Oregon takes it up a notch

Oregon again got the spark it needed from its special teams and defense with blocked punts, fake field goals and interceptions.

The 12th-ranked Ducks also got their offense rolling.

Just in time for a Pacific 10 Conference showdown with USC on Halloween night in Eugene.

Jeremiah Masoli returned from a knee injury to run for two scores, Oregon blocked a punt for a touchdown and used a fake field-goal attempt to set up another touchdown, and the Ducks overwhelmed border rival Washington, 43-19, on Saturday at Seattle.

“This is a true team. It’s not an offense, it’s not a defense, it’s not just one aspect of it,” Oregon Coach Chip Kelly said. “It’s everyone contributing. . . . That punt you saw us start to gain some confidence and we started flying around and when we start flying it kind of gets into a frenzy mode and it’s a neat thing to be around.”

Oregon’s corralled Washington quarterback Jake Locker, forced three turnovers and kept the Huskies out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.

Masoli got Oregon’s offense zooming in the second half after it needed a kickoff return and interception return for touchdowns two weeks ago against UCLA when Masoli was out because of an injured right knee.

Masoli completed 14 of 22 throws for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also had touchdown runs of one and three yards as part of his 54 yards rushing.

LaMichael James, Oregon’s workhorse since LeGarrette Blount’s suspension, rushed for 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 56-yard touchdown sprint in the fourth quarter.

California 49, Washington State 17 -- Kevin Riley threw touchdowns on his only three passes of the first quarter, Jahvid Best scored three touchdowns and the Bears (5-2, 2-2) routed the Cougars (1-6, 0-5) at Berkeley.

Riley connected with Best, Marvin Jones and Shane Vereen Cal scored 28 points on its first 11 offensive plays to break out to the early lead and cruise to the win.

Jeremy Ross scored on a 76-yard punt return, and Best ran for 159 yards and two scores in 13 carries to help Cal win for the second straight week following two blowout losses to Oregon and USC. The Bears are averaging 48 points in their victories but failed to score a touchdown in the two losses.

Stanford 33, Arizona State 14 -- Andrew Luck threw for 236 yards, Toby Gerhart ran for 125 yards and a touchdown and the Cardinal (5-3, 4-2) greatly boosted its bowl hopes with a victory over the Sun Devils (4-3, 2-2) at Palo Alto.

Freshman Jamal-Rashad Patterson scored on a 22-yard reverse, Stepfan Taylor ran 33 yards for a touchdown and Owen Marecic had a two-yard scoring run.