EUGENE, Ore. – Jonathan Stewart was pegged by some as the potential breakout star of the season in the Pacific-10, and against Washington on Saturday, he showed why.
Running around and through an overmatched Husky defense, Stewart ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns in Oregon’s 34-14 victory over Washington. It was the most rushing yards a Duck had gained against the Huskies in a rivalry that dates to 99 games.
“He came to play,” UW defensive tackle Jordan Reffett said. “He ran hard today. He was a tough matchup for us.”
That’s an understatement, as Stewart averaged 6.4 yards on a career-high 25 carries and was never stopped for a loss. He only had three rushes of less than four yards, and only one in the second half. He may have had an even bigger day, but he only had one carry in the fourth quarter.
“I felt the linebackers shift a lot and I think that is what hurt them,” Stewart said. “They commit to one thing and there is always some kind of cutback.”
What may have hurt even more is that Stewart could have been a Husky. As a senior at Lacey’s Timberline High School, Stewart was one of the nation’s top recruits and the Gatorade Player of the Year for Washington. He finished his career as the state’s career rushing leader with 7,755 yards and 95 touchdowns.
But rather than stay close to home, Stewart took his chiseled 5-foot-11, 234-pound frame south and made an immediate impact on the Ducks, ranking third on the team in rushing last season and leading the nation with a 33.7 kick return average. In Oregon’s win over Washington last year, he had 26 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
On Saturday, he passed that total on his fifth carry, going 17 yards late in the first quarter to give him 39 yards. After Washington tied the score at 7 early in the second quarter, Stewart led a 94-yard drive, running for 26 yards on five carries, including a 5-yard scoring run.
In the third quarter, Stewart helped to put the game away, running for 32 yards on five carries as part of an 80-yard drive, scoring on a 4-yard run around right end that made it 31-14. He also caught a 9-yard pass on the drive.
Stewart displayed the combination of power and speed that lead some to tab him as a future Heisman Trophy candidate. On some plays, he’d run over tacklers, on others, he’d simply outrun them to the sideline. Stewart has the best power-clean (385 pounds) of any running back in Oregon history, and his 40-yard time is the fourth-fastest of any Duck back.
What made Stewart’s big day even more impressive is that he was coming back from an abdominal injury suffered a couple weeks ago. He now has 798 yards this season, better than the total of last season’s leading Oregon rusher, Terrence Whitehead, who had 679. He also has five 100-yard games this year.
“Stewart’s a heck of a back,” UW defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. “He’s a really great back.”
Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said Stewart is a very good back but also credited Oregon’s unique spread-option offense as helping Stewart have a big day.
“He hits the line of scrimmage very quickly,” Willingham said. “He’s a very good, powerful runner and he makes good decisions.”
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