(16) Oregon State (5-3) at (21) California (6-2)

Cloudy Currently: Berkeley, CA
Temp: 52° F
  • Game info: 7:00 pm EST Sat Nov 7, 2009

By JEFF MEZYDLO, STATS Senior Writer Nov 3, 9:30 pm EST

Preview | Box Score | Recap
  • Print

California is back in the Top 25. Staying there for more than a week, however, could be a challenge.

The 23rd-ranked Golden Bears look for a fourth straight victory overall while trying to avoid a fifth consecutive home loss to the Beavers in a Pac-10 matchup Saturday night.

After spending a month unranked, California (6-2, 3-2) is back in the poll after a 23-21 victory over Arizona State last Saturday. Though it wasn’t pretty, it was the Bears’ third straight victory since being outscored 72-6 in consecutive losses to Oregon and Southern California.

“I think a lot of people keep on stepping up and making plays,” junior quarterback Kevin Riley said of the team’s resurgence. “We’ve just got to continue to get better and win.”

While Cal is bowl eligible for an eighth straight season, extending its winning streak could be tough with Oregon State (5-3, 3-2) in town. The Beavers, tied with the Bears and 12th-ranked USC for fourth in the Pac-10, have won two straight and eight of 10 against Cal, including four in a row at Berkeley.

“It’s good to get the opportunity to compete with (Cal),” Beavers coach Mike Riley said. “It is a good team. It’s a great game for this time of year.”

Though the Bears’ last home win in the series was 33-14 on Nov. 1, 1997, Beaver players aren’t living too much in the past.

“Every year comes a different team,” Oregon State cornerback Tim Clark said. “With a different team you have different strategies and different ways to approach the game but at the same time it’s always nice knowing that you have had success in that environment before.”

In the teams’ last meeting at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 13, 2007, Riley - then a freshman - threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns, but the then-No. 2 Bears fell short when he was tackled at the Beavers’ 10-yard line as time ran out before the field-goal unit could line up in the 31-28 defeat.

“I’d like to beat them, that’s for sure,” Riley said.

Riley’s completed 52.5 percent of his passes for 411 yards with three TDs, two interceptions and been sacked eight times the last two seasons against Oregon State. He’s a big reason, however, for Cal’s recent surge, throwing for 785 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception in the last three games.

“Kevin’s always been a great competitor, no question about that,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “Has a lot of confidence in his abilities.”

While Riley set season highs by going 27 of 44 for 351 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona State, Cal overcame a season-high 12 penalties for 115 yards to pull out the win after Giorgio Tavecchio kicked a 24-yard field goal with 21 seconds left.

Though Cal is second in the conference averaging 33.6 points per game, its defense ranks eighth in the league against the pass (268.0 ypg) and will likely need to play better Saturday.

Behind senior quarterback Sean Canfield and brothers Jacquizz and James Rodgers, the Beavers average a conference-best 272.1 yards through the air.

Canfield has thrown for a league-leading 2,039 yards with 11 TDs this season. The Rodgers brothers, meanwhile, are the top two all-purpose performers in the Pac-10.

After rushing for 1,253 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman last season, Jacquizz Rodgers has gained 922 and scored 14 times on the ground this year. He’s also caught 49 passes for 371 yards.

James Rodgers has caught a team-leading 60 passes for 706 yards and five TDs.

Jacquizz rushed for 144 yards and a TD on 27 carries, while James made six catches for 50, rushed for a score and a returned a kick 86 yards for a TD in Oregon State’s 34-21 win over Cal last season.

“They do such a great job by utilizing those guys’ talents,” Tedford said. “They’re so versatile in what they do.”

Jacquizz had 112 yards rushing, 96 receiving and threw a touchdown in the Beavers’ 26-19 win over UCLA last Saturday. His older brother caught 10 passes for 106 yards and ran for a score as Oregon State won for the third time in four games.

Though Oregon State is 2-1 on the road, it’s 0-2 versus ranked opponents overall this season after losing 28-18 to then-No. 17 Cincinnati (Sept.19) and 42-36 to then-No. 4 USC (Oct. 24).

