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Johnson, Dixon lead Oregon to rout of Washington State

Oct 14, 2007 - 3:40 AM EUGENE, Oregon (Ticker) -- Dennis Dixon and ninth-ranked Oregon apparently put their bye week to good use.

Dixon passed for three touchdowns and ran for another score Saturday as the Ducks cruised to a 53-7 rout of Washington State in a Pac-10 Conference game.

Jeremiah Johnson rushed for 63 yards and scored two touchdowns in the first quarter for Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10), which was idle last week following a 31-24 loss to conference rival California on September 29.

Dixon completed 21-of-28 attempts for 287 yards for the Ducks, who piled up 551 total yards - including 390 in a 40-point first half.

The blowout victory helped Oregon exact some revenge against the Cougars, who upset the then-No. 16 Ducks, 34-23, in Pullman last October.

Johnson was the catalyst in the first quarter while Dixon ran the show in the second.

The 5-11, 205-pound Johnson, who gained all of his rushing yards on just four carries, broke off a 42-yard TD run just 3:22 into the quarter to put Oregon up, 7-0.

After a field goal, Johnson scampered 18 yards with six seconds left in the period to give Oregon a 17-0 advantage.

However, Johnson injured his right knee in the second quarter and starting wide receiver Cameron Colvin also broke his ankle in the first half.

"Those are serious blows," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "Our depth will be tested, but I have confidence that we will still be able to do the things we want to do."

Dixon was confident in the Ducks despite the injuries.

"It's not going to affect us," Dixon said. "I mean, we've got so much depth. Obviously you want Johnson and Colvin in your lineup, but then again, some people have to step up and it continues on. We've got all week to practice."

After defensive end Nick Reed sacked Cougars quarterback Alex Brink in his own end zone for a safety just 76 seconds into the second quarter, Dixon took over.

The Ducks' signal-caller, who entered as the team's second-leading rusher, finished a 12-play, 63-yard drive with a one-yard plunge to make it 26-0 with 6:52 left in the half.

The senior field general then fired a 52-yard strike to Jaison Williams with 2:22 remaining to increase the lead to 33, before a 10-yard TD toss to Derrick Jones made it 40-0 at halftime.

"Against a team of that caliber, you can't make mistakes," Washington State coach Bill Doba said.

Brink went 15-of-33 for 251 yards, a TD and two interceptions for Washington State (2-5, 0-4), which has lost four consecutive games.

The game was a homecoming for Brink, who grew up in Eugene and led the local high school to a state championship.

"It's frustrating for me on a person level because I definitely wanted to come home and play better in Eugene, but that's not the most important thing," Brink said. "The most important thing for me is that as a team we got a loss, and now we're even farther away from our chances of going to a bowl game."

Washington State has a bye week before hosting UCLA.

"Sitting around thinking about this for this for two weeks is rough," Doba said. "But we need the bye, and it will give us a chance to get some guys rested."