Oregon’s hopes of a winning season and a bowl game will now be determined at the Civil War. The Ducks couldn’t slow down UCLA’s rushing attack and lost to the Bruins 34-26 Saturday at Autzen Stadium.
The Bruins (6-4 overall, 4-3 Pacific-10 Conference) pounded the ball on the ground against the Ducks (5-5, 4-3), accumulating 227 rushing yards on 56 carries without starting tailback Maurice Drew.
UCLA’s rushing attack was led by third-string tailback Chris Markey. The freshman from Luling, La., ran the ball for 131 yards and led the Bruins in receiving with five catches for 84 yards.
“We knew they would run the ball and that they have a good offensive line, which is healthy for the first time in a couple weeks,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “We knew Maurice Drew is a great running back, but also knew they had two great running backs behind him.”
The Ducks had a final shot at the end of the game after UCLA’s Justin Medlock kicked his second field goal from at least 50 yards away to give the Bruins a 34-26 lead.

With less than two minutes left in the game and no timeouts, Oregon drove down to its own 40-yard line. The Ducks were down to a fourth-down play and, for the second consecutive week, couldn’t come through as quarterback Kellen Clemens just missed on a pass to Garren Strong down the middle of the field.
“I think as a team you always want to be in a position to win the game … It’s a matter of time before we start making those plays — and good teams find a way to make plays,” Bellotti said.
Oregon started the game strong by scoring on the first possession with Clemens’ 21-yard touchdown pass to fullback Dante Rosario.
But the Bruins would score the next 21 points, including an interception returned for a touchdown by cornerback Trey Brown.
Clemens would throw two interceptions on the day, and Bellotti said he was still feeling the effects of the Cal game.
“Kellen wasn’t as sharp today,” Bellotti said. “He had 65 (cubic centimeters) drained out of his knee on Monday, and it obviously still bothered him. I don’t think he felt comfortable striding forward.”
Clemens admits neither he nor the offense were at the top of their games.
“We didn’t execute a couple of times and I missed a couple of touchdown throws,” Clemens said.
Terrence Whitehead led the offense on the ground despite not carrying the ball in the fourth quarter. He accumulated 124 yards on the ground which put him over the 1,000 yard mark on the season with 1,034. He is the 10th running back to do so in Oregon history, and he also passed Saladin McCullough on the all-time rushing list with 2,043 yards to move him up to ninth.
The UCLA victory gives the Bruins bowl eligibility, while the Ducks will pin all hopes on Saturday’s Civil War. With Oregon State’s victory over Stanford, the Beavers improved to 5-5. In order to secure bowl eligibility, a 6-5 record is needed, meaning the winner of the annual rivalry game will be bowl eligible while the loser will be stuck with a losing season and no bowl invitation.
Bellotti said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I can’t think of a better situation or opportunity than to go to Corvallis and have your season, your bowl game, everything riding on a game against your natural rival. That’s the way it should be,” he said.
Cornerback Aaron Gipson said the key for Oregon will be putting this loss behind them as fast as possible.
“We’ve just got to get our spirits up real fast because we’ve got a big game against our rivals at Oregon State, and they’re not going to have any sympathy for us,” Gipson said.
Clemens said this week of practice is going to be intense.
“It’s the Civil War,” he said. “Right now, it is win or go home.

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