Perhaps some thought Oregon could pull off an upset by a few points, but nobody expected a blowout by these proportions. While Oregon did everything right, Cal just didn’t do much of anything. It’s strange to think the score was tied at three apiece after the first quarter. From then on, Cal decided to completely stop playing. It’s hard to even point out their mistakes. What’s obvious is that Oregon knew exactly what to do against their opponents on both ends of the field. After Oregon’s opening day loss to Boise, coach Chip Kelly is slowly getting this team back on track. This doesn’t mean he’s through refunding distraught fans, but Oregon football should definitely feel good about this win. We knew Oregon had talent — it was just a matter of when they would devour a high-ranking team.
Oregon seamlessly shut down Cal’s touted combination of quarterback Kevin Riley and running back Jahvid Best. This was the finest defensive effort of the day as Riley had trouble finding anyone open on every possession and potential Heisman candidate Best was limited to 55 yards rushing. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, however, couldn’t have been better, completing 21 of 25 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Funny enough, Masoli came into this game without a single passing score. Obviously, this is quite a turn around. And who caught all of those touchdown passes? Just Ed Dickson. In a truly remarkable performance, Ed Dickson caught 11 passes for 148 yards.
Everything fell into place today with Chip Kelly’s Ducks. On the other hand, Jeff Tedford’s Golden Bears are left wondering how everything fell apart.