Updated Nov 3, 9:30 pm EST
digg del.icio.us
more
NCAAF

28 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. Dawgmeat
    28. Posted by Dawgmeat Mon Nov 9 12:32pm EST

    Report Abuse

    and as far as Cal has not beaten a ranked team all year long ..... so what ???? Florida has beaten 1 ranked team all season long and they are #1 in the country. on top of that .... the 1 ranked team they beat ... it wasnt an impressive win by any stretch of the imagination. hell, Washington's offense looked 5 times better against LSU than Florida's offense did .... and Washington is sitting on 3 victories. Texas has only beaten 1 ranked team all year long as well.
  2. Dawgmeat
    27. Posted by Dawgmeat Mon Nov 9 12:26pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Vince ..... i do agree there ....... this season is nothing but a bunch of average teams. even Florida, Texas and Alabama ...... they dont impress me one bit. in past seasons there have typically been a few teams that stand out above the rest of them .... not this year. ill bet anything an average team like Oregon St or Stanford could beat any team in the country. im not saying they are better than any team in the country because they clearly arent .... im just referring to the parity across the board in college football this year. if Florida was playing Oregon St and the line was a pick em ....... i would not bet a damned dime on the game. now ..... if the 95 Cornhuskers, the 01 Hurricanes or the 04 Trojans were playing Oregon St and the line was a pick em ..... id empty my savings account and bet against Oregon St. there is not a great team in college football this year.
  3. Dawgmeat
    26. Posted by Dawgmeat Mon Nov 9 12:20pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Vince ....... my question is legitimate as well ..... if not Cal, then who ?????? this is of course referring to last weeks poll. i post #3 i outlined the teams and their record that were #26-#30 in the AP Poll ..... or common referred to as .... others receiving votes. im not saying Cal is some kind of world beaters ..... but every single team that was ranked behind them in last weeks poll had something just as bad as Cal getting smoked by Oregon and USC. Auburn losing 3 in a row, TTU with 3 losses and got HAMMERED by an unranked team at home, Clemson with 3 losses, one of them unranked ..... West Virginia lost to two unranked teams ..... BYU got humiliated at home twice, once by an unranked team. sure ..... a case can be made that Cal shouldnt have been ranked ..... but i can make a better case that whichever team you say should be ranked instead of Cal shouldnt be ranked.

    you cant just take Cal out of the rankings and leave the spot blank .... you have to replace them with somebody ...... so the question i ask is legitimate as well ..... if not Cal ...... then who ????
  4. Vince
    25. Posted by Vince Mon Nov 9 3:15am EST

    Report Abuse

    Dawgmeat--

    Common, I think it's a legitimate question. Now maybe Cal is a very talented team and are not playing to their potential, but they've shown nothing to indicate they were deserving of the ranking they had. Seriously, they don't have 1 single win against a team with a winning record and the three they've faced with winning records they've lost badly. So please tell me where I'm wrong here. Are there other teams in the polls with suspect records? Of course. Personally, I think every team from the Big 10 conference is a joke. And Penn State getting pounded by a weak (barely beat Navy, lost to Purdue) Ohio State team is testament to that. But in spite of the fact that I think Ohio State is overrated, they only have 2 losses and have beat a couple of ranked teams. Overall, I think there are a lot of teams that look pretty average this year. It would be great if the PAC 10 and Big 10 commissioners would get on board a playoff system instead of fighting it and holding up progress.
  5. Todd
    24. Posted by Todd Sun Nov 8 10:54pm EST

    Report Abuse

    I'm a BEAVER fan,but I feel bad for Best.


    GO BEAVS
  6. racepug
    23. Posted by racepug Sun Nov 8 6:49pm EST

    Report Abuse

    I think California lacks character or heart, or something. Seems that they can beat up on weaklings like Maryland (although they didn't do so great AT Maryland in 2008, did they?) but when a team comes out and "punches them in the mouth" they don't respond as much as they lie down. Good players and a coach who is MUCH better than the zombie Tom Holmoe EVER was, but as far as "taking it to the next level," I'm not sure how much more can be expected of the G.B.s as long as Coach Tedford is in Berkeley.
  7. Q
    22. Posted by Q Sun Nov 8 2:48pm EST

    Report Abuse

    No invite to the AMC Car Care Bowl.. for Cal this year...

    There's an issue w Tedford here, which I can't quite put a finger on yet. He had the most returning Seniors in the conference, it falls on him for not making a better showing. It's said that he doesn't show the same carisma or fire as say a Carroll or a Harbaugh..

    But lets face it, the Pac-10 is Stacked one through six..(easily the best conference in the Nation).!

