Coming into its matchup with No. 9 Oregon, Washington State knew its offense needed to have a more productive showing otherwise it could be another lopsided game as the Cougars had last weekend against Arizona in a 44-6 loss.

Quarterback Cameron Ward did not look like himself through the team's first two losses as he threw three interceptions and threw just one touchdown pass. Ward played much better in Saturday's game and even had the Cougars (4-3, 1-3 Pac-12) out front by a touchdown in the second quarter.

Eventually, the dam broke, however. Oregon's high-powered offense came alive late in the first half and never turned back in what ended up as a 38-24 loss for the Cougars, their third straight defeat.

The Ducks' rushing attack truly set the tone as they eventually ran for 248 yards as the two top running backs, Bucky Irving and Jordan James, averaged close to 8 yards per carry in Saturday's game.

A 2-yard touchdown run, that was set up by a 40-yard rush from Irving earlier in the drive, with under a minute left in the first half put Oregon (6-1, 3-1) up by a touchdown and the Ducks never relinquished that advantage the rest of the way.

Ward had a better performance running the offense Saturday in Eugene, and he finished the game with 438 yards on 34-of-48 passing to go with a late 16-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Hamilton.

The WSU signal caller was aided by his favorite weapon as receiver Lincoln Victor shined as he continues to work his way back from an injury that kept him off the field for a time earlier in the season.

The senior from Hawaii finished the game with a game-high and program record 16 catches for 161 yards receiving to pace the Cougars on offense. There were actually two WSU receivers with over 100 yards on Saturday.

Joining Victor was Kyle Williams as the UNlV transfer had 102 yards on five catches in the loss.

As a team, WSU had 495 yards of total offense, the most since its Sept. 23 win over Oregon State.

First quarter

4:37, WSU – K Jean Janikowski 36-yard field goal; 3-0 WSU

1:40, Oregon – K Camden Lewis 27-yard field goal; 3-3 TIE

Second quarter

9:22, WSU – RB Nakia Watson 4-yard run (PAT GOOD, Dean Janikowski); 10-3 WSU

5:57, Oregon – RB Bucky Irving 2-yard run (PAT GOOD, Camden Lewis); 10-10 TIE

0:44, Oregon – QB Bo Nix 2-yard run (PAT GOOD, Camden Lewis); 17-10 Oregon

0:01, WSU – K Dean Janikowski 33-yard field goal; 17-13 Oregon

Third quarter

10:13, Oregon – QB Bo Nix to RB Bucky Irving, 42-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Camden Lewis); 24-13 Oregon

6:05, WSU – K Dean Janikowski 50-yard field goal; 24-16 Oregon

3:56, Oregon – RB Bucky Irving 43-yard run (PAT GOOD, Camden Lewis); 31-16 Oregon

Fourth quarter

8:53 – QB Bo Nix to WR Tez Johnson, 17-yard TD (PAT GOOD, Camden Lewis); 38-16 Oregon

0:52 – QB Cameron Ward to WR Isaiah Hamilton, 16-yard TD (2-point conversion from Ward to Kyle Williams is GOOD), 38-24 Oregon

Last week, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning received plenty of criticism for his decisions to try and convert three fourth-down attempts in his team's loss to Washington. The last one eventually set the Huskies up for the game-winning touchdown when it failed. With the game tied 10-10 and the ball in Oregon territory, WSU coach Jake Dickert was faced with a similar decision on fourth-and-3.

Rather than run a simple play to move the chains, the Cougars decided it was the best time to try another trick play on a reverse pass that ended with receiver Lincoln Victor sailing a throw well away from the intended target.

The turnover on downs gave ball back to the Ducks with 2:30 to play before the end of the first half, and it used that time to go 61 yards in 44 seconds to take a lead it would never relinquish.

Lincoln Victor has been Ward's favorite target this season, and the offense looked much different when he was not on the field or not at 100% in recent weeks. He looked like himself Saturday against the Ducks and it showed often throughout the day. Victor finished the loss with a career-high 16 catches and 161 yards receiving with 57 yards coming after the catch.

He had four catches that went for at least 15 yards including a 37-yard reception that ultimately set up the first score of the game in the first quarter.

It was a difficult day for the defense after the first quarter. Through the first 15 minutes, the Cougars were able to make life difficult on the vaunted Ducks offense led by Nix. Among the impact players Saturday on defense was WSU's leader, Ron Stone, Jr. He finished the game tied for third with 7 tackles, 3 of the solo variety, to go with a tackle for loss.

There were some factors that played into it, mostly Victor's absence and return to health in the last two weeks, but Ward simply didn't look like himself in the previous two losses. The offense struggled to get anything going, the offensive line had issues in protection and the WSU quarterback had turned the ball over.

He returned to form against the Ducks with several deep passes and notable plays throughout the day leading to his 438-yard performance through the air on Saturday. One of his best plays came on a scramble sequence when Ward rolled to the right side and found Kyle Williams in the middle of the field in what ended up as a 47-yard pass play for the Cougars.

The second-quarter drive also featured a 20-yard pass play to Victor and a 16-yard throw to tight end Cooper Mathers to set up a rushing touchdown for Nakia Watson that put WSU up 10-3. It was one of 11 plays for Ward on the day that went for more than 15 yards.

You can certainly point to the decision by Dickert to try a trick play on fourth-and-three as a key moment in the game as it led to Oregon taking a lead it would never give up, but the reality is the Ducks' rushing attack was the separator in Saturday's contest. The Cougars simply had no answer for the ground game on Saturday and it led to nearly 250 yards rushing by Oregon.

Take the big numbers from Bucky Irving and Jordan James out of the equation and it is a different game especially with the WSU offense getting back on track Saturday.

Passing

Cameron Ward – 34/48, 438 yards, 1 touchdown

Rushing

Cameron Ward – 11 carries, 30 yards

Nakia Watson – 8 carries, 20 yards, 1 touchdown

Dylan Paine – 3 carries, 7 yards

Receiving

Lincoln Victor – 16 catches, 161 yards

Kyle Williams – 5 catches, 102 yards

Tsion Nunnally – 2 catches, 49 yards

Josh Kelly – 5 catches, 48 yards

Nakia Watson – 3 catches, 38 yards

Cooper Mathers – 2 catches, 24 yards

Isaiah Hamilton – 1 catch, 16 yards, 1 touchdown

Defense

Kyle Thornton – 9 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss

Sam Lockett III – 8 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss

Devin Richardson – 7 tackles (4 solo)

Ron Stone, Jr. – 7 tackles (3 solo), 1 tackles for loss

Chau Smith-Wade – 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 pass breakup