The unsatisfying appetizers for No. 8 Washington are done. Proving the Huskies are worthy of their lofty ranking three weeks into the season now begins.
“We’ll find out quick. We’ll find out quick what we have,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said.
Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes in the first 16 minutes and No. 8 Washington closed out its uninspired nonconference schedule with a 41-3 win over Portland State on Saturday night.
Browning and the Huskies (3-0) led 14-0 after less than 3 minutes and coasted their way past the lower division opponent. Browning threw a 43-yard touchdown to Chico McClatcher on Washington’s opening drive, and added TD tosses of 11 yards to Darrell Daniels, 13 yards to McClatcher on the second play of the second quarter and a 4-yard TD pass to Myles Gaskin early in the fourth quarter.
“I think we learned some things about our team that are good things and some things that we still need to clean up,” Petersen said.
Browning finished 12 of 19 for 163 yards. His numbers were less impressive than the first two weeks due to the Huskies being helped out by a pair of Portland State turnovers deep in its own end, giving Washington a short field. Browning now has 12 touchdown passes in three games after throwing 16 TDs all of last season.
Alex Kuresa was 11 of 17 passing for 148 yards and one interception for Portland State. The Vikings (1-2) had four total turnovers and managed just 34 yards rushing on 42 carries.
“That’s brutal,” Portland State coach Bruce Barnum said of the 34 yards rushing. “I just read that stat. I’d also like to marry Miss America but some things never happen. Not against that defense.”
OREGON STATE 37, IDAHO STATE 7 — Darell Garretson threw for 172 yards and ran for a touchdown and Oregon State snapped a 10-game losing streak that dated back to last season.
Victor Bolden ran for 111 yards on just three carries, including a 92-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for the Beavers (1-1), the second-longest in Oregon State history.
Garretson, a transfer from Utah State who sat out last season under NCAA rules, scored on a 7-yard keeper and Ryan Nall added a 2-yard TD run as the Beavers ran up a 23-0 lead in the first half. Decoud scored on a 75-yard interception return midway through the third quarter for the Beavers.
“It’s definitely been too long since we won,” said Oregon State safety Devin Chappell. “We can’t get too high on this win. But we’re going to enjoy it tonight and then get back to work.”
Jakori Ford scored on a 75-yard run on the first play from scrimmage to open the second half for Idaho State (2-1). It matched the second longest offensive play for the Bengals since Kramer became coach in 2011.
WASHINGTON STATE 56, IDAHO 6 — Luke Falk threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns in positive end to a tumultuous week for the Cougars.
James Williams rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown for Washington State (1-2), which won on a wet, windy day when the Air Raid offense was not working very well.
Falk threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Robert Lewis early in the fourth for a 35-6 lead, and the Cougars added three more touchdowns in the fourth.
Earlier this week, coach Mike Leach ripped his Cougars as soft after starting the season 0-2. Leach also complained that Pullman police seemed to be targeting his players, after four were recently arrested in three different incidents, which the police chief has denied.
NEBRASKA 35, OREGON 32 — Tommy Armstrong Jr. made two tacklers miss and scored a 34-yard touchdown with 2:29 left Saturday, lifting Nebraska over No. 22 Oregon.
Armstrong wouldn’t have been in position to score if he hadn’t converted a fourth-and-9 with a pass to roommate Jordan Westerkamp two plays earlier.
Nebraska (3-0) came back from a 20-7 deficit late in the second quarter to give second-year coach Mike Riley a long-awaited win over Oregon (2-1). Riley was 0-7 against Ducks from 2008-14, his last seven years as Oregon State’s coach, and as he walked off the field he wiped his eyes.
During his postgame news conference he downplayed the personal satisfaction he got from beating his old nemesis.
“What it means right this moment is a lot. We’re 3-0 going into the Big Ten,” Riley said. “What this team is doing, I love the fight, just the fact we kept our poise so well to come back and make the plays to win.”
The Ducks, playing without star running back Royce Freeman, made it to midfield on their last possession, failing to convert on fourth down. Freeman left with what appeared to be a right leg injury during the Ducks’ second series. Coach Mark Helfrich had no update on Freeman’s status after the game.
Oregon had more to overcome than Freeman’s absence. The Ducks were penalized 13 times for 126 yards, and for the second straight week their defense wore down in the second half.
