No. 9 Oregon Rolls Past Colorado 45-2

The Ducks bulldozed the injury-riddled Buffaloes 45-2 Saturday in their first trip to Folsom Field since 1987 even though they were playing without Darron Thomas and LaMichael James.

The Ducks lost none of their quick-strike scoring ability without their injured quarterback and running back. Thomas was out with a knee injury and James missed his second straight game while recovering from a dislocated elbow.

Behind redshirt freshman QB Bryan Bennett and junior tailback Kenjon Barner, the Ducks (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12) jumped out to a 29-0 first-quarter lead.

"We have some depth at certain positions and that was a little bit evident today," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. "I think our depth wore them down as the game went on."

Actually, right from the start.

Barner reeled off touchdown runs of 4 and 84 yards and Bennett found running back De'Anthony Thomas for a 14-yard touchdown and tight end David Paulson from 31 yards out. The four TD drives averaged just 1:36 each.

None of this was a surprise to Colorado.

"They're a system team, they're going to do what they do," Buffaloes coach Jon Embree said. "I'm not taking anything away from those guys, I think their backups ... it's like going from Joe Montana to Steve Young. They have great depth."

Colorado's only highlight came on a tackle of Oregon punt returner Cliff Harris in the end zone that allowed the Buffaloes to avoid their first shutout at home since losing 28-0 to Oklahoma in 1986.

After a fiery pregame pep talk from James, the nation's leading rusher, the Ducks wasted no time in turning this one into a laugher no matter who was taking the snaps and hand-offs.

"We might have seemed a little flat in warmups and he just wanted to make sure that wasn't going to be a reflection of our play today," Bennett said. "LaMichael's a key player on this team and whether he plays or not, when he says something, people are going to listen."

Barner gained 115 yards on 10 carries before giving way to a bevy of other backups and Bennett added 69 yards on the ground to go with 156 yards through the air on 11 of 20 passing. He, too, was a sideline spectator before the third quarter was over.

Both Barner and Bennett averaged 11.5 yards a carry, but De'Anthony Thomas did them one better, averaging 12.5 yards on his four rushes.

The Folsom Field crowd figured the Ducks were piling on the Buffaloes (1-6, 0-4) right away when punter Jackson Rice took the direct snap after their first touchdown and plowed into the end zone for a 2-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

Embree took no offense.

"They've done that a bunch," he said. "It's not an opponent or respect issue, but that's what Chip does. He's aggressive."

The Ducks' defense got into the act when linebacker Michael Clay intercepted Tyler Hansen's pass at the Buffs 32 and raced into the end zone in the second quarter. Alejandro Maldonado's extra point was wide right, leaving the Ducks ahead 35-0 at halftime.

"We wanted to get it over with really early," Clay said. "I think we did that."

Hansen sustained a concussion when he was sandwiched on a slide that didn't draw a flag late in the first half and was replaced by freshman Nick Hirschman.

"I don't really remember a lot from the first half," Hansen said, "but it's got to be tough to play from behind like that. The second half was rough to watch."

The Buffaloes started the game without more than a dozen injured players, most notably running back Rodney Stewart and wide receiver Paul Richardson, who accounted for nearly 60 percent of Colorado's yards from scrimmage before Saturday.

Colorado also lost strong safety Anthony Perkins to an injured ankle just 6½ minutes into the game and kick returner D.D. Goodson to a concussion.

With so many key players sidelined, the Buffs were hoping something else might slow down the Ducks — altitude. Boulder is nearly 5,000 feet higher than Eugene, Ore., making a no-huddle offense a little more lung searing for the speedy Ducks.

"I don't know if anybody else felt it, but I felt it, I hit a brick wall," said Barner, who slowed down at the 5 on his 84-yard TD run.

After halftime, Bennett hit Lavasier Tuinei for 31 yards to the Buffaloes 1, and two snaps later, Tra Carson took it in for a 42-0 lead.

Just as impressive was the Ducks' defense — it allowed just 231 yards and 5 of 19 third-down conversions.

"Our defense played outstanding all day long," Kelly said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get the shutout."

That's because Terrel Smith corralled Harris in the end zone for a safety with 1:32 left in the third quarter. Kelly said Harris broke the cardinal rule of punt returns.

"We don't field punts inside the 10," he huffed.

And after that, Harris didn't field any punts at all, giving way to Chad Delaney.

___

Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

View the original article here

Halftime: Boise State 35, Colorado State 13

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Boise State leads Colorado State 35-13 at halftime. Let's take a quick look at how it happened:

Stat of the half: 21. First downs for the Broncos, as they scored touchdowns on their first five possessions and racked up 476 yards of total offense on 47 plays. There simply was not much the Rams could do to stop Boise State.

Best player in the half: None other than Kellen Moore, of course. The Heisman Trophy hopeful started the game with 18 straight completions and ended the half 24-of-26 for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Moore did what he always does,

Best call:Colorado State needed to get something going, after falling behind 35-0. So coach Steve Fairchild called a trick play, with Crockett Gillmore throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass to Joe Brown on a halfback option. It worked so well the first time, the Rams did it again when Charles Lovett threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Matt Yemm later in the quarter.

View the original article here

Final: Washington 52, Colorado 24

Keith Price and Washington are ready for their close-up.

They'll get it next week at Stanford. After Price threw four first-half touchdown passes in a 52-24 rout of Colorado, the Huskies are 5-1 for the first time in a decade and appear headed for the national rankings.

Price completed 21 of 28 for 257 yards with no interceptions and wasn't even required to finish the third quarter. He has 21 TD passes this year, which is tied for fourth most in program history just over halfway through the season.

The Huskies also improved to 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1997. If they can record the upset at Stanford, the Pac-12 North race will transform.

For Colorado (1-6, 0-3), the score might not have been the worst news. The Buffaloes lost RB Rodney Stewart to a knee injury in the first half. At this point, the injury is being called a sprain.

Washington has now scored 30 points or more in its first six games for the first time in school history. The 52 points were the most since 2001.

The Huskies outgained Colorado 562 yards to 269, including a 295 to 62 advantage in rushing yards. Chris Polk had 117 yards rushing on 18 carries.

For the Buffs, who lost their 21st consecutive game away from their home stadium, the schedule doesn't get any easier. They play host to Oregon next weekend.

View the original article here

Final: Ohio State 37, Colorado 17

Colorado's road losing streak is now at 20 games after getting dominated 37-17 at Ohio State.

Two fumbles (Colorado's first turnovers of the season) and poor special teams play -- including yielding a 90-yard kickoff return -- didn't help the Buffaloes' cause, but Ohio State dominated both lines of scrimamge and won with a true freshman Braxton Miller making his first start at QB.

Miller tossed two touchdown passes but only needed to complete 7 of 16 passes for 110 yards. The Buckeyes outrushed the Buffs 221-75.

Colorado, which falls to 1-3, will play host to Washington State on Saturday, in a game that is critical for both team's longshot bowl hopes.

View the original article here