Washington, Oregon win Pac-12 rivalry games

Myles Gaskin rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, Sidney Jones, Darren Gardenhire and Azeem Victor each scored on turnovers in the second half and Washington became bowl eligible with a 45-10 win over No. 20 Washington State in Seattle on Friday.

The Huskies (6-6, 4-5 Pac-12) removed any doubt about their postseason status by stemming the best passing game in the country and taking advantage of seven turnovers by the Cougars, the most by Washington State since 2009 against Hawaii.

“I know it was our most prepared game, emotionally,” Wasington Coach Chris Petersen said. “I was really hoping they were going to play good because I knew that they were all it. It was good to see these guys be able to finish in the second half.”

Peyton Bender made his first start for Washington State because of an injury to Luke Falk and looked the part of an inexperienced freshman. Bender threw for 288 yards, but the Cougars (8-4, 6-3) failed to take advantage of three good scoring opportunities in the first half. Bender started after Falk suffered an apparent concussion last week against Colorado.

Jones returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and Gardenhire scooped up a fumble and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter after Washington State wide receiver Gabe Marks was bent awkwardly and appeared to injure his right knee.

On the next play from scrimmage after Gardenhire’s touchdown, Victor intercepted a Bender pass and returned it 27 yards for another score.

“It meant a lot to us getting that sixth win,” Huskies linebacker Keishawn Bierria said. “Today we made a statement.”

The Cougars will still be going to a bowl game for the second time under Coach Mike Leach but lost out on a chance at just the sixth 10-win season in school history and will likely tumble down the Pac-12 pecking order.

The Cougars were held more than 100 yards passing below their season average, although the absence of Falk was a significant reason why.

“We collapsed as a team,” Leach said of the Cougars.

Gaskin, who was held to 29 yards rushing in the first half, rushed for 67 yards in the third quarter and scored on a five-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Washington a 31-10 lead. Even with a bowl game remaining Gaskin posted just the 18th 1,000-yard season in school history and most ever by a freshman with 1,111.

Washington quarterback Jake Browning completed 14 of 20 passes for 203 yards. His one interception in the third quarter set up Washington State’s only touchdown, but that was the only mistake Browning made.

at Oregon 52, Oregon State 42: Vernon Adams threw for 366 yards and three touchdowns and the No. 17 Ducks extended their winning streak to six games with the victory in the 119th Civil War game.

Royce Freeman ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns for Oregon (9-3, 7-2 in Pac-12), which will now wait to see how the postseason bowl picture shakes out. Stanford will represent the Pac-12 North in the conference championship game against the winner of Saturday’s game between USC and UCLA.

Bralon Addison caught eight passes for 106 yards and scored four touchdowns for Oregon, including one on a 13-yard run.

It was the ninth straight loss for the Beavers (2-10, 0-9), the most since 1995 when they lost 10 in a row. Oregon State, which trailed 31-7 at halftime and made it close with 21 points in the fourth quarter, did not win a conference game for the first time since 1997.