Photo Gallery: On a sunny day in the Bay Area, Ducks down the Bears

Photo Gallery: On a sunny day in Berkeley, the Ducks are coming home with a 42-24 win over California and are 7-1 on the season.

Not all games are going to be works of art, but when you play on the last weekend in October and still hold your own destiny, you’ll be happy with any win.

Oregon went into Berkeley, Calif., went scoreless in the first quarter, and still relatively cruised to a 42-24 win over the California Golden Bears. The announced crowd was 37,077 and a large portion of the crowd was wearing green and yellow. The Oregon band, rally squad, and the beloved Duck mascot made the trip to watch the team improve to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in conference action.

Here is all the happenings on a 65-degree sunny afternoon inside California’s Memorial Stadium.

5 Takeaways: Ducks recover from brutal start to blow out Golden Bears 42-24

Bo Nix had another massive day with 6 TDs, but the red zone offense struggled once again. Our takeaways from Saturday’s win:

For the first 15 minutes of game time, this seemed like it might be a frustrating afternoon down in Berkeley, California for the Oregon Ducks. After the first quarter, the scoreboard read 3-0 in favor of the Golden Bears, and the Ducks’ opening drives went punt, turnover on downs, punt. Mixed in there were some penalties that stalled drives, and a massive drop from WR Kris Hutson that would have been an easy touchdown.

That’s why you play all four quarters, though. Oregon went on to score touchdowns on six of their next 9 drives, ultimately blowing Cal out and sealing this victory long before the final whistle. It was QB Bo Nix who led the way once again for the Ducks, accounting for six total touchdowns on the day. The defense proved dominant at times and did well against a late rally from Cal, and Oregon will leave the Bay area with their seventh-straight victory, in prime position to continue their march towards the Pac-12 Championship.

We learned a lot during this game. Here are some of our biggest takeaways from the day:

Instant reaction: It was ugly in Berkeley, but Ducks leave happy with a win

Considering all the weirdness that usually happens when Oregon visits Cal, the Ducks have to be happy with a victory.

There have been torrential downpours. There have been unexpected fog. There have been unexpectedly low-scoring games. It seems like every time the Oregon Ducks football team goes down to Berkeley, Calif. to take on the Golden Bears, something strange occurs.

This game wasn’t completely immune to the weird, but the Ducks still managed to get out of town with a 42-24 win and a 7-1 overall record and 5-0 in Pac-12 play.

Oregon has converted nearly every fourth down this season, but today, the Ducks were 1-for-3 in the category. Wide receiver Chase Cota went down with an injury in the first half. The offense went scoreless in the first quarter. There were two dropped passes, one ending up as a rare interception.

The weird was beginning to creep in.

But thanks to the composure of Bo Nix, the Ducks scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 21-10 halftime lead. That lead became 28-10 after Oregon’s first possession came out of the locker room and this game was sealed up.

Although Nix was saddled with two interceptions, one coming off of a dropped pass and one that came on the last play of the half, he showed he was the true leader of this team. He ran for three touchdowns and passed for three others, including one to tight end Patrick Herbert for his first career touchdown.

While the offense was figuring things out in the first half, the defense stifled the Bears. They were held to just eight yards on the ground in the first half and quickly made to be one-dimensional. Cal quarterback Jack Plummer took some big hits and sat out the majority of the fourth quarter. With the way his backup, Kai Milner played (8-of-11, 114 yards and two touchdowns), California coach Justin Wilcox might have some decisions to make this week in practice.

As for the Ducks, they will prepare to avoid another letdown as they go to Boulder to take on Colorado, a team Oregon should be favored by 30 or more. But that could be a night game … in November … in Colorado. As we learned today, not all wins are works of art. The most important thing is that it’s a win.

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Social Media Buzz: Oregon fans react to Bo Nix’s massive day in Ducks’ win over Golden Bears

Bo Nix accounted for 6 TDs. Oregon scored 40-plus points for the 7th-straight game. Ducks fans were happy.

