If then-Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan knew how little preparation Jeremiah Masoli needs, he might have seen the field more often.

The 2006 Saint Louis graduate could count on one hand the number of full college practices he participated in before finding himself quarterbacking the Oregon Ducks.

Fifth on the depth chart when fall camp opened in August, myriad injuries to the guys in front of him has turned Masoli into Oregon's savior at quarterback as he prepares for tomorrow's Civil War showdown with Oregon State.

“;It's been crazy,”; Masoli said. “;I do think about (the journey) now and then. People point it out to me all the time. Even my cousins tell me it's crazy.”;

Hawaii was only a short stop on Masoli's path to stardom in the Pac-10. He transferred to Saint Louis early in his senior year and barely played on the football team.

He backed up current Weber State starter Cameron Higgins at quarterback, and only entered the game in mop-up time and in the ILH championship game against Punahou after Higgins went down with an injury.

“;I came in halfway through the season, so other than the playoff game I came in, I didn't do much playing football,”; Masoli said.

Masoli was best known in Hawaii for his stellar play on the basketball court, but citing football as his “;first sport,”; he returned to his hometown to play junior-college football at City College of San Francisco after high school.

After grayshirting in 2006, he was named MVP of his conference and a first-team All-American after leading the Rams to the national championship in 2007. He threw for 3,065 yards with 26 touchdowns and three interceptions, and his play garnered him scholarship offers from Auburn, Arkansas, Oregon and Arizona among others.

Despite a logjam at quarterback, Masoli stayed west.

“;Some people looked at me like I was crazy to sign with Oregon,”; Masoli said. “;They didn't think I would have an immediate impact on the season, but I wasn't too worried about it.”;

Masoli entered fall camp expecting to take a year just to learn Oregon's complicated, yet successful, spread offense. Returning quarterbacks Nate Costa and Justin Roper were at the top of the QB chart and freshmen Chris Harper and Darron Thomas at least had a spring session to get comfortable at the D-1 level.

Masoli was also struggling with a prior wrist injury that doctors didn't want him to test for the entire month of August.

But by the time the season opener against Washington rolled around Aug. 30, Costa was out for the season and Roper suffered a concussion in the first half. Masoli had shown enough in practice to put him on par with the freshmen. With barely any practice time behind him, he found himself in the middle of a 14-10 game to start the second half.

“;It was kind of surreal in a way,”; Masoli said. “;I try not to look at it that way and take things game by game, but it was hard not to be wowed by the whole thing.”;

Roper started the first three games, but another injury in the third game of the season paved the way for Masoli to take over.

After going 1-2 in his first three starts, Masoli has led the Ducks to four wins in their last five games and has been named Pac-10 player of the week twice.

He was 3 yards short of the Oregon rushing record for a quarterback after running for 170 yards in a win over UCLA. He led the team on a game-winning, fourth-quarter drive to come from behind to beat Stanford and had his best passing game of the season two weeks ago in a 55-45 victory over Arizona, throwing for 298 yards and accounting for five touchdowns.

“;Definitely, this last month or so things are getting a little easier for me,”; Masoli said. “;I definitely feel more comfortable, but a lot of it is the guys around me make it so easy.”;

Our offensive line is such a veteran group that they kind of make up for it and allow me room to make an error or two, but keep us in the game.”;

Masoli will get his first taste of the Civil War rivalry tomorrow when the Ducks play the Beavers with a lot on the line. Oregon still has an outside shot at sharing the Pac-10 title, and can spoil Oregon State's dreams of a trip to the Rose Bowl.

It won't be Masoli's first visit to Corvallis, however. Earlier this season, when Oregon State hosted Southern California on a Thursday night, Masoli made the short trip across the state to see the game first hand.

“;Beaver fans are intense,”; Masoli said.

So who does an Oregon player root for in a game like that?

“;As a Duck, I was just watching the defenses as a quarterback,”; Masoli laughed. “;You know it's good to see an Oregon team beat USC, but yeah, that's a tough question.”;