When Bo Nix’s first pass went off the hands of Tez Johnson into a California defender’s hands, one had to think it might be one of those days.
That thought would be more than justified as weird shenanigans tend to happen when the Bears come to town.
Fortunately, that early miscue was just a blip on the radar in a flawless game as Oregon managed to go on to destroy the Bears to the tune of 63-19.
Johnson finished the game with a career day of 12 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Bo Nix also helped out his Heisman chances with six total touchdowns, four throwing and two rushing. He was also 29-of-38 for 386 yards.
With his passing touchdown and two rushing scores in the first half, Nix now ranks 19th in NCAA history with 128 career total touchdowns. His 37 career rushing touchdowns lead all active FBS quarterbacks. His 19 rushing touchdowns as a Duck are third-most ever by an Oregon signal caller in just a little less than two seasons.
On defense, Oregon forced three turnovers, which they turned into 21 points.
At one point in the second quarter, it was a close game at 14-13, but the Duck offense turned on the jets and managed to score 21 points in the last 5:20 of the first half to take an overwhelming 35-13 halftime lead.
This is a California team that played USC tough for an entire 60 minutes before falling 50-49. But against the Ducks, this same team was dominated in nearly every phase.
In their best drive of the night, one that lasted 1:13 and 75 yards in six plays, the Bears scored a touchdown to open the third quarter and make it 35-19. But as usual, Oregon had an answer to every question Cal happened to put forward.
The Ducks got good field position after a bad punt and went 49 yards in just over two minutes ended with Bucky Irving’s six-yard touchdown to make it 42-19. It was an off-tackle play where Irving just had to outrun the Cal defense to the corner, a race the Duck tailback is going to win every time.
That touchdown let the little air Cal had left in its balloon.
Towards the end of the third quarter, however, a hush fell over the Autzen crowd of 54,046 when Bears tailback Jaivion Thomas went down to a serious injury. He was carted off the field and left the stadium to a local hospital via ambulance.
Everything after that, the fourth quarter, was just basically playing out the game. Backup quarterback Ty Thompson did an admirable job finishing the contest. He was 6-of-8 for 58 yards and a score.
With the win, the Ducks improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference action. Depending on other games, Oregon has a chance to move into the Top 5 of the College Football Playoff rankings.
The Ducks will host USC next Saturday in a game that might feature an unranked Trojan team, a thought that was unthinkable in September.