The season in review: Ducks show resilience in big road win over Cal
Part 5 in a series, reviewing Oregon's 8-4 season with an eye toward trends and developments.
What happened: fresh off an agonizing loss to Stanford, the Ducks went on the road and whipped Cal 42-24 in Berkeley.
The Ducks used big plays to ward off the pesky Bears. Jevon Holland and Ugochukwu Amadi each had a pair of interceptions. California Ducks Travis Dye and C.J. Verdell broke free for long runs. Drayton Carlberg busted out of the A gap and stripped the quarterback, scooped up by Lamar Winston for a touchdown just before the half.
Verdell took a handoff on the first play of the third quarter and zoomed 74 yards down to the one.
Each time California made a bid to make the score closer, the Ducks came up with a big play.
A healthy Justin Herbert is very good indeed: the Ducks junior quarterback continued his spectacular early season play by completing 16-22 passes for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added 6 runs for 31 yards, including a couple for key first downs.
He did most of his damage in the first half. In the second the game plan grew deadly conservative--he threw only once on first down after the break, to C.J. Verdell on 1st and 20 for 6 yards.
Of his six incompletions, two were drops by Dillon MItchell and Kano Dillon, while another was a deliberate throwaway on a busted screen pass.
Bottom line: the offense did just enough to win the game. Five turnovers and two touchdowns by the defense were the difference.
A weakness exposed: Cal running back Patrick Laird and quarterback Brandon McIlwain rushed for 215 yards averaging 6.5 yards every time they touched the ball.
Rise up moments: in the third quarter Cal put together a 73-yard drive, but the Ducks stonewalled a 4th down run to get off the field unscathed.
Also in the third, Travis Dye coughed up an untimely fumble, but Holland erased it with a sliding interception in the end zone.
Overcoming adversity: The Ducks played without injured defensive end Austin Faoliu and rangy tight Jake Breeland. Tony Brooks-James was limited to returning kickoffs.
Potent tag team combination: Travis Dye and Verdell continued to emerge as UO's big-play threats at running back. Dye carried 20 times for 115 yards, Verdell 8 for 105, and they each had a big play. Dye widened Oregon's hold on the game with a 45-yard touchdown carry. Verdell was greasy and elusive, breaking five tackles on the night, a couple on his 74-yard dash to open the second half.