Oregon demolishes Pac-10 foe No. 6 Cal

Published Sep. 27, 2009 3:08 a.m. ET

foxsports

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 Heisman contender, Best went into the game ranked third in the nation with an average of 137.33 yards on the ground.

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

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

"On offense the sky's the limit for us," Masoli said with confidence. "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 would 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 win, 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."

After D'Amato missed a 43-yard attempt, Oregon pushed its lead to 18-3 on Remene Alston's 1-yard TD dive. LaMichael James ran for a 4-yard touchdown just before halftime to make it 25-3.