Oregon 63, Tennessee Tech 14
EUGENE, Ore. -- De'Anthony Thomas is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.
The Oregon sophomore scored on a 59-yard run and a 16-yard reception to lead fourth-ranked Oregon to a 63-14 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday afternoon at Autzen Stadium.
Thomas almost had a third touchdown when he caught a 49-yard pass, but he was stripped of the ball before the goal line and lineman Jake Fisher recovered in the end zone for an Oregon touchdown.
Thomas had 222 all-purpose yards on 10 touches: three rushes for 62 yards, three catches for 73 yards and four punt returns for 87 yards while playing only in the first half. Thomas has 13 rushes this season for 228 yards, including touchdowns of 59, 51, 39 and 33 yards.
Oregon freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota was solid in his third start, completing 21 of 28 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns.
Tennessee Tech was forced to punt on its first drive, but Thomas fumbled the return and the Golden Eagles recovered at the Oregon 23-yard line. Two plays later, Tre Lamb threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Da'Rick Rogers.
Oregon needed one minute to answer with a touchdown as the Ducks drove 63 yards on five plays before Kenjon Barner scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. The Ducks drove 86 yards on their second drive in less than two minutes as Thomas scored on a 59-yard touchdown run to put Oregon ahead 14-7.
The Ducks added another touchdown on a strange play when Thomas caught a 49-yard pass but was stripped at the 1-yard line before Fisher recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown that put Oregon ahead 21-7 in the first quarter.
The Ducks stretched the lead in the second quarter when Mariota threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Colt Lyerla.
The Ducks made it 35-7 at halftime when Mariota threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Thomas with seven seconds left. Mariota opened the second half with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Keanan Lowe to push the lead to 42-7.
Backup quarterback Bryan Bennett entered the game in the third quarter and scored on a 4-yard run to put Oregon ahead 49-7.
Darian Stone threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Doug Page late in the third quarter for Tennessee Tech. Bennett added a 6-yard touchdown run for the Ducks before third-string running back Byron Marshall capped a 125-yard day with a 4-yard touchdown run..
NOTES: Tennessee Tech's Rogers played against Oregon in 2010 as a freshman at Tennessee and ran for a 21-yard reverse. He transferred to Tennessee Tech after being suspended indefinitely by Tennessee. ... Oregon is 23-0 in Weeks 2-8 under coach Chip Kelly. ... Oregon is 6-0 against FCS schools since 2000 and 34-6 in nonleague games in that time.
