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PASADENA, Calif. - When Dennis Dixon went out, the explosive Oregon offense became average, at best. When his backup at quarterback was injured as well, the Ducks had no chance.
So now, unlikely as it might seem, the once-reeling UCLA Bruins have a shot at playing in the Rose Bowl game.
Freshman Kai Forbath kicked three field goals, including a career-long 54-yarder, and the Bruins took advantage of No. 9 Oregon’s plight to hand the Ducks a 16-0 setback Saturday — their first shutout loss in more than 22 years.
“Our goal was to be in a position for this opportunity. I can’t tell you I thought we’d be 6-5 with this opportunity,” Bruins coach Karl Dorrell said. “But it is what it is.
“We were going to win this game. There was no question in our mind. We played smart and made critical plays when we needed to make them.”
Oregon (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10) had been bounced out of the national championship picture Nov. 15 when Dixon, a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, left in the first quarter of a 34-24 loss at Arizona with a torn knee ligament.
The Ducks lost backup quarterback Brady Leaf late in the first quarter of this game, and young signal-callers Cody Kempt and Justin Roper were unable to generate any offense as Oregon was blanked for the first time since losing 63-0 to Nebraska on Sept. 28, 1985.
Oregon entered averaging 40.9 points and 505.8 yards of total offense in its first 10 games, mainly with Dixon at the controls.
The Ducks gained only 148 yards against the Bruins, who snapped a three-game losing streak despite getting only 10 first downs and gaining 220 yards.
The result left No. 11 Southern California (9-2, 6-2) in position to win its sixth straight Pac-10 championship and play in the Rose Bowl with a victory over the Bruins next weekend.
Should UCLA upset USC and Arizona top No. 7 Arizona State the same day, the Bruins (6-5, 5-3) would get the Rose Bowl bid — a shocking development considering their recent slump and the possibility that Dorrell’s job is in jeopardy.
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“Next week’s game is what we need to focus in on,” Dorrell said. “That’s the most exciting game in football, in my opinion — a great rivalry game. We will find a way to do the things necessary to make us successful.”
The Bruins did just that against the Trojans last year, winning a 13-9 decision to snap a seven-game losing streak against their crosstown rivals and deprive USC of a chance to play for the national championship.
But that game was at the Rose Bowl. This matchup will be at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where the Trojans have won 37 of their last 38 games.
Kempt, a redshirt freshman making his college debut, completed 6-for-23 passes for 52 yards with two interceptions — both of which led to field goals. Forbath kicked his first field goal, a 54-yarder, after Kempt was unable to handle a snap from center.
Roper, also a redshirt freshman, relieved Kempt late in the third quarter, and was 1-for-5 for 8 yards with one interception before Kempt returned late in the final period. By that time, it was 16-0 thanks to Craig Sheppard’s 20-yard touchdown run with 5:29 to play.
Leaf was 4-of-11 for 45 yards before being injured.
Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart, the Pac-10’s leading rusher with a 127.3-yard per game average, was held to was held to 33 yards on 13 carries. He has been hampered by a sore right big toe.
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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