Marcus Mariota was lights out in the win over Michigan State. (Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports)
EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon rallied in the second half to make a major statement to the selection committee for the College Football Playoff.
The third-ranked Ducks overcame a nine-point deficit in the third quarter with three straight touchdowns to defeat No. 7 Michigan State 46-27 in front of 59,456 on Saturday at Autzen Stadium.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota finished 17-for-28 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns while running for 42 yards. Freshman running back Royce Freeman had 89 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
Oregon built an early 18-7 lead before Michigan State scored 17 points in the final 6:40 of the first half to take a 24-18 lead at halftime.
Michigan State forced Oregon to punt on its first possession of the second half and the Spartans followed with a 42-yard field goal by Michael Geiger to take a 27-18 lead with 10:55 left in the third quarter.
Oregon answered with a 59-yard drive culminating with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Mariota to wide receiver Devon Allen, marking the second time the two hooked up for a score. Allen had three catches for 110 yards.
Oregon forced a punt and got the ball back at its own 41-yard line before needing less than two minutes to take the lead. Mariota found wide receiver Keanon Lowe wide open for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 1:34 left in the third quarter to put the Ducks ahead 32-27.
Oregon needed just two plays to go 54 yards on its next drive before Freeman went 38 yards for a touchdown that gave Oregon a 39-27 lead with 14:19 left in the game.
Michigan State drove to the Oregon 24-yard line on its next possession, but running back Jeremy Langford was held to 2 yards on fourth-and-3 to give the ball back to the Ducks with 10:57 remaining in the game.
The Spartans got to Oregon’s 31-yard line on its ensuing drive before quarterback Connor Cook threw a pass that was tipped and intercepted by Ifo Ekpre-Olomu at the Oregon 4 with 7:56 to go.
Freeman finished the day with a 14-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2.
Oregon punted on its first two possessions but scored a touchdown on its third after safety Erick Dargan intercepted Cook and returned the ball to the Spartans’ 39.
Oregon had first-and-goal at the 3 before facing fourth-and-1 at the 1. Running back Thomas Tyner dived in for a touchdown. The Ducks went for two and converted when holder Taylor Alie threw a pass to defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to put Oregon ahead 8-0 late in the first quarter.
The Ducks pushed the lead to 11-0 on a 28-yard field goal by kicker Matt Wogan with 13:37 left in the first half.
Michigan State followed with a 76-yard drive in eight plays that culminated with a 16-yard touchdown run by Langford that got the Spartans within 11-7 with 10:50 to play in the first half.
Oregon answered right back with a two-play drive as Mariota threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Allen, a speedster who is a U.S. champion in the 110-meter hurdles. Allen’s score gave Oregon an 18-3 lead.
Michigan State answered after R.J. Shelton had a 55-yard kickoff return to set up a 34-yard field goal by Geiger that cut the lead to 18-10 with 6:40 left in the first half.
The Spartans forced the Ducks to punt and got the ball back at the Oregon 38. On third-and-goal from the 7, Cook threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Tony Lippett to get the Spartans within 18-17 with 2:26 left in the first half.
Michigan State forced another Oregon punt and got the ball back at its own 34 with 1:23 remaining in the half and drove 66 yards in six plays before Cook found wide receiver Josiah Price for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left to give the Spartans a 24-18 lead at halftime.
Cook was 17-for-25 for 218 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as MSU had 304 yards of total offense. Oregon had 203 yards of offense in the first half, including 13 yards on the ground.
NOTES: Marcus Mariota’s touchdown pass in the second quarter was the 67th of his career, breaking Darron Thomas’ school record of 66. Mariota also set the school record for total offense in the first quarter. … The game marked the first time that Oregon played a nonconference game featuring two teams ranked in the top 10 and the first time the Ducks faced any top-10 team at Autzen since a 52-31 win over Stanford in 2004. … Michigan State faced its highest-ranked nonconference foe since playing No. 1 Nebraska in 1996. It was the first time that the Spartans had ever been part of a game between two top-10 teams in September.