    Bear Fan..
  8. Dawgmeat
    21. Posted by Dawgmeat Sun Nov 8 1:10pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Vince ..... and id love to hear you respond to my post #3.


    if not Cal ....... then WHO ??????
  9. RU4EAL
    20. Posted by RU4EAL Sun Nov 8 11:29am EST

    Report Abuse

    Bob

    Good point about the "hurdle" move. You can watch the play on youtube. I wonder what others think about that play.
  10. Bob
    19. Posted by Bob Sun Nov 8 10:44am EST

    Report Abuse

    I heard one of the annoucers mention when Best was still laying on the ground that the "rule book"
    says the runner cannot "hurdle" over a tackle. If in fact that is true...........why did the TD count. Anyone know of this rule?
  11. OSUBuxSux
    18. Posted by OSUBuxSux Sun Nov 8 8:03am EST

    Report Abuse

    UC fan here hope you guys win the PAC 10 go to the Rose Bowl and beat Ohio State. Then you guys can refer to yourselves as The OSU.
  12. Vince
    17. Posted by Vince Sun Nov 8 2:09am EST

    Report Abuse

    Can we finally remove Cal from the Top 25? I'd love to hear an explanation of why they were ever in the Top 25 in the first place. They've gotten killed (not close games mind you, but destroyed) by the 3 teams they've faced with winning records.
  13. David P
    16. Posted by David P Sun Nov 8 1:10am EST

    Report Abuse

    Its a great day to be a Beaver! Of course, its always a good day to be a beaver.
  14. Lind
    15. Posted by Lind Sun Nov 8 1:10am EST

    Report Abuse

    Beavers rule!!!!!! Way to take down Cal. Beaver Nation!!!!!!!!!
  15. Beaver Fever
    14. Posted by Beaver Fever Sun Nov 8 1:01am EST

    Report Abuse

    Thank you, Kevin Riley, for leaving Oregon to play at Cal.
    Thank you Sean Canfield, for leaving California to play at OSU.
  16. RU4EAL
    13. Posted by RU4EAL Sun Nov 8 12:16am EST

    Report Abuse

    Final Pac10 Standings will be:

    Oregon State 7-2
    Oregon 6-3
    AZ 6-3
    Stanford 6-3
    USC 6-3
  17. RU4EAL
    12. Posted by RU4EAL Sat Nov 7 11:55pm EST

    Report Abuse

    The Beavers will win out and sit alone at the top of the Pac10.
  18. aks77
    11. Posted by aks77 Sat Nov 7 11:48pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Ryan S, thanks for the good words and class from OSU and Beaver Nation. Hopefully, Best will be okay very soon. Congrats to OSU for a well-played game and solid victory. The Bears just didn't have it, especially after losing Best.
  19. Ryan S
    10. Posted by Ryan S Sat Nov 7 11:34pm EST

    Report Abuse

    From an OSU alumnus and Beaver Nation: Speedy recovery for Jahvid Best.
  20. KevinK
    9. Posted by KevinK Sat Nov 7 10:51pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Oregon State -- (6-3, 3-3) is incorrect, it should be (6-3, 4-2)
  21. Beaver Fever
    8. Posted by Beaver Fever Sat Nov 7 10:47pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Sincere 'best' wishes for Jahvid Best recovery. I think this is second week in a row with a concussion for him.
  22. Rex B
    7. Posted by Rex B Sat Nov 7 3:26pm EST

    Report Abuse

    This should be an entertaining game, here's hoping the Beavers can pull it out in Berkeley once again.
  23. Beaver Fever
    6. Posted by Beaver Fever Sat Nov 7 1:50am EST

    Report Abuse

    This looks to be a cakewalk for the Beavers. The only easier win will be up in Seattle. It must really bite to be a Huskies fan.
  24. <i>underthefloor</i>
    5. Posted by underthefloor Thu Nov 5 10:17pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Cal has only played two decent teams so far this year and they got crushed both times. The only remaining game Cal will win is against Washington.
  25. D Heavy
    4. Posted by D Heavy Thu Nov 5 2:22pm EST

    Report Abuse

    Perhaps they should be ranked, but this game will be a severe test. 2 of Oregon State's 3 losses have been to very good teams, and all have been by 10 points or less. Cal has gotten annihilated twice (including at home to USC, who Oregon State lost to by less than a TD on the road) and been inconsistent since. I anticipate a fairly high-scoring, tight game. If Riley can get anything close to a two-dimensional attack going, things look good for Cal. Go Bears!
Sign in to post a comment, or sign up for a free account

Who will win?

86%
of College Pick’em users predict California will win the game

See this week’s Yahoo! Sports Experts football picks.

Conference Scoreboard

NCAAF - Week 10

YAHOO! SPORTS

ALSO ON YAHOO!

THINGS YOU CAN DO

- Site Map - Additional Terms

Copyright © 2009 2009 STATS LLC and The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the STATS/AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of STATS LLC and The Associated Press.