Report Card: Defensive line shines against California’s running game

Oregon’s defensive line was able to stuff Jaydn Ott to just 57 yards, eight in the first half, and made Cal rely on its passing game.

The goal of every defensive coordinator is to make the opponent’s offense as one-dimensional as possible. Oregon wanted to bottle up California’s true freshman tailback Jaydn Ott as much as they could. He showed brilliance against Arizona with 274 yards and the Ducks didn’t want to be another victim to Ott’s legs.

Mission accomplished.

Ott was held to just 57 yards and no touchdowns. Quarterback Jack Plummer was sacked twice, but was hit numerous times. He sat out the majority of the fourth quarter because he was getting dinged up on almost every pass play.

Bo Nix continued his spectacular season with six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) and the Ducks showed their tailbacks can be very dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield. Throw in a first touchdown by a legacy player, it turned out to be quite the day for Oregon as it improves to 7-1 on the season and 5-0 in Pac-12 play.

Here is the report card from the 42-24 win over the Golden Bears.