Costa throws. Masoli heals.

[Was it Sherlock Holmes who cautioned us to not look past the most obvious conclusion when we're summing up the clues? Here are the clues: Jeremiah Masoli's knee is hurt. The Rose Bowl is a rutty, tufty grass field. UCLA is not USC. Nate Costa is a good QB and can move the offense.

Add all these up and it makes perfect sense for Costa to begin working with the starting offense immediately. He was throwing to the first team Monday morning.

Using 20/20 hindsight, this would have made sense two years ago when Dixon was hurt. Instead, everyone chose to just hope for the best and prepare like Dixon was healthy. The backup QB's lacked quality preparation. And when disaster struck, Oregon was sunk.

Letting Costa practice while Masoli sits is cautionary and prudent. Whether or not Masoli will be able to play this Saturday is out of anyone's control. What they can control is getting Costa ready.]

Costa takes command of the offense
Rob Mosley -- Register Guard, Oct. 6th, 2009

The Ducks were inside the Moshofsky Center this morning for a practice in full pads.
Jeremiah Masoli sat out again today with his knee injury, and at this point it seems likely that Nate Costa will be the starting quarterback at UCLA on Saturday.
“Nate’s our guy this week,” tight end Ed Dickson said. “It’s unfortunate what happened to Masoli.
“Nate was competing for the starting job during the summer, and I trust Nate to the fullest.”
Costa has been the primary backup to this point. He said the last two days have been about improving his timing with the No. 1 offense.
“I’m getting out there and getting used to those guys,” Costa said. “As of now I feel great. ... The timing’s off a little bit. But I feel like yesterday we kind of worked on it, and today I felt really good.”
Indeed, Costa seemed very sharp today in pretty much every drill. The receiving corps, though banged up, made a number of nice plays, including a couple by Rory Cavaille (shoulder), who was in full pads for the first time since preseason camp as far as I can remember, and Tyrece Gaines, who was back today after what Chip Kelly said was an excused absence Monday.
Still sidelined were Kenjon Barner (shoulder) and C.E. Kaiser (shin/knee), as well as T.J. Ward (ankle).
Oregon’s defense has played remarkably well since Ward was injured in the opener, and despite Walter Thurmond’s season-ending knee injury against Cal. But depth in the secondary is a big concern, coordinator Nick Aliotti said, noting that Talmadge Jackson III has been battling an undisclosed injury, Willie Glasper limped off today and Javes Lewis was out sick.
“We have guys that are learning the system and playing hard,” Aliotti said. “I don’t believe we’re as deep as one might want to think we are, to be quite honest with you. We just need to keep everybody healthy.”
Bumps and bruises are typical this time of year, though this is extreme given the loss of Ward and Thurmond. There’s no doubt the Ducks will welcome their bye week next week.
Morgan Flint, Titus Jackson and Malachi Lewis were also out sick today. Among the good news this week has been LaMichael James showing no ill effects from the ankle injury he suffered last week, and that the defensive front seven just keeps chugging right along.