Charlottesville, VA – Marcus Mariota racked up 321 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, while De'Anthony Thomas added a trio of TD runs, as No. 2 Oregon throttled Virginia, 59-10, on Saturday at Scott Stadium.
Mariota completed half of his 28 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns while adding 122 yards and a score on four carries for the Ducks (2-0), who dismantled FCS foe Nicholls State, 66-3, in their season-opener.
Thomas finished with 124 rushing yards on 11 carries, while freshman Thomas Tyner tallied two touchdowns and 51 yards on four rushes in the victory.
"We want the ball in his hands," Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said of Thomas. "We were trying to make an effort from the first play to try to create some space, whether it's a screen game, or as a receiver, or movement guy."
David Watford struggled under center for the Cavaliers (1-1), throwing three interceptions and fumbling once while connecting on just 29-of-41 passes for 161 yards in the setback.
Khalek Shepherd scampered 45 yards for a score to account for the lone touchdown of the game for Virginia, which failed to build on its season- opening victory over BYU.
"They got on us early and in every phase," Syracuse coach Mike London said. "We could not stop them defensively and we struggled with interceptions."
Mariota got the Ducks on the board less than two minutes into the game, as he dropped back on 3rd-and-5 before taking off up the middle and going 71 yards untouched for a score. Dustin Haines rushed in for the two-point conversion to give Oregon an 8-0 lead.
Virginia went three-and-out on its first two touches, and on Alec Vozenilek's second punt of the game, Josh Huff broke through the line and blocked the kick, giving Oregon possession at the Virginia 14.
Two plays later, Mariota hit Daryle Hawkins for 14 yards down to the 1-yard line before Thomas punched it in for a 1-yard score. Matt Wogan's extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving Oregon with a 14-0 cushion.
Terrance Mitchell picked off Watford on Virginia's next touch and on Oregon's next play from scrimmage, Thomas took a carry around the right end and outran everyone down the sideline for a 40-yard score and a 21-0 Oregon lead.
Virginia finally broke through on its next possession, as Sheppard rushed around the left end and juked an Oregon defender en route to a 45-yard TD run to make it 21-7 with less than a minute remaining in the first frame.
Following an exchange of punts, Oregon extended its edge with a quick 4-play, 80-yard trek, capped by Bralon Addison's 30-yard TD grab for a 28-7 lead.
Ian Frye buried a 37-yard field goal late in the half to send Virginia into the break facing an 18-point deficit.
After Virginia went three-and-out to open the second half, Thomas and Mariota moved the Ducks inside the UVA 20 before Alejandro Maldonado nailed a 29-yard field goal to increase Oregon's lead to 31-10.
Rodney Hardrick intercepted a Watford pass on 4th-and-11 to end Virginia's next drive before Thomas capped a 10-play, 75-yard scoring march with an 8- yard TD surge to make it 38-10 with under four minutes left in the third.
Watford took a big hit from Tony Washington on the first play of Virginia's ensuing touch and fumbled the ball, giving Oregon possession at the UVA 24.
Mariota converted a 3rd-and-8 with an 11-yard strike to Addison and two plays later, Keanon Lowe hauled in an 11-yard score for a 45-10 cushion.
Dior Mathis picked off Watford in the end zone early in the fourth and weaved his way down the field for a 97-yard return, setting up Tyner's 3-yard TD run to make it 52-10 with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth.
Tyner added a 31-yard TD run on Oregon's next touch to account for the final margin.
Game Notes
It was the first-ever meeting between these two schools on the football field ... Oregon has won 16 consecutive road games, the longest streak in the nation ... Both Mariota and Thomas have rushed for 100-plus yards in each of Oregon's first two games ... Oregon outgained Virginia, 557-298 ... Virginia went 6- for-20 on third-down efficiency ... UVA tight end Jake McGee hauled in a game- high eight passes for 53 yards.
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