OREGON POUNDS #6 CALIFORNIA

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli had been chosen as the scapegoat for the team’s struggles this season by Duck fans who have questioned his ability to be a ‘big play’ quarterback and suggested that he be benched in favor of backup Nate Costa.  Not even a win over nationally ranked Utah last week was able to quiet his critics, and there was a very prevalent opinion among Oregon fans that the team was shooting themselves in the foot by starting Masoli against #6 California.  It didn’t work out that way—Masoli completed 21 of 25 passes including three touchdowns as the Ducks routed by Golden Bears 42-3.

College football betting enthusiasts who backed Oregon as +5’ home underdogs were rewarded with the Ducks’ outright victory.  The 45 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 55.  The 39 point setback was California’s worst ever when ranked in the top ten.  The previous high water mark was a 25 point loss to USC back in 1947.  It was also the worst California loss ever under coach Jeff Tedford and the worst overall since losing 55-14 to USC in 2001.

Masoli emphatically answered his critics with his dominating performance, capped by a 22 point scoring outburst in the second quarter.  After the game, he insisted that dealing with criticism is simply part of his job:

"There's always critics -- and it always falls on the quarterback. You try not to think about it, because nobody on the outside really has anything to do with it."

Masoli continued to speak highly of the Oregon offense:

"On offense the sky's the limit for us. We're the only ones who can hurt us. These last couple of weeks we've been in a funk, but today we moved past that."

Ducks’ tight end Ed Dickson caught all three of Masoli’s touchdown strikes, and after the game suggested that the quarterback has quieted his naysayers:

"He proved that he can play. He proved that he can throw the ball."

The Oregon defense came up big, particularly in the rushing department where they held Heisman Trophy candidate Jahvid Best to 55 yards.  Ducks’ defensive tackle Brandon Bair said his teammates used the hype surrounding Best as motivation:

"Everybody kept asking, `What are you going to do about Best?' If he can't get past the line of scrimmage, we have nothing to worry about. That was our mentality. We were going to come in here and hit him with all we've got. We know we have the talent, the speed, the ability to stop anybody."

The Ducks will host another Pac 10 foe next weekend as Washington States pays a visit to Eugene.  They’ll head to Southern California for a game against UCLA on October 10th before a bye weekend.  They’ll resume play on October 24th, traveling to Seattle, WA for a game against the University of Washington.  California will host the USC Trojans next Saturday before a bye week of their own.  They’ll be back in action on October 24th, hosting Washington State.