SEATTLE — After waiting so long to be the featured guy in Oregon's backfield, Jonathan Stewart didn't need the speech.

Still, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti made sure Stewart was comfortable carrying the load with backfield mate Jeremiah Johnson out for the season with a knee injury.

Stewart, who waited 2 1/2 seasons for this moment, answered last night with the second-best rushing performance in Oregon history. Stewart ran for a career-high 251 yards and two touchdowns, Andre Crenshaw added 113 yards and two second-half scores, and No. 7 Oregon pulled away late for a 55-34 win over Washington.

"When somebody goes down like Jeremiah last week, somebody has to step up," Stewart said. "Right now we're not missing a beat."

The Ducks (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10) finished with a school-record 465 rushing yards and 661 total yards. The Huskies fell to 2-5, 0-4.

"It's really, really unbelievable," said Oregon left tackle Max Unger, a Hawai'i Prep alum. "It's a pretty unbelievable feeling when you see the (defensive) line and you can choose what runs you want to do. That's never really happened before."

Washington plays at Hawai'i Dec. 1.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

FRESNO STATE 30, SAN JOSE STATE 0

FRESNO, Calif. — Ryan Mathews rushed for 144 yards, including touchdown runs of 58 and 14 yards during a 21-point, third-quarter outburst, as the host Bulldogs (5-2, 4-0 WAC) broke from a 6-0 halftime lead to rout the Spartans (3-5, 2-2).

Tom Brandstater passed for 132 yards and Clint Stitser kicked three field goals for Fresno State, which has four straight wins heading into Friday night's home game with Boise State.

Fresno State plays at Hawai'i, Nov. 10. San Jose State lost to Hawai'i, 42-35 in overtime, Oct. 12.

NEVADA 31, UTAH STATE 28

LOGAN, Utah — Luke Lippincott rushed for 241 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Wolf Pack (3-4, 1-2 WAC) past the Aggies (0-7, 0-3).

Colin Kaepernick threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns for Nevada, including a 32-yarder to Mike McCoy with 3:47 left in the game for a 31-28 lead.

Nevada will host Hawai'i Nov. 16. Utah State lost to Hawai'i, 52-37, Oct. 6.

BOISE STATE 45, LOUISIANA TECH 31

RUSTON, La. — Taylor Tharp threw for five touchdowns — one of them for 83 yards — as the Broncos (6-1, 3-0) beat the Bulldogs (2-5, 1-3).

Tharp more than made up for the loss of Ian Johnson, who was injured last week against Nevada and did not travel to Ruston. Even without him, Boise had 465 yards total offense.

Boise State will play at Hawai'i, Nov. 23. Louisiana Tech lost to Hawai'i, 45-44, in OT Sept. 8.

NEW MEXICO STATE 45, IDAHO 31

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Chase Holbrook, returning from a two-game absence, threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns and Tony Glynn ran for two scores as the Aggies (4-4, 1-2) beat the Vandals (1-7, 0-4).

The Aggies compiled 492 total yards and didn't punt until one minute remained in the third period, breaking a three-game losing streak to Idaho.

New Mexico State plays at Hawai'i Saturday. Idaho lost to Hawai'i, 48-20, Sept. 29.

UH OPPONENTS

MONTANA 52, NORTHERN COLORADO 7: Cole Bergquist passed for 292 yards and a career-best four touchdowns and Lex Hilliard rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns, including a 42-yarder, as the Grizzlies (7-0, 4-0 Big Sky) beat the Bears (0-8, 0-4) at Missoula, Mont. Northern Colorado lost to Hawai'i, 63-6, Sept. 1.

LIBERTY 50, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 10: Rashad Jennings ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns and the visiting Flames (4-3, 1-0 Big South) racked up 283 yards rushing and 30 second-half points to rout the Buccaneers (3-4, 0-1) at North Charleston, S.C. Charleston Southern lost to Hawai'i, 66-10, Sept. 22.

COLORADO STATE 48, UNLV 23: Gartrell Johnson rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns and the Rams (1-6, 1-3 MWC) snapped a 13-game losing streak with a rout of the host Rebels (2-6, 1-3) in a game featuring wind gusts of more than 50 mph. UNLV lost to Hawai'i, 49-14, Sept. 15.