EUGENE

The Ducks just had too much to prove — and the Cougars were standing right in their way.

The season’s first Bowl Championship Series standings (collective cringe here among University of Oregon football fans) will be released today, and the Ducks needed to show they were worthy of their No. 9 AP ranking. Even head coach Mike Bellotti said Oregon needed to prove itself against Washington State.

There were also the lingering effects of a heartbreaking 31-24 loss to California two weeks ago. And the bad memories of a 34-23 setback to Washington State in Pullman last year.

All this combined for a 53-7 pounding of the Cougars on Saturday at Eugene’s Autzen Stadium.

The Oregon offense appeared unstoppable, and its defense forced three turnovers and sacked WSU quarterback Alex Brink six times.

“Coming off a loss, we always have something to prove,” said Oregon defensive end Nick Reed, who had six tackles and 3.5 sacks against the Cougars. “I think we did a pretty good job of showing we can rebound from a tough loss. We had two weeks to think about it, and I think we did well.”

So, what does this mean for the 5-1 Ducks? Where will they find themselves in the BCS standings, with three undefeated teams and a few one-loss teams likely to be ranked ahead of them?

Despite a bye last week, Oregon jumped five spots in the polls to No. 9.

“We were all proud of that, but we had to show we deserved to be in the top 10,” Reed said.

The Ducks wasted little time making a statement on Saturday. They cruised to a 17-0 lead after Brink threw two interceptions in the first four minutes and fumbled late in the first quarter. Brink, a Sheldon High (Eugene) graduate, was playing at Autzen for the first time as a collegian and hoping to impress his hometown crowd. But things just got worse for WSU (2-5 overall, 0-4 Pac-10).

By halftime, Oregon led 40-0, the largest halftime lead ever (from 1960 to present, at least) for the Ducks.

Last year’s loss in Pullman was on the mind of linebacker John Bacon, who intercepted a Brink pass on the first series to set up a 42-yard Jeremiah Johnson touchdown run.

“Redemption was a big part of this week,” Bacon said. “We had a lot of things to prove, and I’m happy with our defensive effort today.”

The Ducks held the Cougars to just 63 yards rushing, while gaining 213 yards on the ground themselves.

Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon showed no loss in his confidence after throwing two key interceptions in the Ducks’ loss to Cal. He repeatedly led the Ducks down the field for scores, completing 21 of 28 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Dixon threw for 259 of those yards in the first half alone.

The senior quarterback said the blowout win went a long way in proving the Ducks can compete with other top-10 teams in the country, those who will be the focus of the BCS standings today.

“It goes a long way, but the season is still long,” Dixon said. “I think we can (compete with top-10 teams), but we can’t harp on that. We have to continue to worry about ourselves, and not worry about the hype.”

Dixon dived into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to give Oregon a 26-0 lead midway through the second quarter. On the Ducks’ next possession, Dixon avoided a sack and picked up a first down on a third-and-10 play. Then he found Jaison Williams on a slant pattern, and two stiff-arms and one broken tackle later, Williams was in the end zone and the Ducks had a 33-0 lead.

“J. Will’s burst was a big play to create some momentum and some separation,” Bellotti said.

Williams led the Ducks in receiving with four catches for 108 yards.

Late in the half, Dixon connected with Derek Jones on a 10-yard touchdown pass for the 40-0 halftime lead. The green-and-yellow-clad Oregon faithful, 58,749 strong, headed back to the parking lot and the Moshofsky Center to catch up on their tailgating, many of them not returning to their seats in the second half.

What they missed was further proof that the Ducks are worthy of their top-10 ranking. Dixon led the Ducks on another scoring drive to start the second half, capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Pflugrad for a 47-0 lead.

Brady Leaf entered the game as the Oregon quarterback at the 10:40 mark of the third quarter and was four of six passing for 41 yards.

Leaf, a senior, has seen the Ducks ranked high before.

“It’s flattering to be mentioned in the top 10,” Leaf said. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve been in the top 10 five or six times. It doesn’t mean anything until bowl games come. That’s when you want to be ranked high.”

Oregon’s next three games could define its season: next Saturday in Seattle against a recharged Washington team, followed by home games against USC and Arizona State.

Where the Ducks end up in the polls remains to be seen, but they proved they belong among the country’s best on Saturday against the Cougars.