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Pac-10: Rodgers brothers lead Beavers to win
By Tim Booth, AP Sports Writer
Monday, October 20, 2008 | No comments posted.
SEATTLE — James and Jacquizz Rodgers lining up in the same Oregon State backfield might be the smallest tandem in the country.
It might also be one of the most dangerous.
With most of the focus on Jacquizz, the Beavers’ freshman sensation, it was older brother James sprinting untouched through the Washington defense on Saturday night for 216 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in Oregon State’s 34-13 win over the Huskies.
Oregon State (4-3, 3-1 Pac-10) picked up its first road win of the season after losses at Stanford, Penn State and Utah, and won its fifth straight over Washington for the first time in the series history.
“They are just such an amazing tandem,” said Oregon State defensive end Slade Norris, an avid spectator when the Rodgers brothers are on the field. “That one play when they fake the handoff to Quizz; they’re just amazing players.”
Each just 5-foot-7, it’s often Jacquizz alone in the Beavers backfield with James out wide. But at one point early in the fourth quarter, the duo lined up together behind quarterback Lyle Moevao, Jacquizz in front of James.
The result: a fake handoff to Jacquizz, a pitch to James sprinting toward the edge, and a 55-yard Oregon State touchdown run.
“It was an awesome game. It shows you he’s a very good player,” Jacquizz Rodgers said of his brother. “Everyone’s been saying I’m getting the spotlight, (but) that just shows you.”
James Rodgers finished with 110 yards rushing on three carries and scored on runs of 55 and 52 yards. He also caught three passes for 53 yards and one score, and had another 53 yards on kick returns. Jacquizz Rodgers did his part too, adding 94 yards on 20 carries and a 1-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half.
Added in was the most efficient performance of Moevao’s career. Bouncing back from his last outing when Moevao threw four interceptions against Washington State, the junior hit 18 of 22 throws for 191 yards and missed just one pass in the first half.
The three performances were plenty to overwhelm Washington, which lost its eighth straight dating back to last season, tied with North Texas for the longest streak in the country.
“I think it’s really important that James’ part of the offense and the receivers’ part of the offense in general complements what we do with the running game,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “We knew going in Washington would try to do what they could to slow down (Jacquizz). ... We had to have some other stuff going and we did.”
While the Beavers extended their recent string of dominance in the series, Washington fans were left to reserve their biggest cheers for former coach Don James and the 1977 Washington team that won the Rose Bowl being honored on the field.
What would be considered shocking in James’ heyday is reality: The Huskies’ current product was simply no match for the Beavers.
Washington had four turnovers, all coming from redshirt freshman quarterback Ronnie Fouch, and missed a pair of field goals. Fouch moved the Huskies offense well between the 20s, but Washington couldn’t find the end zone until it was 31-6. Fouch finished 17 of 32 for 276 yards. Freshman running back Terrance Dailey, one of 12 true freshman used this season by Washington, had 102 yards rushing and a 59-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. He was the first 100-yard rusher for the Huskies this season.
“We didn’t do enough of the right things to put ourselves in position to win the football game,” said embattled Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, who saw his career record with the Huskies fall to 11-31. “Oregon State ... came in and gave us difficulty where we thought they would.”
Washington actually led 3-0 after Jared Ballman’s 45-yard field goal in the first quarter. The lead was noteworthy because for just the second time since the third quarter on Sept. 6 against BYU, the Huskies were ahead.
It didn’t last long.
Still in the opening minutes, Riley took a chance going for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 43, and converted with Jacquizz Rodgers going for five yards. On the next play, the Beavers faked a dive to Jacquizz and handed instead to James Rodgers on a reverse, then watched him dash in front of the Beavers’ bench for a 52-yard touchdown.
Later in the half, after Washington quarterback Ronnie Fouch was sacked and fumbled near midfield, James Rodgers struck again. Rodgers found space in the middle of Washington interior on a middle screen, then sprinted away from three Huskies on a 33-yard scoring pass.
