• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Longshore, Jackson spur California rout of Oregon

Oct 8, 2006 - 3:45 AM BERKELEY, California (Ticker) -- Nate Longshore and California found it easy to score points when Dennis Dixon and Oregon kept turning the ball over.

Longshore threw three touchdowns and ran for a score as the 16th-ranked Golden Bears rolled past the 11th-ranked Ducks, 45-24, in a Pac-10 Conference contest.

DeSean Jackson had a touchdown catch and a punt return for a score in the first half and backup running back Justin Forsett rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown for California (5-1, 3-0 Pac-10), which had lost eight of the last nine meetings in the series.

The matchup of the top two offenses in the Pac-10 did not begin promisingly for Oregon, as Dixon was intercepted by rover Brandon Hampton on the first play from scrimmage, leading to a two-yard TD toss from Longshore to Craig Stevens.

"It was huge," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said of the early takeaway. "Right out of the chute, to come up with a turnover and have it that close and be able to capitalize and score a touchdown right away was great."

Longshore pushed the lead to 14-3 on a 36-yard pass to Jackson late in the first quarter. It was Jackson's eighth consecutive game with a TD catch, tied for the national lead with Rice's Jarett Dillard.

"DeSean Jackson has great speed and he's catching the ball well this year," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "DeSean Jackson is making plays."

After star Ducks running back Jonathan Stewart lost a fumble, Longshore scored on a one-yard run for a 21-3 advantage just over five minutes into the second quarter.

"They were the better team," Stewart said. "They came out in the first quarter and they were ready. We thought we were ready but we just didn't come out to play. It seemed like they were right on top of our whole game plan."

Jackson's back-and-forth 65-yard punt return gave the hosts a 28-3 cushion before Stewart scored on a three-yard run to make the score more respectable entering the break.

"I usually try not to run side to side," Jackson said. "I was just trying to get away. I went to the right, lots of Ducks, lots of Ducks. It felt good to hit that hole. It was a good feeling and a good run."

Stewart's TD came after a 25-yard pass from Brady Leaf to tight end Dante Rosario on a fake field goal.

But Cal put the game away in the third quarter on a 44-yard field goal by Tom Schneider and a two-yard toss from Longshore to Robert Jordan.

Longshore completed 14-of-26 passes for 189 yards and an interception. Dixon went 20-of-35 for 263 yards and two TDs but was intercepted three times.

"You can't go into somebody's house against a very good football team and turn the ball over as much as we did and expect to win," Bellotti said. "That's unfortunate."

Bellotti had several former members of his staff on the opposite sideline, led by Tedford, his offensive coordinator from 1998-2001.