CBS SportsLine wire reports
Sept. 19, 1998

EUGENE, Ore. -- Nobodies were more than enough for Oregon on this Saturday.

Freshman

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tailback Herman Ho-Ching is out for about six weeks with a strained ligament in his left knee after scoring three TDs last week against UTEP. And starting tailback Reuben Droughns, the Ducks' leading rusher at 221 yards, was out with a sprained left foot.

No problem.

Akili Smith threw three touchdown passes and Michael Fletcher and Rashad Bauman scored on long returns as the No. 22 Ducks beat San Jose State 58-3 on Saturday, the Spartans' worst loss in 30 years.

Oregon ran for 210 yards, led by Jason Cooper, a sophomore who carried 13 times for 77 yards and a touchdown. Derien Latimer, a junior who had just 11 yards on four carries in the first two games, had 72 yards on 15 carries and a TD.

OREGON HAD THE BALL for only 71 seconds in the first quarter, but scored three touchdowns -- on Fletcher's 70-yard punt return, a 55-yard pass from Smith to Jed Weaver and Bauman's 80-yard interception return.

The Ducks laughed all the way to a 58-3 victory. (AP)

"Before you knew it, we were up 14-0," Smith said. ``As an offense, we just kind of kicked back."

Oregon ran just six plays in the quarter, gaining 94 yards. For the game, the Ducks outgained the Spartans 441-255.

It was Oregon's biggest margin since a 58-0 victory over Washington in 1973. The defeat was the San Jose State's worst since a 66-0 loss at Arizona State in 1968.

Smith, erratic in the 33-26 victory over UTEP, was on target Saturday, completing 8-of-11 for 220 yards in three quarters. His other TDs came on throws of 55 yards to Tony Hartley and 17 to Damon Griffin.

"A lot of people were honestly upset with the way that we played last week," Smith said. "We felt we didn't come out and show everybody across the country what kind of team we had. We had something to prove today, and we did that."

ANOTHER SURPRISE contributor was Weaver, a senior with just four career catches and 54 yards entering the game. He caught three passes for 98 yards.

San Jose State's only score was David Silberstein's 33-yard field goal with 5:53 left in the third quarter.

The Ducks hardly had to break a sweat to put San Jose (1-2) away.

Fletcher caught a short, spiraling punt by Tim Morgan on one bounce, got a block from Davis Sanchez and ran down the right sideline for a touchdown with 9:58 left in the first quarter.

"When I looked up, I just saw green jerseys," Fletcher said.

Oregon made it 21-0 when Marcus Arroyo badly overthrew Gabe Payne and Bauman easily picked off the pass, shook one tackler and raced 80 yards down the sideline.

Arroyo, a freshman, looked shaky in his first start in place of Brian Vye, who played poorly in the Spartans' 17-12 home loss to Idaho last week. He completed just 9-of-16 passes for 64 yards.

"I'VE BEEN HERE many times, and that's the loudest I've heard this crowd," Spartans coach Dave Baldwin said. "I think our offense flinched. We couldn't get the plays off to begin with because of the noise. And it set the tempo. They're a better football team, there's no doubt about it."

Deonce Whitaker rushed for 91 yards on 24 carries for the Spartans. Starting tailback Carlos Meeks, who was averaging 109 yards, sprained his left ankle in the second quarter and finished with 46 yards.

Oregon's Nathan Villegas kicked field goals of 41, 34 and 27 yards, making him 9-for-9 this season. He also is 16-for-16 on extra points.