Coming off a commanding win against UCLA in Week 8, the Oregon Ducks (7-1, 5-0) took a while to warm up against the California Golden Bears (3-5, 1-4). Despite a slow start, with many early unsuccessful scoring drives, No. 8 Oregon managed to hold off Cal, who proved to be worthy competitors, winning 42-24. 

This is Oregon’s seventh straight win and Cal’s fourth straight loss. 

“Obviously, it’s always great to go on the road and get a win. I think our guys are hungry to improve. I think we’re going to build off this one and keep growing,” coach Dan Lanning said. 
The Cal defense put pressure on Oregon’s offense early on, but could not keep up with quarterback Bo Nix after the first quarter, he totaled 412 passing yards. Cal earned the first score of the game and had the lead going into the second quarter, but the Ducks went on the score the next 4 touchdowns. 
They took command of the game in the second quarter where they scored 3 touchdowns.  Nix continued to impress with 3 rushing and 3 passing touchdowns, making him the first Oregon quarterback to do this since Jeremiah Masoli in 2009. Following this game, Nix leads the Pac-12 with 11 rushing touchdowns. 
Despite the final scoreline, Oregon struggled in the red zone, where it was stopped twice on fourth down as well as throwing an interception costing them potentially as many as 21 points. Cal, however, was unable to capitalize on these mistakes.
“It’s nice when you don’t perform at your best, miss a few opportunities in the red zone, and you still do what we did on offense. It’s a good thing, but we have to go back to work,” Nix said.
Cal quarterback Jack Plummer threw for 214 yards and 1 touchdown but had 2 interceptions in the first half. He had three prior to the game and was eventually replaced by redshirt freshman Kal Millner in the fourth quarter. 
Millner made an immediate impact by scoring his first career rushing touchdown. He went on to score 2 total touchdowns including a pass to Justin Richard Baker for 55 yards scoring Cal’s final touchdown. 
Oregon didn’t leave Saturday’s win unscathed as Chase Costa, Troy Franklin, and DJ Johnson sustained injuries. Franklin went down with a non-contact injury after catching a pass, but returned to the game in the second half. 

Oregon faces Colorado (1-6, 1-3) next week looking for another win to stay in contention for the Pac-12 championship.