EUGENE, Ore. -- When Michigan State scored 20 consecutive points and took a nine-point lead over Oregon in the third quarter, the collective head nod of the college football nation was palpable from coast to coast. Everyone had seen this storyline before. Oregon was a fun team, a good team even. Interesting uniforms. But when the Ducks go nose-to-nose with a highly rated program that makes its money on the line of scrimmage, their ludicrous speed offense sputters to a stop.

Auburn in the national title game after the 2010 season. LSU in 2011 and Stanford the past two seasons. The Ducks, according to the skeptics, wilted against physical teams, and bruising Michigan State was taking it to the Ducks on Saturday. It wasn't difficult to imagine the I-told-you-so's and knowing smirks breaking out across the country.

Royce Freeman's second-half production helped Oregon rally past Michigan State on Saturday. Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images

That storyline broached and retweeted by folks ready to dismiss Oregon from the national conversation -- again -- is the most notable part of No. 3 Oregon's 46-27 victory, at least from the Ducks' perspective. The perfectly reasonable reintroduction of that narrative made it all the more meaningful that Oregon ripped the Spartans apart over the game's final 20 minutes, announcing themselves -- again -- as national title contenders with college football's marquee nonconference game of the season.

The familiar script was on the table, and the Ducks tore it up. They matched and overcame the Spartans' physicality. Then they turned on the showmanship, just to remind everyone they were still fancy-pants Oregon and they like to win cool.

It was a big win for the program. It was a big win for second-year coach Mark Helfrich, who is trying to emerge from the considerable shadow cast by Chip Kelly.

"Our team was good tonight," Helfrich said. "[Michigan State] was an exceptional team."

The Spartans, ranked seventh, looked exceptional while taking a 27-18 lead early in the third quarter. To that point, they had stymied the Ducks' offense and moved doggedly down the field with a balanced attack. The Spartans looked a lot like the Stanford team that kept Oregon from playing for the national title the previous two seasons. Yet one quick-thinking play from Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota seemingly changed everything.

On third-and-10 from the Oregon 41-yard line with just over six minutes left in the third, Mariota was chased from the pocket. He probably could have run for a first down, but he flipped the ball to true freshman running back Royce Freeman for a 17-yard gain. It was vintage Mariota improvisation, the sort of creative, off-script playmaking that has distinguished the Ducks during their rise as a national power.

Mariota would finish the drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass. After the Ducks' resurgent defense forced a three-and-out, Mariota gave the Ducks the lead for good with a 37-yard TD toss to Keanon Lowe. And just like that, the rout was on. It was stunning but also familiar. Oregon was doing its thing, imposing its will, wearing a foe down, only it was doing it against a team that was supposed to be unyielding.

"Things started to snowball and we couldn't stop it from snowballing," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said.

Speaking of snowballs, Mariota's Heisman Trophy campaign should make like one. He was the linchpin of the Ducks' turnaround. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 318 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed for 42 yards, but his contribution was more than pure numbers. On the go-ahead drive, he rushed for 11 yards on third-and-9. On the Ducks' final possession, which killed 6:31 off the clock and ended all Michigan State hope, he rushed for 40 yards on second-and-17.

Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. That's what Mariota did. That's what Heisman winners do.

"I should have to pay him to watch him play," Helfrich quipped.

Yet Oregon isn't a one-star constellation. It produced a long catalog of clutch in the overwhelming second half. Physical? The defense produced a critical stop on fourth-and-2 from the Ducks 24-yard line in the fourth quarter. It allowed just three second-half points. While Oregon averaged a stout 7.2 yards per play, the Spartans went for just 5.6. Physically impressive? Cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu had a diving interception off a deflection that might end up being the most athletic play of the season.

The Ducks' offensive line, struggling in the first half and suffering an injury to right tackle Andre Yruretagoyena early in the third quarter, asserted itself in the second half. It first pushed the pile for a key third-and-1 conversion before the go-ahead score, and then took control in the fourth quarter as Oregon drove 96 yards in 11 plays for its final TD, a 14-yard touchdown jaunt on fourth-and-2 from freshman running back Freeman.

"I don't think we were fazed by their physicality," Lowe said. "We're physical, too."

Helfrich wouldn't take the bait when asked to ascribe special meaning to the victory. Nor would be say the whole "Oregon can't play with physical teams" skepticism has been vanquished. Truth is it probably hasn't been. As good as Michigan State is, the Spartans play in the Big Ten and the Big Ten had a horrible Saturday, with Michigan getting stomped by Notre Dame and Ohio State losing to Virginia Tech, among other indignities.

Oregon won't win over the entire nation until it wins a national championship, the one glory that has eluded the program.

Beating Michigan State, while only giving the Ducks a 2-0 record, is a significant step toward potentially filling that hole in the program's résumé.