Oregon Ducks Start Slow, Finish Fast in Rout of Tennessee

It took a while for the Oregon football team to get going on Saturday night.

Part of that was the Ducks' own fault. Part of it was Mother Nature's.

But once Oregon started rolling, neither the Tennessee Vols nor the Tennessee weather could slow the seventh-ranked Ducks.

Oregon bounced back from a rough start to hand the home team a 48-13 loss at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Saturday, September 11, 2010.

LaMichael James rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, Darron Thomas threw for 202 yards and two TDs on 17-of-32 passing, and five Ducks had at least two catches as Oregon improved to 2-0 on the season.

In their two wins, the Ducks have outscored the opposition 120-13, including a 72-0 shutout in the season opener against New Mexico at Autzen Stadium on September 4, 2010.

The outburst at Tennessee came after Oregon fell behind 13-3 and endured a weather delay of more than an hour as lightning flashed across the skies surrounding the stadium.

After the break, it was the Ducks who provided the electricity and a bit of a shock to the home crowd, which had been charged up following the Vols' early run.

Oregon's offense is predicated on up-tempo play. The Ducks go no-huddle the entire game, playing fast and furious, in attempt to use their conditioning to wear down the opponent's defense.

It worked against Tennessee, which appeared sluggish and weary in the second half, particularly on the defensive line, which had been getting a good push against Oregon's offensive line in the early going.

"We didn't make any adjustments in the second half," James told reporters after the game. "It comes down to tempo. Once the tempo gets going, it's hard to stop.

"Once those guys got tired, we kept rolling."

It was the Vols who were rolling early on.

Tauren Poole gave Tennessee a 13-3 lead with his one-yard touchdown run 39 seconds into the second quarter. Poole finished with 162 yards rushing, much of that coming in the opening half, including a 31-yard run on the opening offensive play of the game and runs of 39 and 23 yards in the first quarter.

All in all, the Ducks looked out of sorts in the opening half, taking until after the weather delay to appear settled and composed. Oregon went into the mandatory break down 6-0, getting on the board with Rob Beard's 37-yard field goal with 1:25 left in the first quarter.

Poole scored at the 14:21 mark of the second quarter, and it was all Oregon after that, as the Ducks rattled off 45 unanswered points.

Beard connected again from 42 yards with 2:56 left in the half, and tight end David Paulson scored on a well-placed, 27-yard pass from Thomas with 1:04 left, with Beard's PAT tying the score at 13 entering halftime.

The game turned into a rout after the half, with James scoring on a highlight-reel, 72-yard run that featured impressive downfield blocking from Thomas and receiver Lavasier Tuinei, and less than four minutes later, Cliff Harris returned an interception of UT quarterback Matt Simms 76 yards for a touchdown.

Tuinei scored on a 29-yard pass play in the fourth quarter, Kenjon Barner - who tallied a school-record-tying five touchdowns against New Mexico - returned a punt 80 yards for a score and Remene Alston Jr. found the end zone from two yards out with 3:54 left to cap the scoring.

Paulson led the Ducks in receiving, with four catches for 61 yards, and Jeff Maehl had five receptions for 50 yards.

Oregon returns home for its next game, a Saturday, September 18 matchup against Division I-AA Portland State.

Sources:
Oregon 48, Tennessee 13 Box Score, ESPN.com
No. 7 Ducks Handle Tennessee in Knoxville, 48-13, GoDucks.com