GameDay: Ducks Survive Upset Scare in Berkeley

Trafton B.

November 14, 2010 - 4:56 PM

Well, we found a way to win. That's about all I can say about the game. It may have been one of the ugliest victories I've ever seen, but at least it's a victory.

Right now my friends and I are caravanning back up to Eugene after a whirlwind of a weekend that included (but was not limited to) In N' Out burger, baby monkeys, Ducks football, underwater public transit, carrot cake, bees in cars and lots of driving.

Game day wasn't its usual experience. There was the obvious change of scenery from the soggy Willamette Valley to the sunny Bay Area, plus some added theatrics of trying to meet up with friends in a city we don't know anything about and a train ride on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) made hectic bymy sister, Maren, who I might add is the only one in our group that has ever lived in San Francisco.

Anxiety levels remained high during the game as we watched our Ducks play a tough Cal defense in the hostile confines of California Memorial Stadium.

The #1 ranked Ducks offense that had been averaging over fifty points per game was held to a season-low 317 yards. Heisman hopeful LaMichael James was held to 91 yards on 29 attempts. His 3.1 yards per carry average is the lowest he's recorded in his two years at Oregon. In fact, the most important drive our offense had was one in which we didn't even score! We ate up the final nine and a half minutes in the fourth quarter with our 29 play, 67 yard drive that ended with LaMichael James rushing for the first down on 3rd & 5 and Darron Thomas taking a knee to run out the clock

 
Our defense was the real star of the game. They kept Cal's offense scoreless in every drive except for the first. If you really want to know that's a scoreless final 55 minutes of the playtime! Junior RB Shane Vereer was Berkeley's biggest threat, but he could only do so much. He rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown, while QB Brock Mansion only threw for 69 yards. They're second touchdown of the game came in the third quarter on a fumble recovery in the end zone that put the score at 15-13 in favor of the Ducks. Who'd of thought that would turn out to be the final score, right?

The rest of the trip was certainly memorable. We saw yellow and green flags flying proudly all the way down I-5. My car pulled into the In N' Out Burger in Redding around 7:00 PM on Friday evening and to find the place packed with weary-eyed students making the trip down. I walked into doors and immediately flashed a big "O" above my head to an onslaught of "Go Ducks!" cheers. Then it was repeated on the Bart the following evening before and after the game.

California Memorial Stadium was, well, less than picturesque. The campus was gorgeous, but their football stadium could use a little work; it was built in 1923 after all. Thankfully, the school has plans to renovate (and earthquake proof) the stadium. To paint you a picture of the venue, listen to this description of the remodel that I read on Wikipedia: "The $321 million project...will renovate the seismically vulnerable west side of the stadium and adds such amenities as club, levels, restrooms, and a new press box." I only saw one actual bathroom in the stadium and it had an old-fashioned tough urinal. Everything else...portable toilets.

On the bright side of things I was able to stay for a couple nights at my parents' house in San Mateo. Maren joined us for game day even though she doesn't know the first thing about football. Seriously, I had to explain the concept of a "First Down" to her during the game. Brucer and Peej played host to nine college kids for two nights and we somehow ended up with two coolers full of leftover food on the drive back up.

Next stop for the Ducks is a meeting with #22 Arizona at Autzen Stadium on the day after Thanksgiving. Next stop for me, fingers crossed, will be the 2010 Civil War at Reser Sadium in Corvallis. Oregon State just lost to Washington State, handing the Cougars their first conference win in three seasons, but that doesn't mean we can't count them out. I'm sure the Beavers would love spoil our chances for a spot BCS National Championship game.

The whole group at California Memorial Stadium.