PACIFIC-10/MOUNTAIN WEST Masoli gives Ducks reason to quack

— To Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, taking criticism is part of the job. So is disproving it.

Masoli answered his naysayers by throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns in Oregon's 42-3 upset of sixth-ranked California on Saturday.

He completed 21 of 25 passes for the Ducks (3-1), who had 524 yards in total offense and buried any resemblance to the Oregon team that fell so dramatically to Boise State in a nationally televised season opener.

"There's always critics - and it always falls on the quarterback," Masoli said. "You try not to think about it, because nobody on the outside really has anything to do with it."

Tailback Jahvid Best ran for just 55 yards for the Golden Bears (3-1), who had 206 yards in total offense - less than half their average. Widely considered a top HeismanTrophy contender, Best went into the game ranked third in the nation with an average of 137.33 yards on the ground.

It was Cal's most lopsided loss under Coach Jeff Tedford - Oregon's former offensive coordinator - and worst since a 55-14 to Southern California in 2001.

Oregon tight end Ed Dickson had 11 catches for a careerbest 148 yards. He caught all three of Masoli's scoring passes.

"On offense the sky's the limit for us," Masoli said. "We're the only ones who can hurt us. These last couple of weeks we've been in a funk, but today we moved past that."

Cal scored on Vince D'Amato's 47-yard field goal early after Oregon fumbled on its opening kickoff return.

The Golden Bears did not score again.

Oregon tied it with Morgan Flint's 30-yard field goal. Masoli completed five passes on the scoring drive - surpassing the four completions he had last weekend in Oregon's 31-24 victory over then-No. 18 Utah.

Despite the victory, Masoli was widely criticized for his performance, and some fans suggested the Ducks go with backup Nate Costa against Cal. Oregon first-year Coach Chip Kelly was steadfast in support of Masoli.

His first touchdown pass of the season was a 26-yard strike to Dickson that opened the second quarter. Masoli then tossed to Flint, who scampered into the end zone for the conversion to put the Ducks up 11-3.

"He proved that he can play," Dickson said of Masoli. "He proved that he can throw the ball."

In other Pac-10 games, Nick Foles passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns in his first start and Arizona shrugged off the loss of leading rusher Nic Grigsby to beat Oregon State 37-32 in Corvallis, Ore. James Rodgers had 8 catches for 119 yards and 116 yards on kickoff returns for the Beavers (2-2).

...Washington's momentum from its shocking upset of Southern California lasted as long as the opening kickoff. Chris Owusu returned the opening kick 91 yards for a touchdown and Toby Gerhart ran for a career-high 200 yards and a score to help Stanford spoil No. 24 Washington's first game as a ranked team in six years with a 34-14 victory in Stanford, Calif. Andrew Luck added a 9-yard quarterback keeper for a score and Delano Howell intercepted two passes for the Cardinal (3-1, 2-0), who opened the conference season with consecutive victories for the first time since Tyrone Willingham's last year on The Farm in 2001. The Huskies (2-2, 1-1) were riding high coming into the game off their 16-13 victory over No. 3 USC last week.

MOUNTAIN WEST BYU bounces back

PROVO, Utah - Harvey Unga ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns and No. 19 Brigham Young converted two interceptions and a blocked punt into scores while holding off Colorado State 42-23 Saturday.

Max Hall passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Cougars (3-1) won the Mountain West Conference opener one week after getting blown out at home by Florida State.

The Cougars still had some defensive lapses in the second half, but built a 21-0 lead off Colorado State's mistakes in the first quarter.

Hall was 18 for 29 for 241 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Grant Stucker completed 30 of 50 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams (3-1, 0-1), whose sixgame winning streak ended.

Colorado State got within 28-17 on a field goal early in the fourth quarter and answered Unga's third touchdown run with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Strucker to Tyson Liggett to make it 35-23 after the two-point conversion failed. But the Rams could not keep matching BYU to overcome the deficit.

In other games involving Mountain West Conference teams, Austyn Carta-Samuels went 24 of 37 and threw 3 touchdown passes in his first start to help Wyoming beat UNLV 30-27 in Laramie, Wyo. ... Terrance Cain threw for two touchdowns and Eddie Wide ran for 129 yards to help Utah cruise to a 30-14 victory over Louisville in Salt Lake City.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

In Western Athletic Conference games, Lamon Muldrow rushed for a career-high 184 yards and scored a touchdown as San Jose State ended its three-game losing streak with a 19-9 victory over Cal Poly in San Jose, Calif. Muldrow, a junior college transfer making his first career start at San Jose State (1-3), ripped off a 71-yard, fourth-quarter run to the Mustangs' 2-yard-line, setting up his own touchdown which put the game away. Jono Grayson gained a career-high 138 yards on 15 carries for Cal Poly (1-2), including a 53-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter that gave the Mustangs an early lead. ... Running back Robert Turbin ran for 106 yards, caught 4 passes for 116 yards and scored 3 touchdowns to lead Utah State to a 53-34 victory over Southern Utah. Turbin's longest play was a 77-yard catch of a screen pass for a touchdown in the second quarter. Quarterback Diondre Borel was 15 of 21 for 316 yards. Southern Utah's Cade Cooper was 24 of 48 passing for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. Fesi Sitake caught 9 passes for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Thunderbirds (1-3).

Sports, Pages 36 on 09/27/2009

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