Duckhandled

EUGENE, Ore. – As homecomings go, it wasn’t the best.

Actually, it may have been the worst Alex Brink could have imagined.

In less than 17 minutes of playing time, Washington State’s senior quarterback, a Eugene native playing in the University of Oregon’s Autzen Stadium for the first time, threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and was sacked in the end zone for a safety. All in the first 17 minutes.

The miscues led to Oregon’s first 26 points as the Ducks pounded WSU 53-7 before a sellout homecoming crowd of 58,749. And led to a Brink apology.

“I did not play well,” Brink said in front of a media crowd outside WSU’s locker room. “It’s frustrating. I want to publicly apologize to my teammates because that was … embarrassing.”

Except there was a word between was and embarrassing that was also embarrassing. Just like the first half.

WSU won the toss and decided to receive. Going against the wind and the noise Autzen is known for, the Cougars looked sharp, moving from their 35 to the UO 23 in six plays.

On a second-and-6, Brink, under pressure, tried to hit Michael Bumpus deep over the middle. The pass never got there. Linebacker John Bacon did, picking the ball out of the air at the 9 and weaving his way back into WSU territory.

The crowd went nuts. Then they went even nuttier when, on the Ducks’ first play, Jeremiah Johnson popped through a hole on the right side and raced 42 yards to a score.

“We can’t turn the ball over against a team of this quality and expect to compete,” said WSU head coach Bill Doba. “We moved the ball well in the first quarter and turned it over. And they just got that momentum.”

And never gave it back.

Even though the Cougars took the kickoff and drove the length of the field, using a 22-yard hookup between Brink and Charles Dillon to put the ball at the Oregon 2. A run or pass was available. WSU chose play-action pass.

But defensive end Nick Reed didn’t bite and knifed through to get the first of his 4 1/2 sacks, bringing Brink down at the 19.

Having to pass, Brink tried to hit tight end Jed Collins – or Devin Frishchknecht, both were within a couple of yards of each other – but the Ducks’ Jerome Boyd came down with it.

“It was a bad read by both of the tight ends,” Collins said, “and they were just in the right place at the right time.”

The Cougars had two great scoring shots, but came up empty and then their offense shut down.

Over the next 22 plays, the Pac-10’s fourth-ranked offense picked up 37 yards and no first downs. By the time they finally got a first down, they trailed 47-0 and there were less than 13 minutes to play in the third quarter. And they were on their way to dropping to 2-5 overall, 0-4 in the Pac-10.

Brink, the conference’s leading passer coming in, didn’t complete a pass in the second quarter. He finished 15 of 33 – the first time this season he was less than 50 percent – for 251 yards and a touchdown, an 8-yard pass to Bumpus in the third quarter. He was under extreme pressure most of the game, as he was sacked six times and hurried or knocked down on numerous occasions.

“It’s always hard to get momentum on your side when you turn the ball over like (we did),” Bumpus said. “We came out pretty tough, we were moving the ball and, unfortunately, three quick turnovers kind of took the momentum away from our side and the rest is history.”

The third turnover Bumpus referred to came two possessions after the second interception. Trailing 10-0, Brink tried to scramble away from pressure, was stripped from behind by Will Tukuafu and Boyd recovered. Three plays later the ninth-ranked Ducks (5-1, 2-1 in the Pac-10) were in the end zone again – another Johnson run up the middle – and the rout was on.

The numbers are staggering. The 46-point margin was WSU’s worst defeat since sixth-ranked Washington hammered Mike Price’s Cougars 51-3 in 2000. The 53 points are the most WSU has yielded since a 55-13 loss to top-ranked USC two years ago.

Oregon dominated in time of possession (35 minutes to 25), in total offense (551 to 314), in third-down conversions (12 of 18 as opposed to WSU’s 4 of 13) and everywhere else it remotely mattered.

“That’s a real good team,” said linebacker Andy Mattingly, who started in WSU’s 3-4 defensive set and had 13 tackles, including two sacks. “They are the No. 9 team in the country and it’s deserved. They’re fast, really fast. They’ve got amazing backs and their quarterback is elusive, he’s hard to bring down.”

That would be Dixon, who came in leading the conference in passing efficiency. He did nothing to hurt his ranking, hitting 21 of 28 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Included in the total was a short connection with Jaison Williams that the junior turned into a 52-yard scoring play, breaking two tackles and tightroping down the sideline.

“I think we had people there,” Doba said, referring to the entire game, “we just didn’t make tackles. Part of that is … you have to be as good an athlete as the guy running the ball. And we weren’t today.”

The Cougars now have a bye before they play UCLA on Oct. 27.

“As a team, we need to take this bye week and regroup and get ready for UCLA,” Brink said. “That’s the most important thing.”