Saturday, November 13, 2010
4:30pm Pacific
(1) OREGON vs. CALIFORNIA
Oregon Eeks Out Win to Stay Undefeated
-- Ducks score season low 15 against Cal but still win
Berkeley, CA -- In the classiest move in the Pac-10 this year, Oregon coach Chip Kelly had his quarterback take two knees to end a close game deep in the Cal Red Zone. The Ducks, being oh so close to having a one-loss season, might have deserved another six points, after spending most of the game squandering point after point, opportunity after opportunity. A 15-13 win would sound a little less embarrassing than say, 22-13. But the coach opted to do the right thing, take the W, and get the heck out of town.
Geez. In one of the sloppiest game in Oregon history (and we’re not talking Eugene weather here) the high-flying #1 ranked University of Oregon Ducks struggled with the California Golden Bears, an unranked, very average team coming into the game.
Oregon gave early Christmas gifts to Cal, some of which the Bears enjoyed immensely. Gift-wrapped interceptions, fumbles for lucky TDs, missed field goals -- and penalties. Oh, those penalties. It seemed every time Oregon was going to un-track and warp into its frantic pace of playing college football offense, a stupid penalty would stall the drive. Or a penalty would continue one of Cal’s.
At times, as an old friend used to say, it was just a raggedy ol’ football game to me. Raggedy is right, and give Cal its due, especially its defense, which held the supersonic Ducks to a mere 15 points -- after having averaged 55-per all season.
In this cutthroat, computerized age of college football, where one loss can often kick a team out of the running for a national championship, perhaps better a two-point cheap win, than a two-point graceful loss. I guess 10-0 is 10-0, in any league.
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