Back Bleacher Viewer: Beware of The Ducks

The University of Oregon Ducks demolished the California Bears this past Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at Autzen Stadium. Cal looked like they were the team to beat in the Pac-10 coming into this game after USC lost to Washington the previous week.

As the game unfolded, it looked like the Oregon offense was able to do just about whatever they wanted against the Cal defense. If they wanted to run the option, they ran all over the Golden Bears. If they wanted to throw the ball, they threw the ball with ease. Jeremiah Masoli, quarterback for the Ducks, picked apart the Bears' defense tossing three touchdowns on the way to a 42-3 victory(there were doubts about Masoli after the win against Utah). LaMichael James has filled the shoes of LaGarrette Blount, the running back who was suspended for the season after the game at Boise State, and has become a stud on the Oregon offense. On the other side of the ball, the Oregon defense was able to hold Heisman hopeful and Cal running back Jahvid Best to only 55 yards on the ground on 16 carries, and was held out of the end zone. Best's longest carry was only 11 yards, compared to the first three games of the season in which his longest run was never under 30 yards. This could serve as a blueprint for every defense that plays Cal the remainder of the season: shut down Best, and force Kevin Riley, Cal quarterback, to beat you.

This Oregon team is rebuilding its offense from scratch after the Boise State game at the beginning of the season. They look like a completely different team from that Thursday night in Boise, Idaho. If Oregon doesn't beat themselves with penalties and turnovers, they can be the team to beat in the Pac-10. If they beat USC Halloween night at home, the rest of the nine teams in the conference could be eating duck feathers by the end of the season.

3 comments:

Erica BaileySeptember 30, 2009 at 10:51 PM
nice job organizing your post. i liked the moments you threw in opinion, i think you should do more of that, so it's less of a rundown and more of your take on things. like the picture.
The AnthologyOctober 1, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Hey Garrett, good post my friend. Like we were talking earlier, I was stunned when Oregon killed Cal, our defense was no where in site and our offense was invisible throughout the game. I hope when USC comes to Berkeley it'll be another story but I highly doubt it. Good blog!!
KyleOctober 1, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Great read man. I too can't believe that the Ducks smashed on Cal, but stranger things have happened. I heard that if Cal won that game, then college gameday would have come to Berkeley. Guess that's out of the question. Great post!