McCullough: 223 Yards, Five Scores

Saladin McCullough certainly knows how to atone for his mistakes.

After his fumble was returned 75 yards for an early Arizona touchdown, McCullough came back for the third-best rushing performance in Oregon history as the Ducks snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Wildcats, 49-31, Saturday in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Eugene, Ore.

“It’s a big relief,” Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti said of his team’s first Pac-10 victory. “The longer it goes, obviously it puts more pressure on everybody. I think our players were just tired of not feeling good.”

McCullough gained 223 yards in 25 carries and scored five touchdowns even though he sat out most of the final quarter with a pulled right hamstring. McCullough promised more to come.

“This is just one,” he said. “There will be more after this--guaranteed.”

The Ducks, 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Pac-10, fell behind, 14-0, in the game’s first four minutes, but rallied behind McCullough, who rushed for 176 yards and three scores in the first half.

Arizona (4-5, 2-4) stayed close but gambled on fourth and one from its 45 and came less than an inch short on Keith Smith’s quarterback sneak with 10:15 to play. Moments later, on third and 16, Oregon backup quarterback Ryan Perry-Smith threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Damon Griffin to put the game out of reach, 49-31.

No. 19 Washington 42, Oregon State 3--Brock Huard had a career-best four touchdown passes and Corey Dillon ran for two scores as the Huskies (7-3, 6-1) rolled to an easy victory over the Beavers (1-8, 1-6) at Seattle.

Washington beat Oregon State, a 23-point underdog, for the ninth consecutive time and for the 19th time in 20 games.

The Beavers, suffering through their 26th consecutive losing season, were held without a touchdown for the second time in five games.

Huard, a 6-foot-5 freshman, completed 14 of 26 passes for 221 yards. His four touchdown passes gave him 11 for the season.