Scoreless Second Half Sinks Oregon, Golden Bears 21 - Ducks 17

Another tough loss. 2020 sucks!

By AdamChimeo Dec 5, 2020, 8:05pm PST

The #23 Oregon Ducks (3-2) lost to the California Golden Bears (1-3) by a score of 21 to 17 on the road at California Memorial Stadium.

Oregon has lost their second game in a row now that Justin Wilcox’s Golden Bears have pulled off the upset in Berkeley. After leading 17 to 14 at the half thanks to some late, explosive plays, Oregon was held scoreless in the second half due to a slew of penalties and a competent Cal defense.

Tyler Shough finished 14-of-26 with 231 yards in the air and 53 yards on the ground. The redshirt sophomore also threw a touchdown to Johnny Johnson III. Travis Dye finished as the leading Oregon receiver and rusher, with 71 yards on 12 carries and 85 yards on two catches.

Chase Garbers put in a solid performance, tallying 183 yards on 20-of-32 passing, and finshing with a score on the ground and in the air. Cal’s rushing game was held to just 88 yards, but Nikko Remigio made up the difference by recording six receptions for 81 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

Oregon scored first with a Henry Katleman field goal, but the Golden Bears put together back-to-back, long touchdown drives to claim a 14-3 lead over the Ducks. Seven first-half penalties were called on Oregon—including a questionable defensive pass interference that erased a goal-line stand and set up an easy Cal touchdown. The call was undoubtedly responsible for many spilled snacks and beverages in Duck households throughout the country.

But Shough and the Oregon offense rallied by scoring two quick touchdowns—the first to Johnny Johnson III on a 39-yard pass, and the other a one-yard score from Cyrus Habibi-Likio— to take a 17-14 lead with under a minute remaining in the half.

The recently maligned Duck defense held surprisingly strong in the second half, allowing just one scoring drive for the remainder of the game, but a pair of Oregon turnovers drastically reduced the likelihood of a road victory.

After a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nikko Remigio capped off a five-play, 64-yard drive and gave Cal a four-point lead late in the third, Oregon turned the ball over on downs and then committed two fumbles that sealed their fate. The first fumble happened when Kuony Deng stripped the ball from Shough with 8:47 left in the fourth, and the second took place in the final competitive moments of the contest, when Johnny Johnson III caught a short pass and was stripped by the very same Kuony Deng. Muelu Iosefa recovered the fumble and Cal assumed the victory formation.

Rough loss. Rough season. Go Ducks!

OREGON -3/14/0/0

CALIFORNIA - 7/7/7/0

Tyler Shough: 14/26 - 231 YDS - 1 TD - 13 Car - 53 YDS

Chase Garbers: 20/32 - 183 YDS - 10 Car - 7 YDS - 1 RTD

TD SCORERS: (UO) Johnny Johnson III, Cyrus Habibi-Likio (CAL) Chase Garbers, Bradrick Shaw, Nikko Remigio

DUCK YARDS: 368 yards - 231 passing - 137 rushing

GOLDEN BEAR YARDS: 271 yards - 183 passing - 88 rushing

TURNOVERS FORCED: Ducks: 0 - Golden Bears: 2 (2 fumbles)

1ST QUARTER NOTES

Mykael Wright kneed the opening kickoff, setting up the Ducks at the 25-yard line.
Tyler Shough rolled out and completed a 10-yard pass to Jaylon Redd on the first play from scrimmage.
After a false start set up a 2nd-&-9 for Oregon, Travis Dye was taken down for a 3-yard loss. Shough was unable to connect with receiver Mycah Pittman on the proceeding 3rd-and-long, resulting in a punt from the Ducks.
A solid tackle from linebacker Noah Sewell on 3rd-&-5 brought the scrambling quarterback Chase Garbers down for the game’s first three-&-out.
Mycah Pittman gained 11 yards on Oregon’s first play of their second possession—his first catch since the Stanford game in week one of PAC-12 play.
Dye picked up a total of 11 yards on his next two carries.
Shough picked up 12 yards with his legs. And a defensive holding penalty added 10 more yards to the play, placing the Ducks at the Golden Bear 34-yard line.
Another defensive penalty, this time a personal foul on Josh Drayden, came on an 18-yard screen pass to Travis Dye. The result was Oregon reaching the 8-yard line.
The Ducks only managed to pick up five yards once in the Golden Bear red zone, and were forced to settle for the field goal. Henry Katleman connected on the 21-yard attempt to remain perfect on the season.

Ducks 3 - Golden Bears 0

(10 plays, 75 yards, 3:19)

Running back Christopher Brown Jr picked up four yards to start Cal’s next possession.
Garbers led a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive by completing 6-of-7 passes for 60 yards and defeating a potential goal-line stand by scoring a one-yard rushing TD on fourth down.

Golden Bears 7 - Ducks 3

(13 plays, 75 yards, 5:43)

CJ Verdell saw the field for the first time since exiting the Stanford game with an injury. The running back took three straight carries for a total gain of just six yards. Oregon was forced into their first three-&-out of the game.
A promising return from Nikko Remigio was once again brought back due to offensive holding. Setting up Cal’s next drive at their own 20.
The last play of the quarter was a Golden Bear false start on first down.

