Saturday, September 1, 2012 10:30 PM (ET)

Recap: Oregon 57, Arkansas State 34

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 2, 2012

Oregon 57, Arkansas State 34:
Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes in his debut and the No. 5 Ducks rolled over the visiting Red Wolves.

Oregon, a five-touchdown favorite, raced out to a 50-3 lead after scoring touchdowns on its first seven possessions.

Budding Heisman Trophy candidate De’Anthony Thomas finished with three touchdowns before coach Chip Kelly pulled his starters with the huge lead late in the second quarter.

Thomas caught a pair of 12-yard scoring passes and ran for a 38-yard touchdown. He had 64 yards rushing on three carries and four receptions for 55 yards.

Mariota finished 19-of-23 passing for 216 yards and running back Kenjon Barner scored a pair of first-half touchdowns for the Ducks.

Arkansas State was led by quarterback Ryan Aplin, who threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, but all came when the game was out of reach and against Oregon’s reserves.

Aplin finished with 305 yards passing, including a 72-yard touchdown to Julian Jones late in the second quarter which cut the deficit to 50-10.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Arkansas State won the Sun Belt Conference last season. ... Oregon unveiled its first in another series of eye-catching uniforms for the nationally televised game. ... The Ducks were the fourth highest scoring team in the nation last season. … Thomas scored a touchdown per every eight touches last season; he averaged one in 2.3 touches Saturday.
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