Dillon Marshals Up Huge Effort In Huskies’ Victory

Send the Pac10’s best running back against the Pac-10’s worst defense and the result is predictable: a big day for Corey Dillon and a 33-14 rout of Oregon for his 23rd-ranked Washington Huskies.

Dillon gained 259 yards in 32 carries, the second-best rushing performance in Washington history, and scored three touchdowns to strengthen his status as the leading rusher in the conference.

The performance came just a week after he gained 145 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 41-22 victory over UCLA. Not bad for a player who wasn’t even first string until the fourth game of the season.

“I just say it’s all in a day’s work,” Dillon said. “I’m just out there working. Whatever comes along with going out there and working hard, I’ll take it.”

Washington (5-2 overall, 4-1 Pac-10) took an early 21-0 lead, then blew the game open in the third quarter as the Ducks (3-5 overall) lost their fifth straight to fall to 0-5 in the Pac-10 for the first time since 1986.

Brock Huard completed 13 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown as Washington snapped a two-game losing streak against its Northwest rival. Oregon hasn’t beaten the Huskies three times in a row since 1931.

Dillon, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound transfer from Dixie Junior College in Utah, scored on runs of 1, 7 and 2 yards in the first half. He set up John Wales’ 19-yard field goal with a 75-yard run in the third quarter, then had a 67-yarder later in the period. The 67-yarder actually was an 80-yard touchdown run that was called back because of holding.

“I basically was trying to get an ugly 4 yards and I popped a couple of big ones,” Dillon said.

Dillon didn’t become a starter until Rashaan Sheehee was injured when he jumped off a one-story balcony when a gun went off at a party before the fourth game of the season.

Dillon may have had a shot Saturday at the school rushing record of 296 yards set by Hugh McElhenny against Washington State in 1950. But he left the game for good early in the final quarter with his team leading 33-7.

“He has a great talent to hit a hole with strength and then to break tackles,” Washington coach Jim Lambright said, “and once you get really concerned about the inside part of the running game, then it opens up things outside and he has a chance to roll off tackles and make even bigger plays.”

Oregon’s defense, ranked 109th out of 111 teams in NCAA Division I, had no chance to control Washington’s powerful running game.

The Huskies punted only once in the first half, on their first possession, but Huard fumbled the ball away twice deep in Oregon territory in the first two quarters.

Oregon’s only touchdown came late in the second quarter on a 10-play, 80-yard drive. Tony Graziani’s 19-yard pass to Josh Wilcox set up Saladin McCullough’s 1-yard scoring run that cut Washington’s lead to 21-7 with 1:50 left in the half.

The Ducks squandered two scoring threats in the first half. Oregon drove to the 20 in the first quarter and then set up for a 37-yard field goal attempt, but center Seaton Daly snapped the ball before Ryan Perry-Smith, the holder, was ready.

“There was a lot of noise and our snapper thought he heard ‘ready,’ which is what our holder says,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “He didn’t say it and he was waiting for another player to come on the field and wasn’t ready for it.”

The ball bounded past the kicker and Washington’s Tony Parrish recovered on the Oregon 43. In the process, Ducks kicker Joshua Smith bruised his left shin and was lost for the game.

On the next play, Huard threw a 36-yard pass to Dillon, setting up Dillon’s 7-yard TD run that made it 14-0 with 2:55 left in the first quarter.

Huard threw 10 yards to Cameron Cleeland for Washington’s final touchdown that made it 31-7 with 4 minutes left in the third period.

Washington capped the blowout when Lester Townes tackled Kevin Parker for a safety. The Ducks had been pinned inside their 1 when Gerald Harris caught a punt just before falling into the end zone.

With thousands of Washington supporters hollering in that end zone, Graziani waved his arms to encourage them to be even louder, then threw an incompletion before handing the ball to Parker for the safety.

Washington 33, Oregon 14

Washington 14 7 12 0 33 Oregon 0 7 0 7 - 14

Wash-Dillon 1 run (Wales kick)

Wash-Dillon 7 run (Wales kick)

Wash-Dillon 2 run (Wales kick)

Ore-McCullough 1 run (Frankel kick)

Wash-FG Wales 19

Wash-Cleeland 10 pass from Huard (Wales kick)

Wash-Safety, Parker tackled in end zone

Ore-Hartley 35 pass from Graziani (Frankel kick)

A-46,226.

Wash Ore First downs 22 23 Rushes-yards 54-315 32-103 Passing 188 276 Comp-Att-Int 13-21-0 19-41-2 Return Yards 26 6 Punts-Avg. 5-29.8 5-38.6 Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-1 Penalties-Yards 7-70 9-77 Time of Possession 34:42 25:18

Individual statistics

RUSHING-Washington, Dillon 32-259, Harris 8-30, Reed 7-19, Keiaho 3-5, Hollimon 1-2, Huard 3-0. Oregon, McCullough 18-89, Graziani 7-21, Jelks 2-14, Johnson 1-12, Winn 1-4, Parker 2-0.

PASSING-Washington, Huard 13-19-0 188, Fortney 0-1-0 0, Dillon 0-1-0 0. Oregon, Graziani 19-41-2 276.

RECEIVING-Washington, Pathon 4-29, Coleman 2-51, Cleeland 2-41, Kissel 2-14, Dillon 1-36, Janoski 1-10, Brigham 1-7. Oregon, Spence 3-51, Griffin 3-50, Wilcox 3-39, Johnson 3-22, Hartley 2-46, Winn 2-31, Parker 1-17, Hodge 1-17, Jelks 1-6.