2ND QUARTER NOTES

It appeared the Ducks would force another three-&-out after a pass to Jake Tonges fell short on a 3rd-&-14, but a substitution infraction called on Oregon for having 12 men on the field gifted the Golden Bears a first down.
Three plays later, running back Damien Moore powered forward for a six-yard gain on 3rd-&-1.
Makai Polk converted on 3rd-&-7 with a 10-yard reception, pushing the Golden Bears past midfield.
Cal continued their third-down success streak when Garbers scrambled for a 21-yard gain on 3rd-&-8 at the Oregon 36.
It finally appeared Oregon would win the battle on third down when Polk was brought down before the line to gain on 3rd-&-10 in the Duck red zone, however, Kayvon Thibodeaux was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which extended the drive.
Despite attacking from the Oregon 1-yard line starting on second down, the Duck defense kept the Golden Bears out of the end zone on three consecutive plays. However, a defensive pass interference called on Bennett Williams gave Cal a fresh set of downs after the fourth-down play.
Bradrick Shaw pounded in the one-yard rushing score on 1st-&-goal.

Golden Bears 14 - Ducks 10

(19 plays, 80 yards, 9:51)

Shough picked up a total of 20 yards on two carries to kickoff the next Duck drive.
On 3rd-&-4, Shough connected with Jaylon Redd for a 22-yard completion that reached the Call 33.
A deep pass to Dye was wiped out after TJ Bass was called for holding, setting up a 1st-&-20.
Shough found receiver Johnny Johnson III in the end zone for a 39-yard score that cut the lead to four after multiple penalties turned Katleman’s pat into a 40-yard attempt.

Golden Bears 14 - Ducks 10

(7 plays, 75 yards, 3:23)

Cal managed to pick up a first down when Moore picked up two yards on 3rd-&-1 at their own 34, but couldn’t gain a single yard after that, resulting in a punt.
The Ducks received the ball with less than 45 seconds remaining in the opening half, but needed just 23 of them to score. Shough hit Dye for a 67-yard gain to the Cal 8-yard line, and two plays later Cyrus Habibi-Likio powered through the d-line for a one-yard touchdown to reclaim the lead.

Ducks 17 - Golden Bears 14

(3 plays, 75 yards, :23)

Cal did nothing with their final possession of the second quarter.

3RD QUARTER NOTES

After a three-yard scramble from Garbers, the Golden Bears ran three unsuccessful plays, resulting in Cal’s second three-&-out of the contest.
Dye picked up seven yards on 2nd-&-10, but Shough was sacked on the next play and Oregon, too, was forced into a three-&-out.
Cal started at their own 11, but quickly picked up a couple of first downs with a pair of receptions from Tonges and Remigio for nine and 11 yards, respectively.
A hard hit from Verone McKinley III forced a drop from Remigio on first down.
Garbers failed to connect with an open Kekoa Crawford on 3rd-&-7.
Shough threw back-to-back incompletions to start Oregon’s second drive of the third quarter, but then gained a first down with some tough running for an 11-yard gain.
The Ducks reached 3rd-&-1 with a well-placed pass to Pittman, but a holding penalty called on Ryan Walk took them back 10 yards. Shough failed to see a wide-open Oregon receiver and instead threw the ball away to escape pressure.
Cal began at their own 36-yard line and used a series of powerful runs from Marcel Dancy to race to the Oregon 41.
Remigio made gains of 10 and 28 yards on consecutive receptions, the latter was a touchdown pass that reclaimed the lead for the Golden Bears.

Golden Bears 21 - Oregon 17

(5 plays, 64 yards, 2:21)

The Ducks were forced into their second three-&-out when they failed to gain any yardage outside of a three-yard run from Verdell on first down.
It seemed like Cal would once again march down the field with ease when Garbers passed to Remigio on 3rd-&-4 for a 13-yard gain, but the Ducks responded well by sacking the QB twice on their next set of downs. Cal punted on 4th-&-27 from their own 27.
The Ducks concluded the third quarter with a pair of successful runs from Dye to reach the Cal 46.

4TH QUARTER NOTES

Dye continued his success on the ground by picking up 28 yards on three touches to start the fourth quarter.
On 3rd-&-1, Habibi-Likio failed to pick up the first down... according to the ref.
Cristobal elected to go for it on 4th-&-short, but Verdell was swarmed behind the line for a loss and turnover on downs,
The Duck defense responded by forcing another Golden Bear three-&-out, leaving just under 11 minutes to play.
Oregon looked promising on their next drive—picking up two first downs to reach the Cal 42—but on 2nd-&-10, Shough fumbled the ball while trying to extend a run. Kuony Deng stripped the ball, and Cameron Goode recovered the fumble.
The Duck defense again answered by shutting down the Cal offense. The Golden Bears gained just one yard on first down, threw an incompletion on second down, and then Andrew Faoliu sacked Garbers on third down for a six-yard loss.
Oregon started at their own 11 and failed to pick a first down. The drive included a near-interception, a near-safety, and a false start.
Cal started at Oregon’s 42-yard line after Tom Snee’s punt.
On 2nd-&-6, Polk failed to bring in a deep pass that would have placed the Golden Bears near the goal line.
Garbers converted on a crucial 4th-&-3 by passing to Remigio, who fought through some tenacious defense by Deommodore Lenoir.
Sewell left the game due to injury on a first-down play in which Shaw picked up six yards.
Shaw’s next two touches netted a loss of one yard, setting up 4th-&-5 at the Oregon 25.
Coach Wilcox elected to go for it on fourth down, as opposed to trusting his kicker to make it a seven-point lead, and the result was an incompletion and a turnover on downs with under two minutes remaining in the game.
Shough started off Oregon’s final drive with completions of 12 and 13 yards to Pittman and Redd, respectively, to reach midfield.
Habibi-Likio gained nine yards with his next two touches, setting up a 3rd-&-1 at the Cal 41.
Shough converted for the first down with his legs by picking up three yards, but on the next play Johnson III was stripped of the ball by Deng after a short catch, Muelu Iosefa recovered to seal the win for Cal.
Cal ran out the clock

YOU’LL GET ‘EM NEXT TIME! GO DUCKS

NEXT UP: HATE WEEK!!!!

Saturday - Eugene, Oregon