The Oregon State Beavers and the California
Golden Bears will clash this weekend in what figures to be a competitive
Pac-10 contest.
Oregon State has won three of its last four outings to move to 5-3 overall and
3-2 in league play. The most recent triumph occurred over UCLA on Saturday by
a 26-19 final in thrilling fashion. All three losses this season have come by
10 or fewer points, and OSU can become eligible for the postseason with a win
over California.
Speaking of the Golden Bears, they have won their last three outings to move
to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The win streak put the Bears back
in the top-25 this week, coming in at 23rd in the nation. Prior to Saturday's
tilt against Arizona State, all seven of their contests had been decided by
double figures. The game against the Sun Devils was extremely close, however,
and Jeff Tedford has to be proud of the fact that his team escaped the road
affair with a 23-21 triumph.
California owns a 33-28 series edge over Oregon State, but the Beavers have
won the last two meetings.
Oregon State is scoring 29.4 ppg this season to go along with 408.6 total ypg.
The Beavers have some talented offensive performers, but none more exciting
than tailback Jacquizz Rodgers. Through eight games, he has rushed for 922
yards and 14 touchdowns while also hauling in 49 receptions for 371 yards and
a score. Clearly, Rodgers is a frontrunner for Pac-10 Player of the Year
honors. His brother, James Rodgers, is second on the team in rushing and first
in receiving with 60 grabs for 706 yards and five scores. Sean Canfield has
started all eight games at quarterback for the Beavers and has connected on
68.9 percent of his throws for 2,039 yards and 11 touchdowns with four
interceptions. James Rodgers played hero for Oregon State last weekend, as he
scored on a 17-yard run with 44 seconds remaining to break a 19-19 tie and
lead his team to victory. Jacquizz threw a touchdown pass in the tilt, and the
versatile talent posted 112 rushing yards and 92 receiving yards.
Stopping the OSU attack is something Tedford knows is difficult to do.
"They're an excellent football team. It never seems to change with them.
Offensively, they're as explosive as anyone. With the Rodgers brothers [RB
Jacquizz and WR James], they do such a great job. Their offensive line is
always so well coached and so physical and create gaps for Jacquizz to run in,
and then James, they do so many good things with him with screens and flys,
and now he's at receiver. And [QB Sean] Canfield's playing very well, very
accurate throwing the ball. So, tough group to stop. I don't know that you're
ever going to stop them completely. You just hope to limit them because they
are very explosive."
Opponents are scoring 24.9 ppg against Oregon State, which is yielding 380.1
total ypg. The Beavers have allowed 26 touchdowns to opposing offenses,
including 15 through the air. They have been tough against the run, permitting
just 108.0 ypg at a clip of 3.8 yards per attempt. Unfortunately, opposing
quarterbacks are throwing for 272.1 ypg against the Beavers, who has recorded
a mere five interceptions. In the victory over UCLA last weekend, the Beavers
limited the Bruins to 51 rushing yards on 29 attempts, an impressive showing
to say the least. Anytime a defense can limit the opposition to fewer than 20
points in a conference game, the coaching staff has to be happy. So while
Oregon State didn't play well against the pass once again, the overall effort
against UCLA was strong.
California is a solid offensive football team that is averaging 33.6 ppg and
427.4 total ypg. The Golden Bears have achieved strong balance offensively, as
they are rushing for 196.1 ypg while passing for 231.2 total ypg. Of the 33
touchdowns the offense has managed this season, 20 have come on the ground.
Tailback Jahvid Best is the best player on the team, and he has rushed for 838
yards and 11 touchdowns while gaining 6.3 yards per carry. Marvin Jones paces
the receivers with 366 yards and five touchdowns, while Best has scored four
times as a pass catcher. Quarterback Kevin Riley has connected on 55.5 percent
of his passes for 1,805 yards with 13 touchdowns against only two
interceptions. Against Arizona State last week, Riley threw first-quarter
touchdown passes to both Jones and Best, and while the offense failed to score
a touchdown the rest of the way, it is hard to complain too much about 408
total yards. The Golden Bears were hurt by a pair of lost fumbles, but Riley
managed to avoid interceptions as usual. It should be noted that Best injured
his ankle against Arizona State, and his status for this weekend is uncertain.
The Golden Bears can best be described as an average defensive team, as they
are permitting 22.1 ppg and 377.2 total ypg to opponents. They are giving up
268.0 ypg though the air with just seven interceptions in eight outings, so
that aspect of the game needs to be improved. On a positive note, they are
holding foes to 109.2 rushing ypg and 3.3 rushing yards per carry. Mike
Mohamed leads Cal in tackles by a wide margin with 74, as his closet teammate
has just 49 stops. Mohamed has recorded five TFLs, including a pair of sacks,
and two interceptions. Tyson Alualu has five sacks to his credit, but he has
been a bit inconsistent. Cal held ASU to 329 total yards last weekend,
including 82 rushing yards on 26 attempts. With three total takeaways,
including a pair of interceptions, the Golden Bears weren't short on impact
plays.
After some tough losses early on in league play, Cal is playing its best
football of late, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by OSU coach Mike
Riley.
"This team has, as everybody knows, a lot of weapons, a lot of speed; they've
been very explosive, one of the top scoring offenses in our conference. They
are one of the top offensive leaders in our conference, one of the top rushing
defenses in our conference. So this is a very solid football team that has
played well lately. After a couple of losses against two very fine teams
they've rebounded into a little string here so we're expecting a very tough
game."
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