SEATTLE, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- James MacPherson tossed touchdown passes of 57 and 63 yards to Jason Anderson and also rushed for a score Monday night as the Wake Forest Demon Deacons upset the Oregon Ducks, 38-17, in the Seattle Bowl.
The loss completed a stunning late-season collapse for Oregon (7-6), which dropped its final four games and six of its last seven after a 6-0 start.
Defense was a huge problem down the stretch for the Ducks as they surrendered at least 40 points in four of their five regular season losses.
Wake Forest exploited that weakness, rolling up 299 yards in the first half and building a 21-3 lead late in the second quarter.
The Demon Deacons struck quickly, needing less than three minutes on each of their three first-half scoring drives. Among the touchdowns was MacPherson's 57-yard strike to Anderson.
Oregon's Jason Fife was benched after completing just 1-of-7 passes on the Ducks' first three series. Kellen Clemens took over and provided a spark for Oregon, which climbed back into the game.
The Ducks carried momentum into the second half after Clemens threw a seven-yard TD pass to Samie Parker with 26 seconds left in the second period that made it 21-10.
Oregon's defense appeared to settle down in the second half and the Ducks closed to 24-17 on fullback Matt Floberg's one-yard dive over the top with 5:39 left in the third period.
But the back-breaker for the Ducks came 3:37 later when McPherson and Anderson hooked up again to make it 31-17. Wake Forest put away the contest on Chris Barclay's 12-yard run with 2:48 left.
Wake Forest totaled 497 yards, including 256 on the ground. MacPherson completed 9-of-16 passes for 241 yards.
Clemens was 19-of-31 for 161 yards before Fife returned for mop-up duty on Oregon's last possession. He finished 1-of-10 for four yards.
