Nix Accounts For Six TDs, Ducks Beat Cal

Saturday, November 4

Eugene, Ore.

2:30 PM

University of Oregon

8-1 , 5-1

California

3-6 , 1-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

California

Oregon

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

11/04/23 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

The No. 6 Oregon football team opened November with a 63-19 win Saturday over the Golden Bears.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. – Bo Nix accounted for nearly 400 yards of offense with six touchdowns, and his adopted brother Tez Johnson piled up 255 all-purpose yards as the No. 6 Oregon football team kicked off November with a 63-19 win Saturday over California before 54,046 fans at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12) overcame a slow start that saw them double their turnover total for the season, to four, and commit nine penalties. But the prolific duo of Nix and Johnson more than made up for those sloppy moments, and the UO defense held an opposing offense to one or fewer touchdowns for the sixth time in nine games this season.

"We put ourselves in some tough positions at times, didn't play to our standard of play certainly in the first half," UO coach Dan Lanning said. "But I thought our guys overcame that and … showed flashes of what we can be."

The Ducks kept pace in the Pac-12 with Washington and USC, who faced each other in a game that kicked off later Saturday evening. Oregon will host the Trojans in Autzen Stadium next Saturday, with kickoff time to be announced this weekend.

The Oregon Ducks take on the California Golden Bears at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on November 4, 2023 (Eric Evans Photography)

Oregon led just 14-10 after the first quarter Saturday, with Cal's touchdown coming on a fumble return — the second UO turnover of the opening period. But the Ducks cleaned up their play from there, led by Nix, who finished 29-of-38 passing for 386 yards and four touchdowns, plus a pair of rushing touchdowns.

"He can do everything on the field — run the ball, throw the ball, make great checks all the time," tight end Terrance Ferguson said. "When he's back there, there's no worries. We had a rough start, probably the craziest start to a football game I've ever been a part of. We're just a cool, calm, collected, veteran group that went out there and finished business."

Johnson caught 12 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, and he also had 75 yards returning punts. His bobble led to Nix's second interception of the year, on Oregon's opening play of the game. But after the UO defense answered in kind with an interception by Steve Stephens IV, Johnson caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Nix to open the scoring 8 minutes into the game.

After Nix's first rushing touchdown made it 14-0, Cal sandwiched two field goals around a defensive touchdown, when a snap hit Johnson while the UO receiver was going in motion. Another Nix rushing touchdown ended that run by the Golden Bears, however, and the UO quarterback added passing touchdowns to Johnson and Troy Franklin in the second quarter for a 35-13 halftime lead.

The Oregon Ducks take on the California Golden Bears at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on November 4, 2023 (Eric Evans Photography)

"We can't let one play mess up the whole day," Johnson said. "So that's basically what we just talked about and ran with throughout the whole game. We had multiple bad plays out there, but it's the way we respond to each play. That's how we take that."

Cal scored first in the second half, but the Ducks responded again as Bucky Irving scored to give the Ducks a 42-19 lead entering the final quarter. Nix capped his day with a touchdown pass to Ferguson early in the fourth, and Ty Thompson led Oregon's final two scoring drives — which ended in a rushing touchdown by Jordan James, and a pass from Thompson to Traeshon Holden.

The UO defense forced two fumbles on the day and also five three-and-out by the Golden Bears, who came into the day averaging 32.3 points per game.

"That's just part of our standard on defense, obviously holding the score as low as possible," defensive lineman Casey Rogers said. "Obviously we had a good, decent game — you know, the scoreboard said what it said — but I think honestly there's a lot we could have done better today. And the good thing is, we'll be able to go back and fix it."