Pac-12 roundup: Freshman Royce Freeman helps Oregon beat Washington

Freshman Royce Freeman ran for 169 yards and four touchdowns and No. 9 Oregon extended its winning streak over Washington to 11 straight games with a 45-20 victory on Saturday night in Eugene, Ore.

Marcus Mariota threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12), who won their second straight game as they distance themselves from a loss at home to Arizona on Oct. 2.

Freeman’s four touchdowns were the most rushing touchdowns in a single game for a Duck since Kenjon Barner had five against USC in 2012.

Cameron Van Winkle hit a pair of field goals for Washington (5-2, 1-2), which hasn’t defeated Oregon since the 2003 season. Sophomore Cyler Miles struggled to find a rhythm, throwing for 147 yards and a touchdown with an interception and a fumble.

Oregon celebrated the 20th anniversary of “The Pick,” Kenny Wheaton’s 97-yard interception return for a game-saving touchdown over the Huskies in 1994 that helped send the Ducks to their first Rose Bowl in 37 years.

Many Oregon fans believe that play was the spark for the Ducks’ rise to national prominence.

Oregon players wore bright green throwback jerseys with yellow pants in commemoration of The Pick, and Wheaton himself retraced the path of his interception sitting on the back of a bright green motorcycle in pregame ceremonies.

Washington’s opening series was capped by Van Winkle’s 33-yard field goal. After Oregon went ahead on Freeman’s 37-yard touchdown run up the middle, the Huskies narrowed it with Van Winkle’s 40-yard field goal.

Early in the second quarter Oregon went for it on fourth down and Freeman scored on a 3-yard option pitch from Mariota to make it 14-6. The Ducks extended the lead with Freeman’s 1-yard touchdown.

Oregon kicker Matt Wogan missed a 33-yard field goal wide left, but Erick Dargen intercepted Miles on Washington’s ensuing series and two plays later Mariota hit Byron Marshall with a 23-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-6.

It was Miles’ first interception of the season.

Dwayne Stanford leaped above two defenders to pull down a 16-yard touchdown pass from Mariota that put the Ducks up 35-6 in the third quarter.

Washington scored its first touchdown of the game with 4:45 left in the third when Miles connected on a 3-yard scoring pass to Deontae Cooper to make it 35-13.

Freeman’s fourth TD came on 3-yard run early in the fourth before Washington replaced Miles with redshirt freshman Troy Williams, who capped his first college drive with a 7-yard keeper to make it 42-20.

Freeman appeared to get his fifth touchdown on a 2-yard run late, but a holding penalty on the offense called it back. The Ducks settled for Wogan’s 26-yard field goal for the final margin.

Mariota needed just one more touchdown to pass Stanford’s Andrew Luck (82) for fifth on the Pac-12’s career list. Mariota has 19 passing touchdowns and five rushing scores this season.

The Huskies were coming off a 31-7 rout of California last Saturday in Berkeley. Miles threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns, and Shaq Thompson returned a fumble 100 yards for a score.

Oregon’s last outing was a 42-30 rebound victory over the UCLA Bruins, which popped the Ducks back into the top 10 after their loss to Arizona the previous week. Freeman became Oregon’s first 100-plus yard rusher of the season with 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Overall, Washington still owns a 58-44-5 advantage in the series that goes back 113 years.

No. 17 Arizona State 26, No. 23 Stanford 10

Mike Bercovici threw for 242 yards and a touchdown, Zane Gonzalez kicked four second-half field goals and Arizona State cleared a big hurdle by running past Stanford at Tempe, Ariz.

The Cardinal had become a nemesis of sorts for Arizona State, powering past the Sun Devils in two games last season, including a dominating win in the Pac-12 Championship game. Arizona State (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12) turned the tables against Stanford with an efficient performance on both sides of the ball.

The Sun Devils scored the most points allowed by the nation’s top-rated defense behind a nice mix of run and pass, while its defense refused to get pushed around by bigger Cardinal up front.

Stanford (4-3, 2-2) labored offensively again and nearly tripled its nation-leading average of 10 points allowed per game on defense.