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James injured in Oregon's win over Cal

Oct 7, 2011 - 6:38 AM Eugene, OR (Sports Network) - LaMichael James rushed for 239 yards and a score, but left the game with a gruesome injury to his right arm in the fourth quarter during No. 9 Oregon's 43-15 victory over California.

James took a handoff up the middle on the three-yard line and fell backwards awkwardly on his right arm as he placed it behind him to break his fall. His arm twisted behind him and he stayed on the ground for a while in a great amount of pain. Trainers came out and put his arm in an air cast before he was taken off the field.

He was later diagnosed with a dislocated right elbow and team doctors put it back in place.

"My arm just got knocked out of place," James said after the game. "That's football, it's a contact sport."

Darron Thomas completed 13-of-25 passes for 198 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for Oregon (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12), which won for the fourth straight time after dropping its season opener to now top-ranked LSU.

De'Anthony Thomas had 114 yards receiving and two scores on six receptions and added a touchdown on two carries for 18 yards for the Ducks.

Keenan Allen caught nine balls for 170 yards and a TD in a losing effort for California (3-2, 0-2), and Isi Sofele ran for a career-high 119 yards on 12 carries.

Zach Maynard completed 20-of-41 pass attempts for 218 yards and a touchdown for the Golden Bears, but left the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. Allan Bridgford relieved him and threw for 103 yards, completing 8-of-19 passes as Cal dropped its second consecutive game.

California took the opening drive of the game down to Oregon's 13-yard line, helped by a defensive offsides penalty on a 3rd-and-5, but had to settle for a Giorgio Tavecchio 27-yard field goal.

The Ducks needed just two plays to answer with a James 53-yard touchdown run down the left sideline to put Oregon ahead 7-3.

The Golden Bears countered with a 34-yard rush down the right sideline by Sofele, but the drive stalled again and Tavecchio nailed a 38-yard field goal to make it a one-point contest.

After James powered up the middle for a fourth-down conversion on the ensuing drive, he broke a 47-yard run to set up De'Anthony Thomas' 17-yard touchdown run, giving Oregon a 14-6 lead.

The teams traded punts until Tavecchio's 54-yard field goal edged Cal a little closer.

The Golden Bears then stopped the Ducks on a fourth-down attempt and took over on their own 41. Sofele broke a 25-yard run on the first play of the drive and Maynard finished it off with a 12-yard strike to Allen to give California the lead back. The Golden Bears failed on their two-point conversion, however, and their advantage stayed at 15-14 with 6:05 left in the half.

"When you're going to get in a game like this, where they have the potential to score points, you want to come away with touchdowns," said California head coach Jeff Tedford. "This is two weeks in a row where we came away with too many field goals, not touchdowns."

Alejandro Maldonado attempted the Ducks' first field goal of the season from 52 yards out, but it fell short. Oregon drove into field goal range again late in the half, but Darron Thomas was intercepted by D.J. Campbell on a floating pass to end the threat.

California worked into field goal range themselves in the closing seconds of the half but the Ducks got a hand on the 40-yard field goal attempt to keep it a one-point game at the half.

The second half then belonged to the Ducks.

Oregon took the opening possession of the second half 88 yards down the field, resulting in a 23-yard touchdown strike to De'Anthony Thomas to put Oregon back ahead.

After forcing a Cal punt, Kenjon Barner broke off a 68-yard rush into the end zone and Darron Thomas found De'Anthony Thomas for the two-point conversion to give Oregon a 29-15 lead.

De'Anthony Thomas' 21-yard TD grab extended the lead before Lavasier Tuinei caught a three-yard score early in the fourth quarter, making it a 43-15 game.

"I think the blocked field goal at the end of the first half was kind of a huge momentum turn in the locker room," Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. "We thrive off each other, so when [the defense] gets a stop on third down and the offense will go back out and score. You can see that it's kind of a momentum swing."

Game Notes

Despite the loss, California still holds a 39-33-2 lead in the all-time series...Cal fell to 9-7 in 16 regular-season games coming off a bye under Tedford...Oregon outgained California 365-144 on the ground, but Cal held a 321-198 advantage in the air...Barner carried the ball 10 times for 88 yards...Maynard has now thrown for at least 200 yards in each of his last five starts.