BY JASON VONDERSMITH
EUGENE – It was punch and be counter punched for Oregon on Saturday, and the Ducks landed the big one in the end. Receiver James Finley caught a four-yard touchdown pass in overtime and the stellar Duck defense held its ground as Oregon beat California 27-20 in the rain and wind at Autzen Stadium, pushing the Ducks to 8-1 on the season. “A win like that validates what you do as a team and our belief in ourselves,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti says. With Brady Leaf at the controls – Dennis Dixon started at quarterback, and played most of the time – the Ducks faced third-and-1 on its overtime, Kansas Plan possession. But Leaf found Finley for nine yards. Two plays later, Finley snuck inside the Cal defense again for the touchdown, as Leaf completed his fourth pass in overtime. On Cal’s possession, the Ducks forced fourth-and-8, and QB Joseph Ayoob overthrew tight end David Gray. “They must have been confused,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford says. “He was that wide open … he might have made it to the end zone on that one.” The Ducks, who moved to 5-1 in the Pac-10, now good for second place behind USC with UCLA (8-1, 5-1) losing, will travel to Pullman, Wash., to play Washington State next Saturday. A Holiday Bowl berth seems very realistic – or maybe the Bowl Championship Series would select Oregon along with USC, if the Ducks go 10-1. Oregon finishes the regular-season Nov. 19 against Oregon State at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon and Cal (6-3, 3-3) alternated scores, before Oregon went ahead 20-10 in the third quarter on Paul Martinez’s 49-yard field goal and Terrence Whitehead’s 18-yard run, but Cal responded with its own field goal and Marshawn Lynch’s 52-yard field goal setting up the dramatic – but scoreless – fourth quarter. California drove into UO territory in the final two minutes of regulation, and had a chance to win the game after Justin Phinisee committed a pass interference penalty on DeSean Jackson. But the Bears lost yardage on a play. As time wound down, Cal scrambled to get its field-goal unit set up. The Bears snapped the ball with one second left, but Tom Schneider’s 53-yard attempt went wide left. Bellotti says coaches decided to go with Leaf in overtime. “He was probably more comfortable in the pocket and with the short (25-yard) field he could do some things,” Bellotti says. “Gut feeling.” Both Bellotti and Crowton said Dixon and Leaf would be factored into next week’s game plan. Dixon was 15 of 26 for 139 yards, a TD and an interception; Leaf, who didn’t play in the first half, was 9 of 13 for 93 yards and the Finley winning touchdown.
Seniors had their say, helping the young QBs transition into prominent roles after Kellen Clemens’ season-ending leg injury. Whitehead had 119 yards rushing and a score, and eight catches for 72 yards. “He’s a workhorse,” Bellotti says. Demetrius Williams had a 23-yard TD reception from Dixon, and Tim Day had three catches, including an 8-yard catch in overtime. Finley, who had no catches two weeks ago against Arizona, had six catches for 47 yards. The Duck defense “won the game today,” Leaf says. Cal had only 301 yards offense, and Lynch had 189 yards himself with two touchdowns; Ayoob, an inaccurate passer, was 10 of 26 for 88 yards, but he suffered some drops. He was sacked three times, and picked off three times. The Bears were 2 of 13 on third-down conversions. “It’s very hard to run against those guys – they’re pretty stout,” Tedford says. “So we have to make plays in the passing game and we didn’t make enough of them. Those are down-the-field balls we’re dropping – they’re game-changing plays.” A 38-yard Whitehead run put the Ducks into position to score first, but the drive stalled with the help of a false start penalty and Martinez’s 37-yard field goal attempt went wide right. Dixon got hot on the next drive, completing four throws for 61 yards, including a 23-yard dart to Williams for the touchdown with 5:54 left in the first quarter, putting UO up 7-0. Aaron Gipson picked off Ayoob while falling out of bounds, but the Ducks took over inside their own 10. Cal got an opportunity to tie it, thanks to Thomas DeCoud blocking Matt Dragich’s punt from the end zone – the Bear player going around the Ducks’ three-player protection (without Haloti Ngata in there) in front of the punter. Lynch’s 1-yard touchdown run tied it.
The Ducks stalled for a second time deep in Cal territory. Dixon had six consecutive completions, but one went for minus-4 yards on an ill-advised throw and a third-down attempt went behind Whitehead. Martinez kicked a 29-yard field goal to make it 10-7. Dixon had been playing decently, executing plays, but he threw into double coverage and got picked off by Brandon Hampton, who returned to the end zone. But an illegal blocking penalty put the ball at the Oregon 41 with 4:47 left, and the Bears moved the ball and tied the game on Tom Schneider’s 21-yard field goal. Dixon was 13 of 21 for 123 yards in the first half. Oregon outgained Cal 206 to 122. Martinez, finally healthy after missing the three previous games (quadriceps), hit a 49-yard field goal early in the second half to put UO ahead 13-10. Linebacker Anthony Trucks, enjoying an outstanding season, sacked Ayoob and forced a fumble and recovered it. On the next play – with Leaf at quarterback -- Whitehead scampered 18 yards for the TD, putting Oregon ahead 20-10. The run put Whitehead over 100 yards rushing. Schneider kicked a 43-yard field goal with 3:31 left in the third quarter, making the score 20-13.
Lynch had topped 100 yards by the time he ripped off his 52-yard score. He broke through tackle attempts at the line of scrimmage and ran untouched the rest of the way, scoring with 49 seconds left in the third quarter to tie it 20-20.
NOTES
It was Oregon’s first overtime game since Nov. 4, 2000 against Washington State (27-24 win). It was Martinez’s first action since Oct. 1 against Stanford. … Williams needs one TD reception to tie the Oregon record of 10 held by three players, and two to set the record. … It was Whitehead’s 10th career 100-yard rushing game. … Ngata had a career-high 11 tackles to lead the defense, Blair Phillips had nine and Trucks seven with two more sacks – giving him 10. …
Gipson made his fifth interception of the season, diving out of bounds to pick off Ayoob, who threw lunging out of bounds. A replay confirmed it for the officials. Rodney Woods, who gets little playing time even in extra-DB situations, made his third interception in the second quarter. Phillips also had an interception. … Dixon played well, but he failed to throw the ball away at opportune times and scrambled instead. … Defensive back Jackie Bates suffered an ankle injury in the first half and did not return. Rover Patrick Chung suffered a shoulder injury early in the third quarter, and stood on the sideline for most of the second half, replaced by Demetrius Spates. Linebacker A.J. Tuitele returned to action. … Dragich took punting duties back over for the first time since the Fresno State game (Sept. 17) and boomed some kicks. But he averaged only 32 yards on eight punts. … Bellotti is only one win shy of breaking into the top-10 of all-time victories in the Pac-10. … He needs only three wins to tie Rich Brooks in all-time UO victories (91). … The Ducks are 14-2 in November games under their coach. … Oregon is 11-1 on Saturdays following an open date under Bellotti; Pac-10 teams were 2-5 after bye weeks entering Saturday’s game. … Clemens, hobbling on crutches after ankle/leg surgery, got a big ovation before the game. … It was 46 degrees and drizzly at kickoff. There were many empty seats after halftime, but Autzen was jam-packed and electric for the exciting end. … The public address announcer called the Ducks quarterback “David Dixon,” confusing the sophomore with the junior college cornerback who lasted about two weeks of practice in 2002.
No comments:
Post a Comment