They earned a berth in the BCS National Championship Game, which they narrowly lost to Auburn on a field goal as time expired.

Running back LaMichael James, who finished third in balloting in for the Heisman Trophy, received the Doak Walker Award.

[1] On March 12, 2010, Coach Chip Kelly suspended starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for the 2010 season for his role in an Oregon fraternity house theft that resulted in a guilty plea to misdemeanor second-degree burglary, and left the option for Masoli to redshirt in 2010 and return to the Ducks in 2011.

[2] On the same day Kelly also suspended LaMichael James and Rob Beard for the season opener after pleading guilty to harassment.

On March 19, 2010, athletic director Mike Bellotti left Oregon to join the cable sports network, ESPN, as a football analyst.

Sources: [18][19][20][21] On March 12, 2010, it was announced that 2008–09 starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli would be suspended for the entire season following his guilty plea for burglary.

With first-string tailback LaMichael James serving a one-game suspension by Chip Kelly, Kenjon Barner received the majority of carries offensively for the Ducks.

Stanford surged to an early 21–3 lead after the Cardinal recovered a fumbled kickoff return by Cliff Harris.

Shortly thereafter, the Ducks would respond with a touchdown and recover a surprise on-side kickoff by specialist Rob Beard.

Turnovers were critical in the game as Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck was intercepted twice by defensive back Cliff Harris—opportunities upon which LaMichael James would then translate into touchdowns.

The win was the 13th straight victory for Oregon in Autzen Stadium and helped move the Ducks into third place in the AP Poll.

Backup running back Kenjon Barner suffered a big hit during a kickoff return and had to be carted off.

The Bears began their first possession with good field position at the Oregon 48-yard line and behind Shane Vereen, were able to put together a drive that he finished off with a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Oregon offense was held scoreless for the second week in a row, and the Ducks did not score until more than halfway through the second quarter on a 64-yard punt return for a touchdown by Cliff Harris, with a successful 2-point conversion.

[29] After the game, Tevecchio suggested that the noise caused by visiting Oregon fans contributed to the disruption of the kicking team's rhythm.

[32] On November 27, defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi was suspended for Cal's final season game for instructing a player to fake an injury during the matchup against Oregon.

The second half's opening Duck drive began with an option pitch to Josh Huff that went for the longest single play of all year.

LaMichael James rushed for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns, surpassing LeGarrette Blount's single-season scoring record.

[35] The game proved to be intense from the very first play when Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews hit the Beavers' quarterback Ryan Katz hard, causing him to sit out for the drive.

In the third quarter, a touchdown pass from Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas to wide receiver DJ Davis was set up by a fake punt where upback Michael Clay took the snap and ran up the center for a 64-yard gain.

Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to former quarterback Kodi Burns and a successful PAT kick by Wes Byrum with 12:00 remaining in the first half.

The Tigers cut the deficit to two points when Mike Blanc tackled James in the end zone for a safety with 3:26 remaining in the half, making the score 11–9.

However, none of the referees blew their whistle, ruling that since Dyer had rolled over the top of Pleasant and his knee never touched the ground, he was not down.