The Ducks only had to punt the ball once in last week's win over UCLA. Two fourth-down conversions in the first half were key in that high-scoring display.

Against Cal, that same success was not the case. The Ducks couldn’t pick up a first down after an interception from Bryan Addison set up good field position early on. The next drive was again met with zero points after Dan Lanning’s decision to go for it on fourth down was unsuccessful. The Ducks' 11/12 conversion rate went to 12/15 by the end of Saturday's game.

That was the story of the first quarter. Oregon had chances, but couldn’t get into that groove we’ve seen during its winning streak.

However, Cal couldn't take advantage with only a 3-point lead after one quarter, as Oregon's defense held up. It could have been worse for the Golden Bears, as Kris Hutson dropped a wide-open pass with six points written all over it. The drop meant a second punt, but Nix wasn’t discouraged. He sprinted over to the sidelines to be one of the first to check on Hutson, who was visibly upset with himself.

Chase Cota had left the game earlier on with an apparent leg injury. Troy Franklin, too, left on the second to last play of the first half, grabbing his hamstring after a catch but later returned. Keeping Hutson locked in mentally was a must.

On the following drive, the offense finally broke the seal, but it was the defense’s dominance that helped No. 8 Oregon in the 42-24 win over Cal. The win moves the Ducks to 7-1 (5-0 in Pac-12 play) and keeps them undefeated in conference play with four games remaining in the regular season.

This game felt similar to the one in Pullman weeks ago. The Ducks were beating themselves with errors. The offense was moving the ball well, and the defense made timely stops. The game was in control, but the scoreboard said otherwise as the 11-point halftime lead easily could have been much larger.

The difference between the two games was the play of Oregon’s defense. Noah Sewell was back to flying around the field to make tackles. D.J. Johnson took advantage of Cal’s poor offensive line with constant QB pressures, and at half Cal was stymied to 8 rushing yards. Jack Plummer was one interception away (2), from his previous total on the season, and easy points were nowhere to be found.

The Oregon offense eventually followed behind and returned to the high-scoring expectations. It wasn’t the cleanest game for Nix. He had two interceptions, one a bobble by Troy Franklin and the other a garbage time Hail Mary. His 412 passing yards and 6 total touchdowns, however, further improve his Pac-12 Player of the Year/Heisman campaign.

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First Quarter:

4:01, Cal: Dario Longhetto 28-yard field goal, 3 - 0 Cal

Second Quarter:

14:56, Oregon: Bo Nix 4-yard run (Camden Lewis PAT), 7-3 Oregon

13:08, Cal: Jack Plummer 6-yard pass to J.Michael Sturdivant (Dario Longhetto PAT,) 10-7 Cal

4:14, Oregon: Bo Nix 1-yard run (Camden Lewis PAT), 14-10 Oregon

1:54, Oregon: Bo Nix 12-yard pass to Bucky Irving (Camden Lewis PAT), 21-10 Oregon

Third Quarter:

12:45, Oregon: Bo Nix 29-yard pass to Noah Whittington (Camden Lewis PAT), 28-10 Oregon

Fourth Quarter:

12:19, Oregon: Bo Nix 1-yard run (Camden Lewis PAT), 35-10 Oregon

7:38, Cal: Kai Millner 11-yard pass to Monroe Young (Dario Longhetto PAT), 35-17 Oregon

3:16, Oregon: Bo Nix 40-yard pass to Patrick Herbert (Camden Lewis PAT), 42-17 Oregon

2:21, Cal: Kai Millner 55-yard pass to Justin Richard Baker(Dario Longhetto PAT), 42-24 Oregon

Oregon chose to kick to start the game, giving the Ducks the ball to start the second half. The offense quickly marched down the field for a touchdown that put the lead up to 18 points. Cal came back with an impressive drive of its own but settled for a field goal attempt. Christian Gonzales had other plans and went untouched off the edge to block the kick. Cal looked defeated after the failure to bring the score to two possessions, and Oregon ran away with its seventh straight victory.

Another 5-plus touchdown day for Bo Nix and it has become a regular thing. No team has figured out how to slow down Oregon’s offense. Nix would have had an even better day if it weren’t for the drop pass, bobble interception to Franklin, and Hail Mary interception. Even with the mistakes, he had 471 total yards of offense. Three of the six touchdowns were on the ground, giving him 11 on the year, leading all quarterbacks this season

Cal’s offensive line was known to be one of the worst in the Pac-12 coming into the game. DJ Johnson was the benefactor and imposed his will picking up both of the team’s two sacks. He made Plummer uncomfortable in the pocket which contributed to the two interceptions.

Bo Nix found Noah Whittington on a simple check down in the middle of the field. The speedster outran everyone and nearly went untouched en route to a 29-yard score. The touchdown gave the Ducks an 18-point lead early in the third and Cal wasn’t able to catch up to the large deficit.

The Ducks won because the offense continues to impress and the defense held strong. The Golden Bears gave up 42 points, which is the new season-high. Oregon took away the run game after an uncharacteristic breakdown last week against Zach Charbonnet and UCLA. The defense kept the game from needing to be a shootout and made for a rather easy victory.

Passing:

Bo Nix: 27-35, 412 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT

Rushing:

Noah Whittington: 10 carries, 66 yards, 0 TD

Bo Nix: 12 carries, 59 yards, 3 TD

Bucky Irving: 10 carries, 32 yards, 0 TD

Sean Dollars: 5 carries, 16 yards, 0 TD

Jordan James: 2 carries, 3 yards, 0 TD

Receiving:

Noah Whittington: 5 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD

Kris Hutson: 4 receptions, 67 yards

Bucky Irving: 3 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD

Moliki Matavao: 3 receptions, 45 yards

Troy Franklin: 3 receptions, 34 yards

Sean Dollars: 2 receptions, 48 yards

Patrick Herbert: 2 receptions, 46 yards, 1 TD

Terrance Ferguson: 2 receptions, 26 yards

Dont’e Thornton: 1 reception, 7 yards

Chase Cota: 1 reception, 6 yards

Cam McCormick: 1 reception, 5 yards