The No. 1 Oregon Ducks overwhelmed the UCLA Bruins scoring on 9 of 12 opportunities en route to a 60-13 rout at Autzen Stadium on Thursday night. Darron Thomas of Oregon threw for a career-high 308 yards and three touchdowns while LaMichael James, Heisman hopeful and the nation's leading rusher, ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
With the win, the Ducks avoided becoming the third straight No. 1 team to lose in consecutive weeks. The last time the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 lost in three consecutive weeks was November 1960, when Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri all fell.
TWO QUESTIONS REMAIN FROM THURSDAY'S MASSACRE:
Is UCLA Committed to the Pistol Offense? Oregon jumped out to a 15-0 lead when UCLA finally showed some signs of life as they entered the red zone early in the second quarter. On a 3rd and 1 on the Oregon 7-yard line, UCLA lined up in the Pistol and, without a threat of a pass and with lining up 5-yards off the line of scrimmage, were blitzed by the Oregon defense and were unable to keep the drive alive. They short-yardage failure is indicative of the inconsistencies in the Bruins offense and the total lack of creativity. At the end of the game the Bruins were moving the ball as a pass-first team in a spread offense. Granted, they were going against Oregon’s second and third teamers but the Bruins offense looked like, well, an offense. With Kevin Prince set for arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Saturday, is it time to open up the playbook for the better passer, Richard Brehaut? And can the Pistol offense truly succeed in the Pac-10?
Can UCLA Get Bowl Eligible? The Bruins are now 3-4 on the season and with five games remaining their Bowl aspirations are looking more like a pipe dream. They will need to win three more games to become Bowl eligible and there are no “gimmies” on the schedule -- Arizona, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona State and USC. It might come down to a must-win in the final game of the season if the Bruins will be Bowl bound. Oh yeah, that would mean USC could play spoiler.
PLAY OF THE GAME
With 1:53 remaining in the fourth quarter, Brehaut capped a six play 60-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. The game was well in hand for Oregon, but it was the first touchdown the Ducks surrendered in the fourth quarter. UCLA could have easily quit from the first quarter on but they kept on fighting for every yard on every possession. It didn't make a difference in this game but it will make a difference as they fight for Bowl eligiblity down the stretch.
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WE DON’T DO GAME BALLS:
Instead, we do a “Tan NBC Peacock That’s Sporting Shades” because this is LA, baby!
When it is a 60-13 rout there isn’t a whole lot of Bruins deserving to be named the player of the game. Okay, maybe Kai Forbath the UCLA kicker. However, we are going to switch things up and give the honor to the mascot for the Oregon Ducks. After every score, the Duck is required to do push ups for every Oregon point on the scoreboard. If it was a 7-0 victory it wouldn’t be a big deal because who couldn’t do seven push ups. On Thursday night, the Duck did 303 push ups, and that deserves some recognition and some ice for the shoulders.
BY THE NUMBERS:
| GAME STATS | ||
| UCLA | OREGON | |
| SCORE | 13 | 60 |
| RUSHING YARDS | 131 | 270 |
| PASSING YARDS | 159 | 312 |
| TOTAL YARDS | 290 | 582 |
| PENALTIES | 4-47 | 5-50 |
| TURNOVERS | 3 | 0 |
| TIME OF POSSESSION | 38:31 | 21:29 |
NEXT WEEK:
UCLA Bruins (3-4, 1-3 Pac-10) vs. Arizona (5-2, 2-1 Pac-10)
MY PREDICTIONS:
MY RECORD FOR PREDICTIONS: 4-3 | |||
| RESULTS | GAME DETAILS | MY PREDICTIONS | |
 | @ Kansas State |  | The Bruins need this to go bowling at the end of the year.Bruins 17 - Wildcats 13 |
| vs. Stanford |  | Stanford's offense will be too much for the Bruins.Bruins 10 - Cardinal 34 |
 | vs. Houston |  | UCLA will not be able to keep up with Houston's offense.Bruins 24 - Cougars 38 |
| @ Texas |  | Texas will not be able to shake loose of the Bruins.Bruins 23 - Longhorns 27 |
| vs. Washington State | | The only question: Will the Bruins get 100 yards passing?Bruins 45 - Cougars 10 |
| @ Cal Berkeley |  | The Bears edge the Bruins in a tight one.Bruins 27 - Bears 31 |
| @ Oregon |  | The Bruins have no chance for even a "moral victory."Bruins 10 - Ducks 63 |
