Who Needs Musgrave? Not Oregon in Victory

If Saturday’s season opener is any indication, life after Bill Musgrave doesn’t look bad at all for the Oregon Ducks.

The Oregon defense performed as advertised, sophomore tailback Sean Burwell had his biggest game and redshirt freshman Danny O’Neil showed he can run, pass and perform under pressure in a 40-14 Pacific 10 Conference romp over Washington State.

Burwell rushed for a career-high 189 yards as the Ducks amassed a 283-44 advantage on the ground.

“Right after the first series I told the offensive line, ‘You’re doing a great job. They can’t stop us,’ ” Burwell said. “I knew we could run on them. Our offensive line dominated their defensive line. It was that simple all day long.”

Drew Bledsoe, Washington State’s touted 6-foot-5 quarterback, had a horrible time against the veteran Oregon defense. He had three passes intercepted and was sacked six times.

Eric Castle had two interceptions in the Ducks’ 21-point third quarter, returning one 39 yards for a touchdown and setting up another Oregon score with a 30-yard return to the Washington State three-yard line. “We just played solid defense,” Castle said. “The defensive line did a tremendous job. Bledsoe didn’t have a lot of time to throw the ball because of the pressure they put on him.”

There was concern that the Ducks didn’t know how to win without Musgrave, who broke all of Oregon’s passing records as a four-year starter. The team was 25-10 with Musgrave at quarterback and 3-9 without him.

But O’Neil, in his college football debut, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. He also directed scoring drives of 91 and 95 yards.