CORVALLIS - It was a simple plan.

Pass first, then run. And run some more.

There was no secret to stopping the University of Oregon offense in Saturday's Civil War game.

Oregon State had to stop the run.

"We came into the game with a game plan to run the ball and establish the run while opening up the passing game," Oregon running back LaGarrette Blount said. "That's pretty much what we did. As long as our running game was working, then it wasn't going to be a problem."

It was a problem that the Beavers could not solve.

The Beavers watched the chance at their first Rose Bowl in 44 years fade as the Ducks ran away with a

65-38 win.

Oregon had 385 yards and three touchdowns running the ball. The Beavers knew what was coming and could not stop it.

"Coming in, we had a good game plan," OSU defensive end Slade Norris said. "Our coach did a great job of preparing us. The responsibility goes to we as players. We didn't make the plays we needed to make."

However, preparing for UO's spread option in practice and stopping it in a game are two drastically different tasks.

"That offense is hard in and of itself," Norris said. "There's so many options, they can go off so many things. We've seen everything they were in, they didn't have any big surprises. We just didn't execute and that's what we have to do in order to stop an offense every game. We didn't do it."

For Oregon State, there seemed to be no answer. The Beavers entered the game with a run defense ranked second in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Yet there were big holes for Oregon backs all game. When the Ducks got through those gaps, the Beavers struggled to bring them down.

"I think that tackling was a factor," OSU coach Mike Riley said. "We had chances to tackle guys and either missed or opted to get the ball out on a fumble. But we didn't make tackles sometimes and then I think they hit some gaps that were unfilled and just going, just getting it downhill running."

Oregon made it work to near-perfection in the first half. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli completed a few throws early and it opened the floodgates for the run game.

Masoli also ran the ball well and looked like the perfect fit at the position for the Ducks.

"Masoli was a great athlete. We didn't contain him the way we planned to," OSU safety Greg Laybourn said. "He brings that other dimension the way (Dennis Dixon) did where he really can make things happen in space and can keep the defense on their toes a little bit."

Once the Ducks established the pass, the Beavers seemed overwhelmed by the task of stopping the spread option.

The yards piled up in the first half. Jeremiah Johnson passed the 200-yard mark before halftime.

Johnson finished with 219 yards, Blount had 112 and Masoli ran for 53 and passed for 274.

"I think they were what we expected," Laybourn said. "They really had a lot of athletes and you've got hand it to them, they really played well. Their running backs ran hard and their receivers made all the plays that came their way.

"The offense played a great game. They did everything they had to do and when it came down to it, you can't win when you give up 65 points and 700 yards or whatever it was."