Fansided

Oregon vs Cal final score: Marcus Mariota, Ducks blowout Bears, 59-41

By Patrick Schmidt

Oct 24, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) prepares to throw a pass against the California Golden Bears in the first quarter at Levi
Oct 24, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) prepares to throw a pass against the California Golden Bears in the first quarter at Levi /
facebooktwitterreddit

Marcus Mariota etched his name in the Oregon record books as the Ducks improved to 7-1 with an offensive explosion against California

The Oregon Ducks improved to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in conference in the 59-41 win over Jared Goff and the California Golden Bears on a night where the scoreboard was busy early and often. Cal dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the Pac-12

More from College Football

Marcus Mariota and the Ducks traded touchdowns with their Pac-12 foes in the first quarter in an opening 15 minutes that saw Mariota pass Bill Musgrave as Oregon’s all-time leading passer with 22-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Stanford on their opening possession to tie the game at 7-7. The Heisman candidate entered the game 44 yards shy of Musgrave’s record of 8,343 yards he set from 1987-1990.

That touchdown by Mariota also extended his streak to 35 straight games with a touchdown pass and he now sits four shy of Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato who looks to extend the FBS record to 40 games on Saturday against Florida Atlantic.

Mariota would finish the first half with three first half touchdowns, including one to Pharaoh Brown and a second score to Stanford, but the first half wasn’t all perfect for Mariota who threw his first interception of the season on a pass that was deflected twice before Stefan McClure came down with the interception in the end zone.

Oct 24, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks to throw a pass against the California Golden Bears in the second quarter at Levi
Oct 24, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) looks to throw a pass against the California Golden Bears in the second quarter at Levi /

Oregon would score moments later, however, on Mariota’s second strike to Stanford to give Oregon a 38-28 halftime lead.

The Ducks extended their lead on a four-play, 75-yard drive that took 1:35 off the clock to begin the second half with Byron Marshall scoring on a 54-yard pass from Mariota who would add match his season-high with five touchdown passes on the night as the Oregon offense could not be stopped.

Mariota finished the night with 326 yards on 18-of-30 passing with five touchdowns, one interception and six rushes for 36 yards.

One week after career-highs with 29 carries, 169 yards and four touchdowns, true freshman running back Royce Freeman continued to impress as one of the top freshmen in the nation with his second touchdown on the night to surpass the 50-point plateau for the first time since they scored 62 in the season opener against South Dakota.

Freeman finished with 22 carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

Cal has come a long way from their dreadful one-win season in 2013 as Goff finished with 360 yards and two touchdowns on 32-of-52 passing, but while they have showed a great deal of improvement this year, they still have a long way to go to hand with one of the nation’s elite teams.

For more college football coverage this weekend stay on FanSided.com to stay on top of the latest updates around the world of college football, including the latest scores, news, injury updates, videos and gif’s, so be sure to follow @FanSidedGIF on twitter so you don’t miss any of the jaw-dropping plays.

More from FanSided

Home/College Football