There was a stretch of time in the first half where it looked like this could be another frustrating, face-palm-filled day for the Oregon Ducks. They trailed the California Golden Bears 10-7 at one point, and the offense was struggling with penalties while unforced errors stalled drives and irked the fanbase.

That turned around rather quickly, though, with Oregon going on a run in the second and third quarters, scoring 28 unanswered points and ultimately winning 42-24.

The victory, as you would guess, was fueled by Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, who finished the day throwing 27-for-T35for 412 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had a massive day on the ground, running for 59 yards and 3 touchdowns.

It was a fun day on social media for Oregon fans once the team finally got a handle on things and put it away. Here are some of the best reactions from the game:

5 questions Oregon needs to answer while avoiding trap vs. Golden Bears

If the Ducks get up big on Cal, will they keep their foot on the gas? Can Oregon’s defense use this as a get-right opportunity? Our questions for Saturday:

The Oregon Ducks answered many questions last week with a dominant win against the UCLA Bruins.

They showed that, despite the early season loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, they belong in the conversation of the best teams in the nation. They proved they can beat a good team in a dominant fashion. They displayed that the man under center — QB Bo Nix — may be playing as well as any player in the country right now.

All of that has led them back into the national spotlight, where the Ducks are now the topic of debate as a potential College Football Playoff contender. While that’s not something Dan Lanning and his squad are concerning themselves with, there are still things they have left to prove this weekend against a California Golden Bears team that has given past versions of the Ducks a bit of trouble.

Both the numbers and the betting lines show Oregon is a big favorite in this game. Will that bear out on the field, and, if so, how will the Ducks look in the process? Here are some things that we hope to see from Lanning’s squad on Saturday:

Oregon vs. California: ‘Tale of the Tape’ for No. 8 Ducks trip to Berkeley

Do the numbers support Oregon being a three-score favorite over Cal? Let’s check the tape and see what the stats say.

The Oregon Ducks are riding high right now after their statement win over the No. 10 UCLA Bruins last week, thrusting them back into the national spotlight after a long road back to prominence following their Week 1 blowout loss to the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Now that Oregon has secured its highest ranking of the season — No. 8 across most major polls — and is on the fringes of the College Football Playoff discussion, they will look to keep that momentum rolling forward in a major way. That will be put to the test this week with a road game against the California Golden Bears, a somewhat feisty team that has given the Ducks problems in the past.

Oregon has lost two of its past three games down in Berkley, and the Justin Wilcox defense has gotten the best of the Ducks in recent years. However, this Oregon team isn’t the same as those Oregon teams, and a lot has changed with Cal recently.

As we do every week, we wanted to look past the narratives and storylines for this game and dive into the numbers. On paper, who should have the advantage? Which team puts up the more impressive stats? Cal’s defense is said to be good, but do their numbers back up that notion?

Let’s find out in our Week 8 tale of the tape:

Cal’s offense prone to air it out with a heavy dose of Jaydn Ott

California true freshman Jaydn Ott is proving himself to be the real deal in Berkeley.

With the vast majority of the opponent offensive previews, the quarterback is highlighted and we will get to California’s senior transfer from Purdue in Jack Plummer. But with the California Golden Bears, it’s true freshman Jaydn Ott that has been the engine that runs the offense in Berkeley.

There aren’t many running backs in the country that can rush for 274 yards as Ott did in the game against Arizona. That’s a high bar to set and obviously, the Golden Bear tailback hasn’t had quite the same performance since, but he showed the explosiveness that he’s capable of and the Ducks will try to make sure Ott doesn’t reach the century mark or score.

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According to Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Ott’s talents jump out of the television screen when watching the video.

“(It’s) just how hard he runs. I think he’s been freshman player of the week for three weeks,” Lanning said. “He does a good job running the ball. He runs with great physicality and effort and that shows up.”

