OREGON 0/14/14/14/7/0 - 49
CALIFORNIA 14/17/3/8/7/3 - 52
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA - The Ducks trailed 31-14 at the half, but tied the game late in the fourth quarter at 42 apiece with a pass from freshman quarterback Justin Herbert to Charles Nelson for a 42-yard touchdown. The night ultimately ended with an interception from Herbert in double overtime, sealing the Golden Bear victory at 52-49, but overall the future star shined bright in his first career road start, tallying 258 yards and six touchdowns through the air on 22-of-40 passing, as well as 66 yards on the ground. Unfortunately, his one turnover of the game foiled his comeback effort.
Oregon and California traded punts to start off the contest, and the Golden Bears nearly caught a break when Darren Carrington II fumbled the ball on the return, fortunately for the Ducks they were able to recover. But California scored on their next three drives to build a 21-0 lead at home. Davis Webb, California’s transfer quarterback who played with Texas Tech previously, connected with Demetris Robertson, Raymond Hudson, and Vic Wharton III on touchdown passes of 10, 5, and 13 yards, respectively. A 27-yard score from Herbert to tight end Pharaoh Brown capped off a six-play, 69-yard drive that put the Ducks on the board in the second quarter, but the Golden Bears struck back with a 37-yard field goal by Matt Anderson on the following drive.
The Ducks showed signs of positive momentum when they utilized a 43-yard run from Tony Brooks-James to set up a short touchdown run from the back two plays later, however, Webb and the Golden Bear offense were able to run down the clock and score a 14-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left before the half. Oregon entered the locker rooms down 31 to 14, and the second half picked up where things left off when California reached the Duck five-yard line and added a field goal to their lead on their first possessio
Then Herbert found his groove in the middle of the third, beginning a scoring drive with a 26-yard keeper before cutting into the lead with a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Evan Baylis. The Duck defense responded well by forcing a three-and-out on their next outing, and Herbert once again started off on the right foot by connecting with Brooks-James for a 32-yard gain. Then, Herbert found another tight end, Johnny Mundt, for a 12-yard touchdown that made it a one-score game. California turned the ball over on downs when Tre Watson failed to pick up a yard on fourth-and-1 near midfield, and Oregon responded with their third consecutive scoring drive. Nelson tied the game by bringing in a six-yard dart in the end zone, and Aidan Schneider gave Oregon the 35-34 lead with the point-after.
Webb marched the Golden Bears 77 yards in 11 plays to reclaim the lead with 13:23 remaining in the fourth on a 14-yard pass to Watson, which was followed by a successful two-point conversion to put Cal up 42 to 35. Things looked grim when the Ducks were forced to punt with just over five minutes left on the clock, but a strong showing from the Oregon defense put the ball back into Herbert’s hands. The freshman reached the Cal 42 after picking up 14 yards on the ground, and then hit the game-tying touchdown when Nelson raced his way through coverage. Matt Anderson had a shot at winning in the final seconds of regulation with a 41-yard field goal attempt, but coach Mark Helfrich used his last two timeouts to ice the kicker, who kicked it wide left.
The missed field goal sent the game to overtime. Oregon received the ball first and needed just two plays to reach the end zone with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Brown, however, Cal answered by gaining 22 yards on two plays before eventually pounding the ball in with Davis Webb from the one-yard line. It appeared the Ducks had gotten their big break when an offensive hold resulted in the Golden Bears having to settle for a field goal in the second overtime, but on second-and-8 Herbert misjudged his passing lane and threw his second career interception. Jordan Kunaszyk ran with the pick until his teammates convinced him to the knee the ball for the win.
The eye-opening performance may have ended with a freshman mistake, but it also added Herbert to the elite list of Oregon quarterbacks who have thrown six touchdowns in a game: Danny O’Neil, Joey Harrington, Darron Thomas, Marcus Mariota, and Vernon Adams Jr. Fellow freshman Troy Dye led the defense with 14 tackles. It was Oregon’s first five-game losing streak since the 1996 season.
“I think there was a lot of progress from last week. It's a step in the right direction, but definitely not the way we wanted it to end.”
- Justin Herbert
Oregon Offense (total: 450 - pass: 258 - rush: 192)
California Offense (total: 636 - pass: 325 - rush: 311)
Oregon Defense (forced turnovers: 0)
California Defense (forced turnovers: 1 - INT: 1)
UO (2-5, 0-4) CAL (4-3, 2-2)