“I was just making plays whenever I got the chance to,” James Rodgers said. “It felt good.”
The Beavers are tied with USC, Arizona and Oregon atop the Pac-10’s standings.
No. 6 USC 69, Washington State 0
PULLMAN, Wash. — Mark Sanchez became the first USC quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a half and the No. 6 Trojans breezed this time as a huge favorite.
It was the largest shutout victory for USC (5-1, 3-1 Pac-10) since a 69-0 win over Montana in 1931, and the Trojans were showing signs of mercy late in the first half.
USC’s defense, ranked first in the nation coming in by allowing just 9.4 points per game, ended the Cougars’ streak of scoring at 280 games dating to Sept. 15, 1984, when Ohio State beat Washington State 44-0. That scoring streak was second-longest in the nation to Michigan’s 295 games.
The Cougars absorbed their largest margin of defeat since they began playing in 1894.
Arizona 42, No. 25 California 27
TUCSON, Ariz. — Freshman Keola Antolin ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat California.
Trailing 24-14 at halftime, the Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) blitzed the Golden Bears (4-2, 2-1) with four touchdowns in 11:45 of the third quarter.
Arizona moved into a four-way tie for first in the Pac-10 with Oregon, Oregon State and Southern California — and the sixth-ranked Trojans visit Arizona Stadium next week. The Wildcats beat a ranked team for the sixth time in Mike Stoops’ five seasons.
UCLA 23, Stanford 20
LOS ANGELES — Kevin Craft threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cory Harkey with 10 seconds remaining to lift UCLA to a 23-20 victory over Stanford on Saturday.
The Bruins (3-4, 2-2 Pac-10) extended their win streak over the Cardinal (4-4, 3-2) to five in a row overall and six straight at the Rose Bowl.
Craft, who engineered a similar late rally to beat Tennessee in the season opener, completed six passes against Stanford during an 11-play drive that began at the UCLA 13 with 2:23 remaining. He finished it off when he sprinted toward the right sideline and, after defenders rushed toward him, threw to the wide-open tight end in the right side of the end zone.
The Bruins began their march after Stanford’s Aaron Zagory kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining to extend the Cardinal’s lead to 20-16.
It might also be one of the most dangerous.
With most of the focus on Jacquizz, the Beavers’ freshman sensation, it was older brother James sprinting untouched through the Washington defense on Saturday night for 216 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in Oregon State’s 34-13 win over the Huskies.
Oregon State (4-3, 3-1 Pac-10) picked up its first road win of the season after losses at Stanford, Penn State and Utah, and won its fifth straight over Washington for the first time in the series history.
“They are just such an amazing tandem,” said Oregon State defensive end Slade Norris, an avid spectator when the Rodgers brothers are on the field. “That one play when they fake the handoff to Quizz; they’re just amazing players.”
Each just 5-foot-7, it’s often Jacquizz alone in the Beavers backfield with James out wide. But at one point early in the fourth quarter, the duo lined up together behind quarterback Lyle Moevao, Jacquizz in front of James.
The result: a fake handoff to Jacquizz, a pitch to James sprinting toward the edge, and a 55-yard Oregon State touchdown run.
“It was an awesome game. It shows you he’s a very good player,” Jacquizz Rodgers said of his brother. “Everyone’s been saying I’m getting the spotlight, (but) that just shows you.”
James Rodgers finished with 110 yards rushing on three carries and scored on runs of 55 and 52 yards. He also caught three passes for 53 yards and one score, and had another 53 yards on kick returns. Jacquizz Rodgers did his part too, adding 94 yards on 20 carries and a 1-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half.
Added in was the most efficient performance of Moevao’s career. Bouncing back from his last outing when Moevao threw four interceptions against Washington State, the junior hit 18 of 22 throws for 191 yards and missed just one pass in the first half.
The three performances were plenty to overwhelm Washington, which lost its eighth straight dating back to last season, tied with North Texas for the longest streak in the country.
