Defense keeps Bulldogs on leash.

Byline: Ron Bellamy The Register-Guard

Eighteen times Saturday, when the Fresno State offense came to the line of scrimmage on first down, the Bulldogs ran the ball.

Eighteen times, even in a game in which the score was going the other way.

That wasn't a shock. The Bulldogs pride themselves on tough running, and the Ducks hadn't exactly proved yet this season that they can stop the run, ranking ninth in the Pac-10 Conference in that stat through two games.

But what happened on those 18 first-down runs might have been one of the bigger stories Saturday, not just in Oregon's dominating 52-21 victory at Autzen Stadium, but in terms of the Ducks' future in this football season.

Those 18 first-down carries by Fresno State netted 20 yards.

The longest run was four yards. Five plays ended in no gain. Two others lost yardage.

Before the Ducks won the game Saturday, the Oregon defense won first down.

"Winning first down is probably the most important thing against the run, for any team against the run," defensive tackle David Faaeteete said. "When you stop that, you force them to be one-dimensional on second down or try to run the ball again, and it gives the defense an advantage."

Said defensive tackle Cole Linehan: "If you win first downs, it's a lot easier to win second downs."

The Ducks had allowed 229.5 yards per game on the ground - 4.9 yards per carry - through two games, the second-highest total in the Pac-10 and a figure swelled by the 315 yards rushing by Houston in the season opener.

Saturday, the Ducks did something they did only twice last season - hold a team to less than 100 yards rushing, as the Bulldogs netted 60 yards on 36 attempts, an average of 1.7 yards per carry.

"Very pleased," defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said. "I thought we played the run very well. That team is usually a team that can run the ball well on you, and they ran for 200-something yards against Texas A&M last week, so we did play very well against the run.

"It helped that we got a big lead because they probably went away from the run a little more, but there was never really a play where they gashed us on the run. ... We emphasized that this week. Stopping the run."

It was relevant, certainly, that the Bulldogs were missing two starting offensive guards, Cole Popovich and Adam McDowell.

"Their starting left guard (Popovich) was out, so I knew I had to take it to the new guy," Faaeteete said, admitting that he was "pretty sure" the injury had an impact on FSU's ability to run the ball. "I'd like to think that it didn't, but ... "

But Faaeteete said the Oregon defensive linemen knew they had something to prove against the Bulldogs.

"We worked all summer on stopping the run," he said. "And the first two games were horrible for us in stopping the run, and they're a team that makes a living on running the ball. As a defense, we take that to heart."

Linehan echoed that.

"We definitely had something to prove," he said. "We were looking forward to stopping the run and kind of making the statement that the D-line could do that, and that the whole defense can really step up and make plays like that. I think people understood what it took, that if you stop the run with Fresno you're going to make them more one-dimensional and you're probably going to wind up winning the game."

And, with the same formula, winning more games.

"We got better every week," Linehan said, "and this is the week we made a statement that we can stop the run."