Portland State at Oregon, Postgame

It was over before it began. LaMichael James flashed 66 yards for a touchdown barely a minute into play, slowing to a trot the last ten yards. The Ducks scored three touchdowns in the first five minutes, and James had the biggest day of his 14-game Oregon career, shaking loose for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Darron Thomas passed for four scores, including two to Jeff Maehl.

Maehl's first score was a nifty 47-yard catch-and-run on a hook route, spinning out of a tackle after the catch and dashing up the right side, getting a good block from James downfield. On his second td reception he sprung high and wrested the ball away from DeShawn Snead, the Viking's best cover guy, a player Coach Nigel Burton says has NFL potential.

The Oregon defense was stifling against the smaller, slower Viking squad, repeatedly getting pressure and penetration up front. Brandon Bair had a huge day with sacks, tackles for loss and multiple batted passes, and Zac Clark recorded an early sack. Casey Matthews had his second fumble recovery of the young season. Every Duck not headed for a redshirt year got multiple snaps. In all the defense held PSU to 135 yards, 0-17 on third downs.

Not sure what an easy win will do long-term for the development of the Oregon football team. There has to be some concern about Kenjon Barner, Darrion Weems, Spencer Paysinger and David Paulson being shut down early with injuries, because the Ducks will need those guys the rest of the way.

The Oregon offense rolled for 666 yards, including 511 on the ground, but they didn't look particularly crisp in doing so. The passing game was uneven. They had three turnovers, drops and missed blocks. They physically manhandled Portland State, which they were supposed to do, but the important thing is, did they learn anything about themselves that will prepare them to beat Arizona State and Stanford?

The Webfoots travel to Tempe next Saturday for a night game in the Arizona heat. The Sun Devils gave number 11 Wisconsin all they could handle today at Camp Randall, losing 20-19 after leading most of the first half. Arizona State got two kickoff returns of over 90 yards, one for a first quarter touchdown by Omar Bolden, the other taken by Kyle Middlebrooks to the Wisconsin one-yard line in the last ten seconds at the end of the first half. Diving and falling forward, Middlebrooks lost the ball as he hit the ground, stopped just inches short of the goal line in what became a crucial turnaround in a very close game, time running out in the scramble for the ball, ruled down by contact and upheld in replay.

ASU quarterback Steven Threet looked comfortable operating their spread passing formation, 21-33 for 211 yards, while freshman Deantre Lewis had a breakout game at tailback, with 9 carries for 122. The Sun Devil defense held Wisconsin's formidable smash mouth offense to 20 points and 14 first downs for the game.

The Ducks had their way with Portland State, as they should, but now comes the hard part. They'll face an old fox in the desert, intent on robbing their season of its tremendous promise. Oregon's depth will be tested after today's rash of injuries, and so will their focus and resolve. They'll have to ramp up their game for a higher caliber of competition than they've faced in the season's first three weeks. It's the start of PAC-10 play and everybody except Stanford and UCLA is 0-0.