Oregon Gets Past Pesky Utah State
Maurice Morris ran for 175 yards and Joey Harrington threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns as No. 6 Oregon survived a scare to beat Utah State, 38-21, Saturday night.
The Ducks (4-0), venturing on the road after three home games, needed two fourth-quarter scores after the Aggies (0-4) pulled to 24-21 on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jose Fuentes to Gary Coleman late in the third quarter.
Harrington answered by directing a six-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Onterrio Smith’s four-yard run early in the fourth. Morris put it out of reach when he broke free on a 69-yard run for a 38-21 lead with 8:19 remaining.
Harrington was 17 for 24 with no interceptions and also scored on a one-yard sneak in the second quarter.
Fuentes nearly outperformed the Heisman Trophy contender, going 26 for 46 for 356 yards and two touchdowns.
But three of his four interceptions came in the fourth quarter, ending scoring threats.
Garrett Graham and Kevin Mitchell made late interceptions inside the 20 for Oregon, and Steve Smith caught another in the end zone.
The Ducks held Utah State standout Emmett White to 83 yards rushing.
For three quarters, it was competitive. The undersized Aggies, giving up more than 40 pounds on their defensive front to an Oregon line that averaged 295 pounds, made up the difference with a swarming defense.
Utah State came in ranked 108th among 117 Division I-A schools in defense. But the Aggies held the Ducks in check much of the game.
It was no surprise to Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti, who warned his team about another No. 6 team that was unbeaten in three games and going on the road against a winless opponent. But North Carolina beat Florida State, 41-9, last week.
The Aggies had a good game plan, confusing Oregon with overloaded receiver sets and throwing slants to move the ball. A few times, Fuentes beat standout cornerbacks Rashad Bauman and Smith with deep passes.
Coach Mick Dennehy even showed some razzle-dazzle, letting receiver Kevin Curtis take a third-quarter lateral from Fuentes to throw a 21-yard pass to White at Oregon’s three-yard line.