Mariota Shines as #5 Ducks Rout Red Wolves

De'Anthony Thomas runs to daylight against the Red Wolves
(Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images North America)

One position where Oregon had a question mark for this season was at quarter back. Freshman Marcus Mariota appeared to be in complete control of the high powered Duck offense, connecting on 18 of 22 for 200 yards through the air and 3 scoring passes through the air in a quarter and a half of work. Two of those passing touch downs went to the Ducks everything man DeAnthony Thomas. One play that stood out as Mariota's signature came early in the second quarter. Mariota rolled right and looked to turn the ball up field when receiver Josh Huff broke off his block and went deep. Mariota pulled up with a defender in his face and drilled Josh Huff for a first down.  The Oregon starters were out of the game early and the score did not indicate the schism between the two teams. When the back ups came in to the game in the second quarter the score was already 50-3 well on the way to the final score of 57-34.

Opening the game with the ball, the Ducks wasted no time getting on the score board relying heavily on the pass. It was an interesting change from a team that has lead the conference in rushing offense the last several years. The drive was capped with Kenjon Barner going over the left side for a 4 yard touch down run. The Ducks then lined up in their 2 point formation, found an advantage to the outside and Punter Jackson Rice hit Defensive End Dion Jordan for the two point conversion. Ark State went three and out and 7 plays and less than 2 minutes later Mariota found De'Anthony Thomas in the end zone for his first collegiate touch down pass.

The swarming Oregon defense forced a fumble on the next drive and before you could look up it was 22-0. Ryan Aplin and the Red Wolves offense had all sorts of fits in the first half against the Oregon starters not penetrating into Oregon territory until their final drive of the quarter. By then Kenjon Barner had his second rushing touchdown of the day and Oregon's lead had swollen to 29-0. The Red Wolves next drive showed promise but stalled out just outside the red zone forcing Ark State to settle for a field goal.

The Red Wolves used the strategy of short high kick offs that neutralized the Oregon special teams duo of Josh Huff and De'Anthony Thomas but the trade off was giving Marcus Mariota and his offense the ball in favorable field position. That was still the case following the field goal and Oregon went pass heavy on the next drive going 67 yards in a minute capped by another Mariota to Thomas connection for 6.

De'Anthony Thomas was all over the field, picking up where he left off it the Rose Bowl, scoring three times, twice through the air and then after Oregon forced an interception Thomas reversed field and sprinted 33 yards into the end zone on a play that would end his workload for the day. Mariota's final drive of the day was mostly hand offs to true Freshman Byron Marshall who capped the drive on 4th down with a gutty run carrying defenders to the goal line for his first touch down as a Duck.

As the reserves started to pour onto the field for the home team, the Red Wolves would turn a missed field goal by Rob Beard into a touch down when reigned Sun Belt offensive player of the year Ryan Aplin found a streaking Julian Jones down the side line for a 72 yard touch down pass. Chaz Scales would intercept Bryan Bennett on the next drive but were unable to convert it to points as the teams went into the half 50-10.

The Oregon reserves were not able to muster much in the second half, scoring only once when Bryan Bennett passed to Rahsaan Vaughn for 7 yards and the score giving Oregon their final tally of 57 points. Meanwhile, Ryan Aplin and the Red Wolves offense moved the ball against the second and third stringers. In the second half Aplin threw for two of his three touchdowns and ran for one more to make the score respectable in a game that wasn't that close. Aplin, the player of the year accounted for the Red Wolves offense  "We had an idea about their offense. They execute it so well and they've got speed at every position," Arkansas State Coach Gus Malzahn said. "Obviously, we were expecting to do better than we did defensively in the first half."

Regardless of who was on the field, the Ducks weren't exactly happy about the 530 yards they yielded on defense. Senior running back Kenjon Barner was quoted after the game, "We gave up a lot of points. Whether it was the starters or not, we have to do better than that." One thing that is for certain is that early returns from Marcus Mariota are positive. A fierce competitor with a high football IQ gave the Autzen faithful a taste of what may be to come from the freshman signal caller. "The game in itself, it was fun. I can't really explain it any more than that." he said.

The Ducks stay home to face Fresno State as they renew what was once a budding rivalry. In recent years it has gone by the wayside. The Bulldogs defeated Weber State going away in their first match up of the season 37-10. The Red Wolves will return home to face the Memphis Tigers who should be a much easier opponent for Ark State.