CORVALLIS, Ore. — For the second year in a row, the Arizona Wildcats pounded their way to a victory over Oregon State.
For the first time in 38 years, a first-year UA coach won his first Pac-12 game.
Arizona defeated Oregon State 35-14 on Saturday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 33,022 at Reser Stadium. The Wildcats rushed for 442 yards — giving them 976 in their past two meetings with the Beavers. Arizona rushed for a school-record 534 yards in last year’s game vs. OSU.
Kevin Sumlin became the first first-year UA coach to win a Pac-12 opener since Larry Smith in 1980.
J.J. Taylor rushed for a career-high 284 yards behind a dominant offensive line.
Arizona expanded its lead to 28-7 on Gary Brightwell’s 8-yard touchdown run 2:23 into the fourth quarter. It was the first TD of the sophomore’s career.
Oregon State answered with an 18-yard TD pass from Conor Blount to Timmy Hernandez that made the score 28-14 with 6:54 remaining. But Taylor put the game away with a 62-yard TD run, his second score of the game.
THIRD-QUARTER UPDATE:
The Arizona Wildcats are 15 minutes away from securing their first victory in a Pac-12 opener since 2014.
Arizona leads Oregon State 21-7 entering the fourth quarter of their game Saturday afternoon at Reser Stadium.
The Wildcats have rushed for 274 yards, including a career-high 186 by J.J. Taylor. Arizona has outgained OSU 422-186.
Arizona expanded its advantage to 14 points with a crisp opening possession. Again relying heavily on the ground game, the Wildcats marched 75 yards in 12 plays. The drive included an 8-yard run by holder Jake Glatting on a fake field goal and ended with Khalil Tate’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Poindexter.
Tate is 8 of 16 for 148 yards and two TDs. Poindexter has four catches for 92 yards. Colin Schooler has eight tackles, including three stops for losses (one sack).
Oregon’s lone possession of the third quarter lasted 17 plays and 8 minutes, 31 seconds, but the Beavers failed to score after a series of penalties pushed them back from the UA 15 to the 38.
HALFTIME UPDATE:
The Arizona Wildcats’ restructured offensive line has come to play.
With the line paving the way, Arizona leads Oregon State 14-7 at halftime of their game Saturday afternoon at Reser Stadium.
The Wildcats have rushed for 199 yards, including 131 by J.J. Taylor, who scored the game’s first touchdown.
Arizona has a 331-122 advantage in total yards — yet leads by only seven points.
Lucas Havrisik has missed a pair of field-goal attempts, including a 55-yarder that followed a flurry of penalties. A flag for an ineligible man downfield negated a 21-yard TD pass from Khalil Tate to Tony Ellison. Then Tate — who appeared to aggravate his ankle injury earlier in the drive — got whistled for intentional grounding. That pushed the ball back to the OSU 37, and Havrisik’s kick landed well short.
Tate seemed to be in severe pain after a 2-yard keeper. He was limping so badly that Arizona had to call a timeout. Tate did not come out of the game.
Senior Layth Friekh returned to the lineup at left tackle last week, and the line has made huge strides since then. The unit opened huge holes for Taylor and Gary Brightwell, who has 77 yards.
Arizona’s second touchdown was more of an individual effort. Shun Brown collected a quick screen to the left side, then cut all the way back to the right for a 21-yard score.
Tate is 7 of 12 for 132 yards. Counterpart Conor Blount, who got banged up late in the half, is 7 of 13 for 55 yards.
UA linebacker Colin Schooler has a team-high six tackles, including a sack.
FIRST-QUARTER UPDATE:
The Arizona Wildcats are tied with Oregon State 7-7 entering the second quarter of their game Saturday afternoon at Reser Stadium.
It’s the Pac-12 opener for both teams. Each finished non-conference play 1-2.
The game started about as well as possible for Arizona. The Wildcats forced a three-and-out, and they needed only five plays to score and take the lead.
J.J. Taylor finished the quick-strike drive with a 40-yard TD run, using blocks from Layth Friekh, Jamie Nunley and Cedric Peterson to race up the left sideline and into the end zone.
After being stopped again, Oregon State finally got its ground game going. Runs of 10 and 23 yards by Jermar Jefferson, the Pac-12’s leading rusher, set up Conor Blount’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Trevon Bradford. Bradford eluded Scottie Young Jr. in the right corner of the end zone.
The Wildcats put themselves in position to reclaim the lead late in the quarter, thanks mainly to Gary Brightwell’s 43-yard run. They faced first-and-10 at the OSU 21-yard line to start the second period.
