SportsDirect Inc. staff
Aug 31, 2014
No. 4 Oregon 62, South Dakota 13: Marcus Mariota threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as the host Ducks pulled away early in the season opener.
Oregon finished with 672 total yards, including 292 rushing as Byron Marshall led the way with 89 yards on eight carries and Royce Freeman ran for 75 yards and two scores. Marshall also caught eight passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Kevin Earl completed 13-of-26 passes for 136 yards for South Dakota, which was playing a Pac-12 team for the first time in program history. Jasper Sanders rushed for 65 yards on five carries and Trevor Bouma added 60 yards on 14 carries and scored the lone touchdown for the Coyotes.
The Ducks produced touchdowns on their first three drives to take a 21-3 lead. Mariota hooked up with Dwayne Stanford for a 62-yard touchdown on the game’s opening possession, found Marshall for a 41-yard score and Freeman finished the first-quarter surge with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Oregon added three more touchdowns in the second quarter on a 26-yard run by Freeman, an 11-yard hook up between Mariota and Marshall and Mariota’s 1-yard run. The Ducks then received a touchdown from their special teams as Charles Nelson returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown and a 48-13 lead midway through the third quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Ducks improved to 34-2 at home over the last five seasons, the best mark in college football during that span. … Mariota has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 27 games at Oregon, the second-longest active streak behind Rakeem Cato of Marshall (33). … Jeff Lockie completed 11-of-12 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in relief of Mariota.