Overall, the 6-foot, 205-pounder from Chino, Calif. averages nearly 90 yards a game and has found the end zone five times.

At quarterback, Plummer left Purdue in search of more consistent playing time and he’s found that in the Bay Area. Plummer didn’t exactly blow up the stat sheet with the Boilermakers. He averaged 162 yards in the air in the 21 games (13 starts) in his four seasons in West Lafayette, Ind. where he threw for 26 touchdowns, but he was picked off 10 times.

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His career has taken a big upswing in the Bay Area, however. All of his numbers have gone up with the Bears. In their seven games so far, Plummer is completing 61 percent of his passes while averaging 251 yards, thrown for 12 touchdowns, and just three interceptions.

“I think he’s a really accurate quarterback. He does a good job of getting the ball downfield and I don’t think there aren’t a lot of throws that he can’t make,” Lanning said. “He does a good job of that. Probably more elusive than people give him credit for. He does a good job in the pocket but he’s got good wideouts and he’s done a good job delivering the ball accurately.”

Plummer’s favorite target has been Michael Sturdivant, a 6-3, 205-pound redshirt freshman. He has 36 receptions and averages 64 yards a game and has scored five touchdowns.

There have been some changes along the Cal offensive line since Game 4. Prior to the Arizona game, coach Justin Wilcox benched four out of the five linemen with Ben Coleman the only player staying in the lineup.

Whether is was due to the changes or Arizona’s porous defense, it paid dividends with the Golden Bears scoring seven touchdowns, 49 points, 354 yards rushing, and 599 yards of total offense against the Wildcats.

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LOOK: Ducks unveil uniforms for road game vs. California Golden Bears

🦆🔥 The Ducks are bringing the heat this week down in Berkeley 🔥🦆

We knew what the cleats were gonna look like for this road game against the California Golden Bears. Now we know what the rest of the ensemble will look like as well.

On Wednesday evening, the Oregon Ducks released their uniform combination for this week’s game against California, going with a white and green look that matches the cleats. On Tuesday, Oregon released images of its new cleats, which are a football version of the beloved classic Deion Sanders Vapor DT Max ’96. 

After donning the pink “Stomp Out Cancer” uniforms last week against UCLA with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town, you knew it would be a high bar to clear for the Ducks this week. Here’s a look at what they will be wearing in Berkley.

9 notable quotes from Dan Lanning as Oregon prepares for Golden Bears

The Ducks are riding high but have a tricky matchup against California on Saturday. Dan Lanning previewed that matchup today.

It was an incredible weekend in the Oregon Ducks sporting world, with Dan Lanning and his squad getting a big win over the UCLA Bruins with ESPN’s College GameDay in town.

That is behind us now, though, and the Ducks are preparing to head off to Berkley to take on the California Golden Bears in a place where they’ve struggled a bit in the past, losing two of their past three trips down to the Bay.

Lanning knows that his team is in for a challenge, with Justin Wilcox and the stout Golden Bears defense on the other sideline. On Wednesday afternoon, Oregon’s coach met with media members to discuss the week of practice and how the Ducks can best prepare for Cal. Here are some of the most notable quotes from that press conference:

How to watch, listen, stream No. 8 Oregon at California

How to Watch: No. 8 Oregon goes down to the Bay Area to face an upset-minded California team.

The Oregon Ducks football team is ranked as high as its been this season at No. 8 in both the USA TODAY Coaches poll and the Associated Press poll.

With their 6-1 record and perfect 4-0 conference mark on the line, the Ducks will travel down to Berkeley to face a team that good look good at times and then lose to Colorado.

Coach Justin Wilcox’s California Golden Bears squad is 3-4 overall and just 1-3 in Pac-12 play. This might be the most interesting game in the Pac-12 in a week that doesn’t feature outstanding matchups. The Bears have the capability of pulling off the upset, especially on their home turf. But it’s difficult to see Oregon losing this one considering how much of a roll it’s on.

Luckily, the game was given that 12:30 p.m. television window.