PULLMAN, Wash. -- Onterrio Smith wants to spring for breakfast for his Oregon offensive linemen.
"I don't know what those guys ate for breakfast, but they sure blocked," Smith said after rushing for a school-record 285 yards and three touchdowns as No. 11 Oregon beat No. 14 Washington State 24-17 on Saturday.
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| Oregon's Onterrio Smith dives in for one of his three touchdowns. (AP) |
"It was great how our offense executed. They were clicking on all cylinders."
Smith, who had 26 carries, broke the 1971 Oregon record of 249 yards set by Bobby Moore -- now known as Ahmad Rashad.
Smith combined with Maurice Morris for 423 yards rushing and the Ducks had 446 overall, breaking the team record of 403 against California in 1960. Smith also had 342 all-purpose yards to break the school record set by Moore in 1971 and matched last week by Keenan Howry.
What was supposed to be a battle of the top quarterbacks in the Pacific-10 Conference became a showcase for the running backs of Oregon (7-1, 4-1) and the Ducks' defense, which staved off a fourth-quarter comeback try by the Cougars (7-1, 4-1).
"We really stepped up tonight," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said of the Ducks' defensive effort, which held WSU rushers to just 82 yards. "We broke down a few times, and WSU battled back."
Bellotti said the team rushing record was won by the entire offense.
"Everybody did their part to make our running game successful," he said.
The Cougars threatened to tie the game in the final seconds, but Jason Gesser threw three consecutive incomplete passes from the Oregon 8 as time expired.
WSU coach Mike Price was at a loss to explain his team's slow start.
"Boy, I don't know. They weren't creating. They were just off beat," he said. "We just didn't have any rhythm."
Oregon's offensive line made it easy for Smith, Price said.
"We were stacking guys inside, but they were just blowing us off and running through the tackles," he said.
Oregon's win threw open the Pac-10 race, as the last remaining undefeated teams were beaten Saturday. No. 4 UCLA lost to No. 20 Stanford.
Smith scored on runs of 8, 41 and 73 yards as the Ducks rolled up 565 yards of offense and limited the Cougars to 394, nearly 100 yards less than their average.
Gesser completed 17 of 37 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. He had only 50 passing yards at halftime as the Ducks sacked him twice and pressured numerous throws. Oregon's Joey Harrington completed 14 of 26 passes for 119 yards.
Oregon took a 7-3 halftime lead as the Ducks held Cougars' offense in check.
Smith's 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave the Ducks the margin of victory.
Dave Minnich, returning just three weeks after knee surgery, scored on a 1-yard run to cut the Ducks' lead to 17-10 with 11:28 remaining in the fourth.
After connecting with Mike Bush on a 63-yard pass play, Gesser hit Jerome Riley on a 15-yard scoring strike for the Cougars' final score, making it 24-17 with 4:25 remaining.
Morris carried 19 times for 138 yards before leaving the game with a left hamstring injury at the end of the third period.
Washington State's talent wide receiver combination of Nakoa McElrath and Mike Bush were limited to less than 100 yards apiece. McElrath finished with seven catches for 87 yards, while Bush had 95 yards on four catches.
The Ducks won their fourth consecutive game against the Cougars, including the last two at Martin Stadium.
Bellotti said he was pleased with the way his team responded after last week's upset by Stanford.
"Every team will get knocked down once in a while," he said. "But it's how you get back up and on your feet again that matters."
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