By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, Calif. — Among the numerous elements contributing intrigue to Saturday’s Oregon-Cal matchup, one factor stood out: Ducks’ quarterback Justin Herbert–the loosely defined best player on the field–had the ability to hand deliver the outcome for his team.

And the result? Yeah, Herbert was good as advertised, but he sure had a lot of assistance from his pissed off Oregon teammates. In a mere matter of minutes before halftime the whole puzzle interlocked, and the Bears saw their 10-7 lead evaporate into an insurmountable 28-10 deficit.

Oregon cruised to a 42-24 win behind Herbert’s 225 yards passing and two touchdowns. But the real stars were Herbert’s ax safe teammates–on both sides of the ball–who were fiercely committed to erasing the memory of last week’s epic home loss to Stanford.

As always under coach Justin Wilcox, the Bears were fastidiously prepared and engaged, just outclassed by Oregon. Turnovers hurt; Oregon’s Drayton Carlberg sacked Brandon McIlwain, who fumbled, and watched LaMarr Winston Jr. race 61 yards on a scoop-and- score, the capper to Oregon’s 21-point explosion before halftime.

Bigger issues were presented by the Ducks’ speed and quickness in their defensive front, and their robust run game that was a question coming in due to injuries. Starter Tony Brooks-James, nicked up in the Stanford game, was only used on kickoffs. But backups Travis Dye and CJ Verdell both ran for over 100 yards as the Ducks found success running, which reduced the pressure on Herbert in the passing game.