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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Mighty Ducks wear down Bruins

Oregon running back Byron Marshall, right, rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns in win over UCLA. (Associated Press)
Anne M. Peterson Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. – Heading into halftime locked at 14-all with UCLA, No. 2 Oregon didn’t panic. The Ducks knew they’d eventually wear down the No. 14 Bruins. Because that’s what they do.

“We understand that our tempo is one of our greatest allies,” sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota said.

Oregon went on to score 28 unanswered points in the second half and beat UCLA 42-14 on Saturday night.

Byron Marshall ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns, Mariota threw for 230 yards and another score, and the Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) racked up 555 yards in total offense compared to 283 for UCLA (5-2, 2-2).

“We just had to keep chipping away,” Mariota said. “We knew that if we kept getting 5- or 6-yard chunks, we were going to get into a rhythm.”

Brett Hundley completed 13 of 19 passes for 64 yards and a TD but also threw two interceptions, including one early in the fourth quarter that led to an Oregon TD. He also ran for 72 yards and a score.

“That was a very disappointing loss,” Bruins coach Jim Mora said. “We didn’t come up here to play them close, we didn’t come up here to give it the old college try. We came up here to win the game and we didn’t get it done and it’s very disappointing.”

UCLA, which has now lost two straight after falling to Stanford last week, has not won at Autzen Stadium since 2004, and hasn’t defeated the Ducks since a 16-0 blanking in 2007. The two teams last met in 2011, when Oregon downed UCLA 49-31 in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game.

Oregon, ranked No. 3 in the initial BCS rankings released last weekend, has played only one other game against a ranked opponent this season –a 45-24 win over then-No. 16 Washington.