes for 275 yards and ran four times for 30 yards in three quarters of work.
No. 19 Northwestern 48, Syracuse 27 At Evanston, Ill., Trevor Siemian threw for 259 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, Kain Colter passed for a touchdown and ran for one, and No. 19 Northwestern pounded Syracuse.
Tony Jones added a personal- best 185 yards receiving and a 47-yard TD, and the Wildcats (2-0) racked up 581 yards in all. They also intercepted Syracuse’s Drew Allen four times on the way to an easy victory. How easy? They scored the game’s first 20 points and led 34-7 at the half after collecting 387 yards, with their quarterbacks picking apart Syracuse (0-2).