You can't question Jack Plummer's toughness. The "X" that showed through his uniform from his pads underneath his jersey must have looked like a target to Oregon defenders on Saturday.

The Cal quarterback took shot after shot from the eighth-ranked Ducks. The final blow came in the fourth quarter when Plummer was shaken up after taking a hard hit from an oncoming defender. He remained on the field and continued for a time before Kai Millner stepped in to close out the game.

More often than not, during the times when the Cal offensive line gave Plummer opportunities to throw, he made the right play. The problem was that he was under duress for a big portion of his time on the field in the 42-24 loss.

On more than a few occasions, Plummer was slow to get up and looked physically spent.

Still, he pushed forward and did what he could to try and move the offense before exiting.

Millner had more success when he entered the game against an Oregon defense that had substituted most of its starters out of the game by that point. He tossed a couple touchdown passes to help the Bears finish in a more respectable fashion.

The more mobile Millner was able to keep plays alive and generate more explosive plays, including a 55-yard touchdown connection with Justin Richard Baker. Head coach Justin Wilcox said after the game that Plummer will remain the starter.

Going to a more mobile quarterback doesn't mean Cal's offensive line issues will be completely fixed, however. The Bears have allowed 25 sacks this season. Only 17 teams, nationally, have allowed more. Washington State (30) is the only Pac-12 team to have allowed more sacks this season