EUGENE (AP) - Nearly lost in the hullaballoo over Oregon's offensive reawakening is the No. 16 Ducks' defense, which shut down Jahvid Best and California.

That's a concern for Washington State, which visits Autzen Stadium on Saturday.

Oregon senior cornerback and co-captain Walter Thurmond was knocked out on the opening kickoff but the Ducks went on to overpower the Golden Bears 42-3 last weekend.

"Those kids played lights out, lights out,'' Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said.

Cal went into the game as the nation's second-highest scoring team. The Bears averaged 488 yards in total offense going into the game and left with 207 yards against the Ducks. Oregon's defense held them to 77 yards rushing and 130 yards passing.

Cal never reached Oregon's 20-yard line.

But perhaps the best evidence of how well Oregon's defense fared was its effectiveness against Best, who went into the game as the nation's third-best rusher, averaging just more than 137 yards per game.

Best ran for just 55 yards on 16 carries.

"Our goal was 'We're not going to let Jahvid Best run to the best of our ability,' " Aliotti said. "We felt like if we could control that, that would give us our best chance to win.''

After brief celebration, the Ducks

(3-1) moved on to the Cougars (1-3).

"Cal is last week,'' linebacker Spencer Paysinger said. "We're done patting ourselves on the back about that one. It was a good win for us but now we've got Washington State.''

The Cougars will start freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel, who was expected to redshirt this season but spelled Marshall Lobbestael last weekend at Southern California.

Tuel came in during the second quarter and completed 14 of 22 passes for 130 yards and one interception. He also ran nine times for 34 yards in the 27-6 loss to the Trojans.

Lobbestael, who is hampered by a sore knee, completed 2 of 9 passes for 14 yards, and coach Paul Wulff felt it was unfair to leave him in against USC in a "vulnerable position.''

Tuel, meanwhile, led the Cougars on some effective drives while displaying versatility with both passing and scrambling.

"He's got a lot to learn, but that's where the program is now, bringing in a lot of young kids,'' Wulff said.

The Cougars will also have to deal with Oregon's offense, which finally emerged against Cal. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns - his first TD passes of the season.

Tight end Ed Dickson caught all three of those scores, earning Pac-10 offensive player of the week honors. And redshirt freshman LaMichael James, who is taking over for suspended running back LeGarrette Blount, ran for 118 yards and a score.

As a result of the victory, the Ducks returned to the rankings at No. 16 - the same spot they were at in the preseason before an embarrassing 19-8 loss to Boise State in the opener.

"We've been out of the spotlight and it seems that people just forgot about us. Now finally they're remembering who we are because of our game last weekend,'' Masoli said.

But the victory over Cal was costly for Oregon. Thurmond, a team co-captain, will need surgery on his knee, ending his college career.

Thurmond had returned both an interception and a punt for a touchdown this season. He had 17 tackles. For his career, Thurmond scored five touchdowns, more than any other non-offensive player in school history.

He spoke briefly before he got the results of the MRI on his knee Monday, and said he planned to continue as a team leader.

"I'm just trying to stay focused and help the team out ... especially in my role as a leader of this team. I really need to stay as positive as possible and get the guys on the right path,'' Thurmond said.