Back-up quarterback Nate Costa completed 13 of 15 passes for 151 and a touchdown and rushed for 84 yards to lead Oregon to a 43-23 win over Washington State Saturday at Martin Stadium. Costa was called into action when starting quarterback Darron Thomas injured his shoulder early in the second quarter.

Thomas led Oregon to an early 8-0 lead, taking the Ducks 80 yards in 13 plays on their first drive of the game.

Washington State answered with a score of their own midway through the quarter then recovered a fumble on the Oregon six when Kenjon Barner was knocked unconscious with a helmet blow to the jaw. The game was stopped for nearly 15 minutes while Barner was attended to and taken by ambulance to an area hospital where he is reported to be stable and alert.

It took two plays for the Cougars to score, taking a 14-8 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

Thomas didn't waste any time erasing the deficit, connecting with James for an 84-yard pitch and catch to give Oregon a 15-14 lead.

It was on Oregon's next possession that Thomas "landed on my shoulder wrong" and was taken to the locker room for x-rays when Oregon was forced to punt.

After Oregon's defense held, Cliff Harris extended the lead for the Ducks with a 67-yard punt return to the house. Harris fielded the punt cleanly and found a wall of blockers and broke cleanly into the open.

Costa entered the game on Oregon's next offensive possession and immediately connected with D.J. Davis for 15 yards to get the drive started. Four plays later Costa tucked the ball under his arm and broke free down the right sideline for 43 yards before being forced out of bounds on the Cougar four. A pair of Washington State penalties moved the ball to the one and James pounded it in from there to give Oregon a 29-17 halftime lead.

The Ducks got a side out to open the third quarter then Costa went back to work, finding Davis again for 11 yards. Costa moved the chains again with a keeper, moving Oregon into Washington State territory. James carried for nine, then a 14-yard completion to Lavasier Tuenei moved Oregon into striking distance. After a handoff to James up the middle, Costa again called his own number on the option, this time weaving 18-yards to the end zone to put the game out of reach.

The Cougars would score once again to cut the margin to 36-23 and the Ducks would dodge a bullet when after a James' fumble, Casey Matthews intercepted WSU quarterback Jeff Tuel on the Oregon two.

Driving in the dagger, Costa directed a 10-play, 91-yard drive to put the game out of reach. Beginning with a 19-yard strike to David Paulson, Costa then turned his attention to Jeff Maehl, finding his senior WR for completions of 15, 10, then 34 yards and the score and the 43-23 final margin.

It was a balanced attack Oregon used to pound the Cougars for 556 total yards; 252 rushing and 304 in the air. James gained 136 yards on 25 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Jeff Maehl paced the receivers with 10 catches for 119 yards and a score.

"That's the difference between us and maybe some other teams," said head coach Chip Kelly. "We do have depth. You never know when you are going to get called upon. Nate's prepared like he is going to be the starter every single week and when he got in there today he acted like a starter and did a great job."

Once again Oregon's defense slammed the door on the opposition in the second half, allowing six points for a total of 13 so far this year after the break.

"We've won two league road games and that's big for us, winning on the road very difficult in this league," said Kelly.

"I thought our guys were pretty focused after that," Kelly said of his team's response to the delay and seeing a team mate carted off the field in an ambulance. "Injuries are a part of the game and you have to deal with them. It's tough when you have that type of injury and all of a sudden there is an ambulance on the field. But I thought our kids did a pretty good job of focusing after the fact."

In his post game comments, Thomas indicated he could have returned to the game but was held out for precautionary reasons.

"I feel good," said Costa. "It's going to be a nice plane ride home."

"I wish I would have got it in," he said of his 43-yard keeper. "I got caught from behind and I'm going to catch a lot of flack from my teammates for that."

The Ducks have a bye before facing UCLA on Thursday, Oct 21 in a game that will be televised nationally by ESPN. Kickoff is set for 6:00 pm.