Oregon Ducks Football: 3 Things We Learned Against California
#3 Oregon defeated California on the road last night 59-17 to improve to 10-0 on the season and 7-0 in the Pac-12. The Ducks only have two games left in the regular season. They will be at home next Saturday to take on Stanford and finish the regular season in Corvallis to take on the Beavers on November 24th.
Marcus Mariota in action against California last night. (Kelley L Cox, US Presswire)
We learned that top-ranked Alabama lost their first game of the season at home against Texas A&M before the Ducks took the field. If Oregon won, they would move up into the top two positions of the BCS Standings. Oregon went out and turned a tight game into a blowout scoring 35 points in the second half to finish the Bears. Oregon will probably come in second in the new BCS. Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame all remain unbeaten as the regular season nears its finish.
The Ducks can win a game when Kenjon Barner proves to be human. Barner finished with his lowest rushing total of the season with 65 yards on 20 carries. His lowest previous output was 66 yards in the opening game against Arkansas State. Barner did leave the game in the second quarter due to an injury but was able to return. Barner should remain in contention for the Heisman along with Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o.
Marcus Mariota will be talked about winning the Heisman in the future. The freshman had his best game of the season completing 27 of 34 passes for 377 yards and six touchdowns. The six touchdowns tied a team record previously held by Darron Thomas. Mariota added 42 rushing yards for the game. Mariota has thrown for 2,164 yards with 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions this season. He has completed 71.7% of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 177.
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