Jeremiah Masoli’s wild ride from fifth string in fall camp to the starting quarterback for Oregon takes him next to his home turf. As many as nine Bay Area natives could travel with the Ducks to their game Saturday against California in Berkeley, Calif., at 12:30 p.m. Among the group will be at least four starters: defensive tackle Ra’Shon Harris, free safety T.J. Ward, left tackle Fenuki Tupou and Masoli, who is expected to make his sixth straight start for the No. 23 Ducks (6-2, 4-1 Pac-10).
Memorial Stadium hasn’t always been friendly confines for UO players from the Bay Area. In 2006, East Bay native Dennis Dixon threw an early interception that got the ball rolling in a 45-24 victory for the Golden Bears. “I talked to our entire team about that (Monday), those that are going back to play in front of friends and family,” UO coach Mike Bellotti said. “The last time we went down there some of those young men that were in that situation played very poorly. They were so amped and so excited, they worried endlessly about their performance. We talked a lot about, we have to play with poise and confidence, and just relax and let it go.” Bellotti said he planned to speak personally with Masoli on the subject. The sophomore quarterback from San Francisco said he already had a similar discussion with his position coach, UO offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. “He just said, play within yourself,” Masoli said. “That’s my main thing. Just play within myself, one play at a time, execute what I’ve got to execute and not try to make things happen out of nothing.”
Harris, Ward, cornerback Willie Glasper and Tonio Celotto are all from the East Bay, and defensive tackle Blake Ferras is from San Jose. Two true freshman linebackers who have travelled part-time this season, Josh Kaddu (Vacaville) and Dewitt Stuckey (Stockton), are from the greater Bay Area, as is Tupou, a native of Sacramento. “It’s going to be nice to be closer to family,” Tupou said. “But it’s still a game. We have to go in there focused. I’m expecting a lot of family to come, and I can’t let that get to me.” Tupou said he plans to wait until after the game to visit with family. Masoli, too, expects to see plenty of familiar faces during the trip. “Distractions are huge,” Masoli said. “So we just want to keep that to a minimum.”
Fewer yellow hankies
After committing 21 total penalties in games against Washington State and USC, the Ducks cut their total to five in victories over UCLA and Arizona State. “They’re just playing within the rules and playing hard, doing good things in that way,” Bellotti said. “We have not put any emphasis, positive or negative, on penalties.”
Of the five penalties over the past two games, two were on special teams and none came on offense. For the season, Oregon is seventh in the Pac-10 with 53 penalties for an average of 58.6 yards per game.
Tight end tandem
Junior tight end Ed Dickson was Oregon’s leading receiver with 20 catches through the first four games of the season but has just three in the four games since. Bellotti said the discrepancy owes partly to a nagging leg injury and partly to the development of sophomore backup Malachi Lewis. “They’re both great athletes and playmakers who both have to improve their blocking, in all honesty,” Bellotti said. “But they have the potential not just to catch the ball but catch the ball and make big plays. So I’m excited about their development. I’m excited they’re all underclassmen. We’re gradually getting Malachi more reps, and I think he’s earning those. And I think it keeps Ed fresh.” Dickson has 310 yards and two touchdowns on the season, while Lewis has two receptions for 11 yards. Each failed to come up with a pass in the end zone at Arizona State last week.
Mirror images at center
Saturday’s matchup features two of the nation’s best centers in Oregon’s Max Unger and California’s Alex Mack. “They’re very, very similar,” Bellotti said. “If you watch the two play, they have an attitude about football, they’re very aggressive, they’re energetic. They’re talented in terms of their ability to pull, to run, to block a nose guard. They’re great football players.” Unger and Mack are two of 43 players on the fall watch list for the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s best center. In fact, seven Pac-10 centers are on the list, including Washington State’s Kenny Alfred, USC’s Kristopher O’Dowd, Stanford’s Alex Fletcher, Washington’s Juan Garcia and Arizona’s Blake Kerley.
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