Johnson, Blount lead Oregon to 54-20 win

Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount ran for two touchdowns apiece and Oregon routed Arizona State, 54-20, Saturday at Tempe, Ariz., to remain in a tie for the lead in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Jeremiah Masoli ran for a touchdown and threw for another for the Ducks. He gained 85 yards in eight carries and completed 17 of 26 passes for 146 yards.

Johnson ran 43 yards for a touchdown on Oregon’s first possession and had a six-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Blount had a 10-yard scoring run in the second quarter and an improbable 19-yard touchdown run in the third.

Blount rolled on top of two would-be Arizona State tacklers on his second score, then got to his feet and scampered to the end zone.

Oregon (6-2, 4-1) amassed 537 yards, 304 on the ground. Arizona State (2-5, 1-3) lost its fifth game in a row.

Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti wouldn’t say until game-time whether Masoli or Justin Roper would get the start. But Masoli played the first three quarters, staking the Ducks to a 44-13 lead. Roper connected with Chris Harper for a 62-yard touchdown with 5:27 to play.

The Ducks beat the Sun Devils for the fourth straight time, three in Tempe.

The game was barely two minutes old when Oregon took the lead for good. On third and two, Johnson burst free over right tackle on a 43-yard touchdown run.

The Sun Devils blew an opportunity on Oregon’s next possession, when Masoli and Johnson botched a handoff and Morris Wooten recovered for Arizona State at the Ducks’ eight-yard line. But on third and goal from the 11, Jarius Byrd intercepted Rudy Carpenter’s pass in the end zone and scrambled out to the two.

Late in the first quarter, Masoli ran 28 yards to the Arizona State three, then scored from there on the next play. The extra-point attempt was botched by a bad snap, and the Ducks led, 13-0.

Arizona State gambled on fourth and one at its 48 on its next possession, and Carpenter stumbled and fell going back to pass. That gave Oregon the ball at the Sun Devils’ 39. Four plays later, Blount ran 10 yards up the middle for a score to make it 20-0 amid a chorus of boos with 12:20 still left in the half.

Oregon had a 141-10 advantage in yards rushing in the first quarter.

The Ducks made it 23-0 on Matt Evensen’s career-best 52-yard field goal with 6:27 left in the half.

Wooten intercepted Masoli’s pass and returned it 24 yards to the one, where Carpenter scored on a sneak with 2:01 left in the half. Thomas Weber was wide right on the extra-point attempt, ending his string of 33 consecutive PATs.

Oregon benefited from a referee’s reversal of what initially was ruled a fumble that Arizona State’s Jamarr Robinson and returned 62 yards to the Ducks’ eight. But a review of the video showed Masoli was down when the ball came loose.

Oregon went on to score on Johnson’s six-yard run to go up 30-6 with 11:47 to go in the third quarter.

Notre Dame 33, Washington 7 -- Junior James Aldridge ran for 84 yards and a career-high two touchdowns and the defense was strong in leading the Fighting Irish (5-2) over the Huskies (0-7) at Seattle.

Washington’s score with 2:56 left prevented its first shutout loss at home since 1976.

Notre Dame led, 24-0, late in the third quarter and faced fourth and 13 at its own 37.

Harrison Smith took a direct snap on a fake punt and ran 35 yards to set up the second field goal of the game by Brandon Walker.

As the crowd booed, Coach Tyrone Willingham remained stoic on the sideline.

The Huskies’ offense, with redshirt freshman quarterback Ronnie Fouch making his third career start, did not cross midfield until six minutes remained. It had only 51 total yards in 35 plays entering the fourth quarter.

Washington finished with 124 total yards against a defense that was giving up an average of 368 yards, 75th nationally.

The Huskies remain one of only two winless teams in the Bowl Subdivision, with North Texas.

The Irish looked rusty on offense following its bye, with quarterback Jimmy Clausen frustrated and often misfiring. He did complete 14 of 26 passes for 201 yards, with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Michael Floyd on the game’s first series, and an interception.

Notre Dame improved to 7-0 against Washington. The Irish have won both times they’ve met a former non-interim head coach. They also routed Willingham and the Huskies in Seattle in 2005.

Willingham, fired by Notre Dame after going 21-15 in three seasons, is 11-32 in three-plus at Washington. The Huskies are off to their worst start since beginning 0-9 in 1969.