EUGENE —

The outcome was never in doubt, ever since the game was scheduled. But there were some questions going into the University of Oregon’s 2013 football season opener against Nicholls.

Namely, would the program look the same — and the offense be just as fast — under new head coach Mark Helfrich and new offensive coordinator Scott Frost?

The answer was a resounding yes, as No. 3 Oregon gained a school-record 772 yards of offense in a yawn-inducing 66-3 victory Saturday at Autzen Stadium.

Pacing the sideline was a new feeling for Helfrich, who as a coordinator and quarterbacks coach at various schools since 1996 has spent the last 17 years in the booth upstairs.

“It’s weird,” Helfrich said of coaching on the sideline. “It’s different. It’s just more the team management part of it, that part’s a little bit different. It’s a completely different energy with our crowd and our players, and that part’s a lot more fun.”

Even with a new head coach at the helm, the easy victory was no surprise considering the competition.

Nicholls is a lower-tier Football Championship Subdivision team that had won only one game in each of the past two seasons.

Aside from how Helfich would fare in his new role, perhaps the more interesting question was what Oregon would do at the running back position. De’Anthony Thomas answered that with 106 yard on 11 carries — in the first 8:32 of the game. He finished with 128 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

And he did it not only with his trademark speed along the edges, but by pounding the ball up the middle with his relatively slight 169-pound frame. Several times it took six or seven Colonels to bring him down.

Thomas was just one of three Oregon players to rush for more than 100 yards in the game — a first in Duck football history. Running back Byron Marshall rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries — a staggering 15.5 yards per carry. Quarterback Marcus Mariota gained 113 yards with two touchdowns on only five carries — an even more impressive 22.6 yards per carry.

After the game, Thomas sat in the new interview room, surrounded by reporters who flocked to him when they saw him enter the media area on the third floor of the new University of Oregon football operations center. It was a typical postgame scene for Thomas, but this time he had a couple more 100-yard rushers alongside him.

“It was great to just be out there and get the rhythm back,” Thomas said. “It was a good feeling.

“It’s something special just being with those guys (Marshall and Mariota). I feel like we should have that (three 100-yard rushers) every game.”

Thomas broke 4,000 yards for his career and broke a tie with Ahmad Rashad with his 37th touchdown for fourth place on UO’s career list.

Helfrich called Thomas a “special player” who had an “outstanding” preseason camp.

“He really grew up helping out (freshman running back) Thomas Tyner, and some of these other guys, just teaching them how to practice,” Helfrich said. “It’s amazing how much more mature he is, and his approach to practice. Everything about him is better, and that’s a good thing when you’re that good to begin with.”

The Ducks led 38-3 at halftime Saturday, but the Oregon offense stagnated in the third quarter.

Marshall gave the Ducks a burst of life when he found a huge hole on the right side and scampered to a 49-yard touchdown to make it 45-3 late in the third quarter.

“We’re starting legacies now,” Marshall said of having three 100-yard rushers against Nicholls. “It’s a new beginning today. A lot of things are starting to change. I guess this is the first of many.

“We have a lot of different threats coming from a lot of different people. It just shows all the different people we have to make big plays and help us win.”

Helfrich said he and Scott plan to feature Thomas and Marshall “in different ways.” Thomas can use his speed to reach the edge and run past defenders, as he did on a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter Saturday. Marshall, at 207 pounds, can grind it out between the tackles.

“I’m very happy with where those guys are,” Helfrich said.

And he is no doubt happy with where he is now, on the fun — if somewhat unfamiliar — sideline.