After passing road test with 2nd-half rally vs. UCLA, No. 13 Oregon looks ahead

Road test passed at UCLA, No. 13 Ducks look ahead

PASADENA, Calif. — Oregon got through the first three games of its Pac-10 schedule as the only unbeaten team left in conference play thanks to three overwhelming defensive performances.

The No. 13 Ducks will have to be even better on defense for their next two opponents — and they seem certain they can do it.

“We’ve just continued to get better,” Oregon defensive tackle Brandon Bair said. “With all the dings and dents we have on the defense, we still keep getting better. We have to. We can’t keep having games this close.”

The Ducks limited UCLA to 211 yards of offense in a 24-10 victory Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Although the first 30 minutes of Oregon’s first road test since the season opener weren’t terribly impressive a dynamic 21-point outburst in the first four minutes of the third quarter put the Ducks on track for their bye week with momentum atop the conference.

Losses by Arizona and Stanford left Oregon (5-1, 3-0 Pac-10) as the conference leader. With a week off to heal midseason injuries — and hopefully get quarterback Jeremiah Masoli back in playing shape — the Ducks will prepare for back-to-back games against Washington and its dangerous quarterback, Jake Locker, followed by a Halloween night visit from No. 6 Southern California that’s shaping up as the conference’s biggest game of the year.

The Ducks feel awfully good about their progress since that season-opening loss at Boise State, but they’re aware greater challenges than the Bruins’ mediocre offense await them.

“We’re not going to go around wearing a badge saying we won five games,” coach Chip Kelly said.

Oregon’s three straight touchdowns on a kickoff return, an interception return and a scoring pass set up by a fumble recovery masked a fairly ineffective day for the Ducks’ offense against UCLA’s defense, which Kelly believes is the best they’ve faced all season.

With Masoli ruled out of the lineup, backup Nate Costa made his long-anticipated first career start following three major knee injuries and surgeries. The junior wasn’t terribly effective, going 9 of 17 for 84 yards with an interception, yet didn’t feel overwhelmed by the challenge.

“It just kind of felt like practice,” Costa said. “It has been a long road, and I thought about that before the game, but once I got out there, it wasn’t a whole lot different from practice. We know our defense is so good and our special teams are so good.”

The offense’s effort under Costa might not be good enough to match scores with Locker or keep up with USC’s intimidating defense, but Masoli certainly could be healthy enough to play in Seattle in two weeks. The mobile Masoli is the Ducks’ second-leading rusher, while Costa ended up with minus-18 yards rushing when factoring in sacks against the Bruins.

His teammates didn’t mind the change, praising Costa’s game management and seeing a bright future no matter who’s taking snaps for the Ducks.

“Nate’s a great player out there,” said tailback LaMichael James, who rushed for 152 yards. “You really don’t miss too much besides the running ability.”