SEATTLE -- After a wacky week of football at CenturyLink Field, it looked like the Washington State Cougars might make things interesting against No. 2 Oregon. Then came the second half and ultimately another Oregon blowout, 51-26. Here's how it all went down Saturday night in Seattle.

It was over when: Oregon’s Avery Patterson jumped a Connor Halliday ball intended for Gabe Marks and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown with 7:20 left in the third quarter. The play put Oregon ahead 37-19 and sucked the life out of any WSU comeback.

Offensive game ball goes to: Kenjon Barner carried 20 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns. He had scoring runs of 22, 10 and 80 yards. He also caught three passes for 37 yards and another score.

Defensive game ball goes to: Oregon’s Taylor Hart came up huge with a pair of big sacks in the first half when the issue was still in question. He finished with four tackles, three of them solo. As a unit, Oregon's defense registered seven sacks.

Stat of the game: 18 -- The Ducks opened the third-quarter with an 18-play drive that spanned 76 yards and ate up 6 minutes, 21 seconds of clock, ending with a 4-yard De'Anthony Thomas run. Very un-Oregon, but it was the kind of drive that was needed to deflate an excitable Cougars squad coming out of the locker room. It was Oregon's longest drive (by number of plays) since a 19-play drive last season against LSU.

What it means for Oregon: The Ducks could use a bit of adversity after coasting through their first four games. They responded admirably -- on both sides of the ball -- in the second half. A hungry Washington team visits next Saturday.

What it means for Washington State: The Cougars did better than a lot of other teams have done in 30 minutes against the Ducks. But ultimately youth, and pass-protection issues, doomed them in the second half. Still much work to be done.