Four plays in the second quarter of an early evening at Autzen Stadium in Eugene showcased the most important player of the second half of the Pac-12 season. 

Oregon led Washington 14-6, controlling the game’s early stages behind the play of Marcus Mariota and a bend-but-don’t-break defense.

If the Huskies could flip any momentum, it was after a punt pinned the Ducks at their 1-yard line. One stop by the defense and Washington would gain field position and a legitimate hope of evening the score.

Enter Royce Freeman.

Oregon calmly had Mariota turn and hand the ball to Freeman on four consecutive plays. No dazzling motion, no attempt to confuse or deceive the defense, no warp-speed pace, simply what some of us with flecks of gray like to refer to as “football.”

I plead guilty to the charge of living in the past. Amid the blizzard of short passes to tiny speedsters trying to outflank defenders, there reside a few anachronistic programs that actually attempt to win the line of scrimmage and, therefore, establish a running game.

Oregon isn’t Stanford. They don’t bury you with multiple tight ends, three extra offensive linemen and a desire to bludgeon. But, from Chip Kelly to Mark Helfrich, the Ducks have always run. 

They succeed at times because their pace denies defenses the time to align properly. Freeman ran untouched for 37 yards to score the Ducks’ first touchdown through a chasm in Washington’s defensive front so deep that center Hroniss Grasu could, after snapping the ball, immediately run the second level and block linebacker John Timu.

Speed afoot has marked the Ducks’ recent running success. Think of LaMichael James and DeAnthony Thomas getting the ball outside the tackle box and simply being too fast to corral. Since Jonathan Stewart left for the NFL in 2008, Blount has been the only big-body back to play for the Ducks.

What Oregon hasn’t had in recent years is a Royce Freeman. A 229-pound back who can run straight into and through defenses. A back who can still run when everyone knows he will get the ball. A back who can employ the Ducks’ version of “ground and pound.” 

Through six games, Freeman has 636 yards on 114 carries with 11 touchdowns. He's off to a great start in a long line of talented Oregon running backs. 

Oregon can run the ball out from their own 1-yard line with Freeman. Because when Mariota runs the option and draws defenders, as on a 4th-and-goal play in Saturday’s first half, Freeman can take a late pitch and damage a defense. Freeman is what rival Stanford did have but currently does not.

After a six-year run of Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor and Tyler Gaffney, the 2014 Cardinal have not developed a dominant back. And Stanford’s offense has sputtered without that reliable weapon and the Ducks are heavy favorites to break through in the Pac-12 North for that reason. 

Royce Freeman will run on the field at Autzen when the two teams meet on Nov. 1 as the lone back who could control the game. Freeman could do to Stanford that day what Taylor (33 carries for 161 yards in 2012) and Gaffney (45 for 157) have done to beat Oregon the last two years.

Oregon holds the Pac-12’s best hope of landing a team in the first  College Football Playoff. They have the best quarterback and a capable defense. Freeman could provide the magical missing ingredient to boost the Ducks back into the national-championship picture.

Cody Kessler on the Rise 

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Can a quarterback be anonymous in Los Angeles? Playing under the shadow of Brett Hundley, Cody Kessler has remained out of the headlines until his seven-touchdown-pass day against Colorado.

With this year’s coaching change at USC has come a style change. The offense has moved to the increasingly omnipresent fast-pace, quick-pass scheme. It remains a sensory assault to see the Trojans line up in the pistol and, only occasionally, run a toss sweep.

Despite the change, Kessler has managed USC with few mistakes. In seven games, he has thrown just one interception while converting 46.2 percent of third downs. On his watch, USC has turned the ball over only five times. 

Watching USC Saturday reminded me of an assignment last year broadcasting their Boston College game. Trojan Nation was weary of a screen-centric pass game orchestrated by Lane Kiffin. That prompted an unprecedented roar from the Coliseum crowd when, on the game’s first play, an attempted deep post pass from Kessler to Marquise Lee was incomplete.

There were similar sentiments around USC football last week. Can Kessler throw intermediate and deep passes? Is the new Trojans offense going to feature a high number of short throws? Kessler answered with long touchdowns to Nelson Agholor and Steven Mitchell.

Elite? Not yet for Kessler. But he is rising on the Pac-12 quarterback ladder. Approaching November, here are my top five, based strictly on this season’s play:

1)   Marcus Mariota, Oregon. Efficient? 70.2 percent completion with an impressive 10.41 yards per pass attempt (conference-leading). Clean? Zero interceptions. He still damages with his legs when needed, but he progresses in his ability to make all the needed throws. Question? Ball security/hand strength. Still too many loose footballs.

2)   Cody Kessler, USC. The numbers cited above are hard to debate. It is easy to place him in the "game manager" bin, a convenient landing spot for those quarterbacks without exceptional athletic ability. More fitting for Kessler thus far would be "winner."

3)   Jared Goff, Cal. My vote for Most Improved Player earns him a slight edge over more heralded players. What Goff has: tremendous footwork, a strong arm and the ability to execute any required pass. What Goff needs: an improved offensive line, more weight/strength.

4)   Brett Hundley, UCLA. The toughest call. While the Bruins have yet to play to their expected level, the numbers suggest Hundley has performed (72.5 percent completion, 13 TD passes, 305 rushing yards). The number that hurts: four interceptions in 204 attempts, the highest interception percentage among this group of quarterbacks.

5)   Connor Halliday, Washington State. Longevity earns him this spot over Arizona State’s Mike Bercovici. I continue to resist citing stats for anyone playing in this quantity-over-quality offense. But Halliday has developed a top-level connection with receiver River Cracraft (most underrated player of the first half) and, to me, clinched this spot with his second-half performance in Utah, handing the Utes their only loss.