“I think it’s really important that James’ part of the offense and the receivers’ part of the offense in general complements what we do with the running game,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “We knew going in Washington would try to do what they could to slow down (Jacquizz). ... We had to have some other stuff going and we did.”
While the Beavers extended their recent string of dominance in the series, Washington fans were left to reserve their biggest cheers for former coach Don James and the 1977 Washington team that won the Rose Bowl being honored on the field.
What would be considered shocking in James’ heyday is reality: The Huskies’ current product was simply no match for the Beavers.
Washington had four turnovers, all coming from redshirt freshman quarterback Ronnie Fouch, and missed a pair of field goals. Fouch moved the Huskies offense well between the 20s, but Washington couldn’t find the end zone until it was 31-6. Fouch finished 17 of 32 for 276 yards. Freshman running back Terrance Dailey, one of 12 true freshman used this season by Washington, had 102 yards rushing and a 59-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. He was the first 100-yard rusher for the Huskies this season.
“We didn’t do enough of the right things to put ourselves in position to win the football game,” said embattled Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, who saw his career record with the Huskies fall to 11-31. “Oregon State ... came in and gave us difficulty where we thought they would.”
Washington actually led 3-0 after Jared Ballman’s 45-yard field goal in the first quarter. The lead was noteworthy because for just the second time since the third quarter on Sept. 6 against BYU, the Huskies were ahead.
It didn’t last long.
Still in the opening minutes, Riley took a chance going for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 43, and converted with Jacquizz Rodgers going for five yards. On the next play, the Beavers faked a dive to Jacquizz and handed instead to James Rodgers on a reverse, then watched him dash in front of the Beavers’ bench for a 52-yard touchdown.
Later in the half, after Washington quarterback Ronnie Fouch was sacked and fumbled near midfield, James Rodgers struck again. Rodgers found space in the middle of Washington interior on a middle screen, then sprinted away from three Huskies on a 33-yard scoring pass.
“I was just making plays whenever I got the chance to,” James Rodgers said. “It felt good.”
The Beavers are tied with USC, Arizona and Oregon atop the Pac-10’s standings.
No. 6 USC 69, Washington State 0
PULLMAN, Wash. — Mark Sanchez became the first USC quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a half and the No. 6 Trojans breezed this time as a huge favorite.
It was the largest shutout victory for USC (5-1, 3-1 Pac-10) since a 69-0 win over Montana in 1931, and the Trojans were showing signs of mercy late in the first half.
USC’s defense, ranked first in the nation coming in by allowing just 9.4 points per game, ended the Cougars’ streak of scoring at 280 games dating to Sept. 15, 1984, when Ohio State beat Washington State 44-0. That scoring streak was second-longest in the nation to Michigan’s 295 games.
The Cougars absorbed their largest margin of defeat since they began playing in 1894.
Arizona 42, No. 25 California 27
TUCSON, Ariz. — Freshman Keola Antolin ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat California.
Trailing 24-14 at halftime, the Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10) blitzed the Golden Bears (4-2, 2-1) with four touchdowns in 11:45 of the third quarter.
Arizona moved into a four-way tie for first in the Pac-10 with Oregon, Oregon State and Southern California — and the sixth-ranked Trojans visit Arizona Stadium next week. The Wildcats beat a ranked team for the sixth time in Mike Stoops’ five seasons.
UCLA 23, Stanford 20
LOS ANGELES — Kevin Craft threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cory Harkey with 10 seconds remaining to lift UCLA to a 23-20 victory over Stanford on Saturday.
The Bruins (3-4, 2-2 Pac-10) extended their win streak over the Cardinal (4-4, 3-2) to five in a row overall and six straight at the Rose Bowl.
Craft, who engineered a similar late rally to beat Tennessee in the season opener, completed six passes against Stanford during an 11-play drive that began at the UCLA 13 with 2:23 remaining. He finished it off when he sprinted toward the right sideline and, after defenders rushed toward him, threw to the wide-open tight end in the right side of the end zone.
The Bruins began their march after Stanford’s Aaron Zagory kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining to extend the Cardinal’s lead to 20-16.
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