In 2007, Oregon came limping into the UCLA game on Nov. 24. Numerous players were out with knee injuries — including Heisman favorite Dennis Dixon — and the team had just lost its second game of the season to Arizona 34-24.
 
Things didn’t really improve much for the Ducks either in the game. Seldom-used quarterback Cody Kempt filled in after second-string QB Brady Leaf got hurt on a sack towards the end of the first quarter, and the team was shut out 16-0 for the first time in 22 years.
 
That was the last time the Ducks were in Pasadena. And this time around they hope things go a whole lot better.
 
“It’s in the back of my mind right now,” tight end Ed Dickson said. “I remember every minute of that game.”
 
Head coach Chip Kelly, who was the offensive coordinator at the time under Mike Bellotti, said it’s definitely a forgettable experience.
 
“I haven’t watched the game at all since that day,” Kelly said. “I try to erase that memory.”
 
So have a lot of Duck fans, but with an eerie parallel between 2007 and 2009, some are being haunted by it in their dreams. Their star quarterback is out with a knee injury (Dixon in 2007, Jeremiah Masoli now) and the rest of the team is also plagued by injuries. But unlike 2007, this year’s backup is just as good as the starter.
 
“Nate’s our guy,” Dickson said. “It’s unfortunate what happened to Masoli, but he was competing for the starting job this summer and I trust (Nate) to the fullest.”
 
That sentiment is pretty much the same no matter who you talk to on the team, and Costa himself is ready to start for the first time in his long and injury-riddled career.
 
“It’s the kind of matchup you hope for,” Costa said. “We’re playing on ABC, it’s a prime time game, it’s the kind of stuff you grow up thinking about … I’m very hungry right now. I’m starving. I want some action with the first team in the first quarter. I’m ready to go.”
 
Costa also said he’s been able to get into a rhythm the past two games because of how much he played. He played the entire fourth quarter against Cal on Sept. 26 in the team’s 42-3 blowout, and the next week against Washington State he played the entire second half.
 
For No. 13 Oregon, it’s more than just playing with a new starting quarterback, however. The team has been banged up in numerous spots — including the secondary, which took another blow on Tuesday after cornerback Willie Glasper injured his knee, which will require season-ending surgery. Lineman C.E. Kaiser is also nursing a bruised left shin, defensive back Javes Lewis was battling a flu and running back Kenjon Barner had a concussion, to name a few others.
 
The Ducks could use a bye week this week instead of next.
 
“It’s tough without the bodies, but we just have to put the pieces of the jigsaw together and see what we got,” offensive line coach Steve Greatwood said.
 
The Bruins will try to exploit Oregon’s injuries as they start a critical two-game stretch. The team is coming off a loss to Stanford last week, but the team is 3-1 with wins over Tennessee at Tennessee and Kansas State, next week they play California.
 
“They have lots of stars watching them on film,” linebacker Spencer Paysinger said. “Their defensive tackle is really good. And their safeties and linebackers are good.”
 
But the Ducks are ready to take their 4-1 record on the road after four straight home games.
 
“We’re ready,” running back Andre Crenshaw said. “It’s going to be a little different playing away from home. We’ve been here for so long, but we’re ready.”
 
The home stretch has been nice, some players said. They said being able to stay home on Saturdays let them gain more confidence and gel as a team ­— especially after how they performed in their first road game, when everyone admits they came out flat and played awful.
 
Not this time, Paysinger says. He said it’s a different team and because a lot of the team is from California, the energy level is going to be amped.
 
“A lot of us are going home to Los Angeles, So Cal,” Paysinger said. “I don’t think you’re going to see the same road team you saw at Boise State.”
 
[email protected]