PULLMAN, Wash. (Sports Network) - LaMichael James carried the ball 25 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns and also added a receiving touchdown as third- ranked Oregon outlasted Washington State, 43-23.
Darron Thomas completed 8-of-12 passes for 153 yards and a score before leaving with an apparent shoulder injury before Nate Costa came on to go 13- for-15 for 151 yards and a touchdown for the Ducks (6-0, 3-0 Pac-10), who are off to their first 6-0 start since 2002.
Jeff Maehl made 10 catches for 119 yards and a score while James made two grabs for 87 yards for Oregon, which has won six of the last seven meetings and now leads the all-time series, 43-38-7.
Jeff Tuel connected on 25-of-40 throws for 245 yards and a touchdown while Jared Karstetter caught 10 passes for 106 yards for the Cougars (1-5, 0-3), who have lost four straight games.
The Ducks scored on their first possession of the game, marching 80 yards on 13 plays in less than four minutes to take the lead on James' one-yard scoring run and Dion Jordan's run for the two-point conversion.
James Montgomery's 26-yard scoring run capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive that pulled the Cougars to within 8-7 with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the opening quarter.
Kenjon Barner fumbled on the ensuing kickoff after a hard hit and the hosts recovered at the Ducks six-yard line. The sophomore running back was down on the field for almost 10 minutes before walking off under his own power. He was then taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
Logwone Mitz carried to the one on the first play and then plunged in to the end zone on the next play to give the Cougars a 14-8 advantage less than a minute later.
The Ducks regained the lead on an 84-yard catch and run by James with just under three minutes to go in the period. Cliff Harris then brought back a punt 67 yards for a touchdown that pushed the Ducks' advantage back to eight with 8:25 to go in the half.
The Cougars responded with an 11-play, 48-yard drive that was finished off by Nico Grasu's 50-yard field goal that sliced the lead to 22-17.
James capped off the next drive with another one-yard scoring run to give the Ducks a 29-17 lead with just under 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the half. Costa stepped in for Thomas and directed the eight-play, 83-yard march.
The teams traded third quarter touchdowns, as Costa ran in from 18 yards away to extend the lead to 19 before Tuel tossed an 11-yard touchdown to Daniel Blackledge to make it 36-23 with just over 4 1/2 minutes remaining.
Costa connected with Maehl on a 34-yard scoring pass 3:15 into the final quarter to complete the scoring.