EUGENE, Ore. — Quarterback Marcus Mariota passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores and No. 2 Oregon survived a slow start Saturday to beat Wyoming 48-14.
Oregon (3-0) erased a 7-0 deficit with four second-quarter touchdowns to take command.
Mariota became the fourth Oregon quarterback to pass for more than 7,000 yards. The Ducks junior completed 19 of 23 passes, two for touchdowns. Mariota also rushed five times for 71 yards, including touchdown runs of 15 and 19 yards.
Mariota has thrown a school-record 71 touchdowns, with at least one TD thrown in all 29 games he’s appeared in.
Mariota has yet to throw an interception through three games this season.
Byron Marshall ran six times for 80 yards and a touchdown to lead Oregon’s running game. Freshman Royce Freeman had a 12-yard touchdown run. The Ducks had 556 yards, including 263 on the ground.
Oregon safety Erick Dargan had two interceptions, both in the first half.
Wyoming quarterback Colby Kirkegaard completed 19 of 33 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Cowboys running back Shaun Wick ran 16 times for 122 yards.
Wyoming, a 43-point underdog to Oregon, had some moments, but couldn’t stop the Ducks offense after the first quarter.
The Cowboys (2-1) had 439 yards, including 282 during the first half. But Wyoming allowed Oregon to score on six consecutive possessions, three set up by Cowboy turnovers.
The loss ended a personal 26-game winning streak for first-year Wyoming coach Craig Bohl, who won three consecutive FCS national titles at North Dakota State (2011-13).
Wyoming stunned Oregon early, stopping the Ducks’ first drive on fourth down at the Cowboys 2. Wyoming rewarded its defense by driving 98 yards for the game’s first score, an 18-yard touchdown pass from Kirkegaard to Tanner Gentry.
Oregon right tackle Jake Fisher, a three-year starter, left the game during the Ducks’ opening drive with a leg injury.
The Ducks, who last failed to score during the first quarter at home in 2012 against Stanford, ended Wyoming’s upset hopes with a 27-point second quarter.
Oregon tied the game at 7-7 just five seconds into the second quarter on a 15-yard touchdown scramble by Mariota. The Ducks took a 13-7 lead four minutes later when Marshall romped 30 yards for a score.
Two interceptions by Dargan set up Oregon’s final two scores of the second quarter.
Mariota gave Ducks fans a thrill and a scare at the same time on Oregon’s next drive. Scrambling to avoid a pass rush, Mariota ran 19 yards for a touchdown, finishing the play by diving head first over Wyoming tacklers to reach the pylon.
Devon Allen caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Mariota with 1:34 remaining in the second quarter, giving Oregon a 27-7 lead that it took into halftime.
The Ducks continued their offensive roll into the third quarter, when Oregon scored on its first two possessions to take a 41-7 lead. Mariota left the game after throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Johnathan Loyd with 9:59 remaining in the third.
The win gives Oregon 50 for this decade, the first FBS team to reach that plateau. Saturday’s game was the first meeting between Oregon and Wyoming.
Oregon opens Pac -12 play next Saturday at Washington State.
