CORVALLIS, Ore. — Jacquizz Rodgers was done with the sub-100-yard games.
For three straight games he’d been under the mark. But on Saturday he broke through, running for a career-high 189 yards and four touchdowns in Oregon State’s 38-28 victory over Stanford.
“People had been talking bad about me in the papers. They say Quizz hasn’t rushed for 100 yards in three games,” he said. “I took that personally.”
Rodgers’ four rushing touchdowns in the game matched a school record held by several others. His older brother, James Rodgers, caught six passes for 78 yards and another score for the Beavers (4-2, 2-1).
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped the Cardinal (4-2, 3-1) out of the top spot in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Stanford’s Toby Gerhart, who was just starting to grab some Heisman buzz, ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Going into the game he was averaging 130 yards rushing to rank fourth in the nation.
Despite his frustration with the his previous three outings, Quizz was still averaging 102 yards rushing and 139 total offensive yards going into the game against Stanford.
“I think every game Quizz wants to do his thing and prove himself,” quarterback Sean Canfield said. “They obviously had great talent on the other side of the ball, but Quizz did his thing and it was a great game for him.”
On a wildcat formation, he broke a 61-yard run early in the game, then plowed into the end zone from 7 yards out on the same drive to give the Beavers an early lead.
Quizz added a 12-yard run before the first quarter ended to make it 14-0. He finished the quarter with 110 yards rushing — his 10th 100-plus yard rushing game overall and fourth this season.
The 5-foot-7 sophomore who was the Pac-10’s offensive player of the year as a freshman added a 2-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
With just his second completion of the game, Andrew Luck found Chris Owusu with a 21-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-7.
James Rodgers had a 16-yard touchdown reception before Justin Kahut’s 31-yard field goal to make it 31-7 at halftime.
The elder Rodgers brother was chosen a Pac-10 player of the week after 10 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown in the Beavers’ 28-17 upset victory at Arizona State last weekend.
Luck hit Jim Dray with a 7-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to make it 31-14 before Quizz ran five yards for his fourth TD. That gave him 13 scoring runs for the season.
“He’s one of, if not the best running backs we’ll face,” Stanford safety Bo McNally said. “He’s a rare kind of guy. You don’t see guys that small who can bring it like he can.”
Gerhart ran for an 11-yard touchdown, as well as the 2-point conversion, and Stanford narrowed it to 38-22 before his 2-yard scoring run in the last minute for the final margin.
Gerhart rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns in Stanford’s 24-16 victory over UCLA last weekend, which sparked both Heisman talk and suggestions that perhaps the Cardinal should be ranked.
He has rushed for 100 or more yards in four of Stanford’s games this season, including 200 yards in a victory against Washington.
“They made their plays, they tackled,” Gerhart said. “When they jump on us early, we can’t stick to what we want to do, which is rush the ball. When we do that, my day kind of goes down.”
Sean Canfield completed 22 of 32 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown for the Beavers. Luck was 12 of 30 for 226 yards and two TDs.
Last season, the Cardinal and Gerhart won the showdown between the two running backs in the season opener at Stanford Stadium. Gerhart ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the 36-28 victory. Quizz, playing in his first-ever college game, ran for 54 yards.
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