Scores & Statistics

The Sports Network

By Frank Haynes, Senior College Football Editor

GAME NOTES: The top-ranked Oregon Ducks continue their quest for the Pac-10 Conference crown, and possible date in the BCS National Championship Game, when they visit the California Golden Bears this Saturday.

Oregon, which owns the nation's most productive offense and a pretty strong defense as well, is a perfect 9-0 on the season -- the first time that has happened in the 115 seasons the school has been competing in football. The Ducks have soared past the opposition with relative ease this year, with an 11-point win at Arizona State back in September being their smallest margin of victory.

Despite failing to score in the first quarter for the first time this season, Oregon blasted visiting Washington last weekend, 53-16. It was the seventh straight win for the Ducks over the Huskies, and no game during that stretch was closer than 20 points.

Oregon has been one of the more successful teams in the country the last few years, and the Ducks have been notoriously fast starters, going 14-0 when leading at the half and 18-0 when leading after three quarters under current coach Chip Kelly.

As for California, it opened the season at 2-2, but has won three of its last five to climb a game above .500 (5-4), and even its Pac-10 mark (3-3) in the process. The most recent outing took place last weekend at Washington State, and the Golden Bears claimed a 20-13 win.

Cal is a perfect 4-0 at home this season, beating up on the likes of UC Davis, Colorado, UCLA and Arizona State by a combined score of 189-34. Going back a bit further, the Golden Bears have won 37 of their last 43 home games.

California is taking on the No. 1 team in the land for the 11th time in its history, going 0-10 previously.

Jeff Tedford is just three wins away from becoming Cal's all-time winningest coach, and the Bears are hoping to secure their ninth straight winning season to set a new school record.

California owns a 39-31-2 advantage in the all-time series with Oregon, but the Ducks snapped a three-game losing streak to the Golden Bears with last year's impressive 42-3 win in Eugene. Oregon has lost the last three times it has visited Berkeley, last winning there in 2001.

Oregon's high-powered offense, which averages a national-best 54.7 points and 567.2 total yards per game, utilizes a punishing rushing attack (305.4 ypg) to do the bulk of its damage. Sophomore RB LaMichael James is one of a handful of players still in the Heisman hunt, as he has rushed for 1,331 yards and 17 TDs. His 6.8 ypc average leads the team, but he isn't alone in terms of that kind of production as a total of eight different players average in excess of five yards per carry.

When the Ducks decide to put the ball in the air, it is the job of QB Darron Thomas to find the open man, and he has done so roughly 62 percent of the time this year for an average of 230 ypg. He has thrown 22 TD passes against only six INTs, and Jeff Maehl is the team's leading receiver with 54 grabs for 746 yards and 10 scores. The Ducks currently rank second in the Pac-10 and 13th nationally in passing efficiency (158.41).

In last week's rout of Washington, James ran for 121 yards and three TDs, and Thomas threw for a score and ran for two more for the Ducks, who finished with 522 yards of total offense and came away with points on 6-of-7 trips to the red zone.

The Oregon defense, while clearly a notch below the offense in terms of notoriety, has been solid for much of the season, yielding just 17.7 points and 329.0 total yards per contest. The effort against the run has been good, with foes turning in just 126.6 ypg, and pressure on the quarterback has come in waves as the Ducks have logged 26 sacks. Kenny Rowe has six himself.

Oregon has logged 28 takeaways this season, and Cliff Harris has five INTs and Casey Matthews and John Boyett have three apiece.

Washington managed just 263 total yards last week, finding it particularly difficult to navigate the airways above Autzen Stadium by generating a mere 127 passing yards on 14 completions. Both teams were guilty of numerous infractions -- the Huskies being flagged 12 times and the Ducks 10. UW was just 2-of-16 on third-down conversion attempts, and the Ducks were credited with five sacks in the game.

Coach Kelly praised both teams after the game, "We pulled it together and came out with a win. Hats off to UW. They came to play today", He went on to talk about the fact that his club was slow out of the gate but eventually wore the Huskies down, "We kept chopping away. The tree eventually came down, it just took a little longer than usual."

Cal junior RB Shane Vereen has been an offensive force this season, rushing for 886 yards and scoring 15 total touchdowns (12 rushing, three receiving). Vereen's 90 points have him tied for 10th on the school's single-season scoring list at the moment, and he is third in the Pac-10 and tied for seventh nationally with 10.0 ppg.

In last week's seven-point win at Washington State, junior QB Brock Mansion started in place of the injured Kevin Riley and completed 12-of-24 passes for 174 yards. He did not throw a TD pass and was picked off twice. Fortunately for the Bears, Vereen was able to find some running room, toting the ball 25 times for 112 yards and two TDs. WR Marvin Jones had just four catches in the game, but turned them into 101 yards to raise his team-leading totals in each category to 42 receptions and 675 receiving yards for the year. He needs just two more grabs to establish his new single-season career high.

Mansion appears unfazed by the next opponent on the schedule, even if it is the top team in the land, "I'm going to prepare the same way. I have to keep that even mind, it doesn't matter who it is you have to come out and prepare as hard as you can to be ready for anything they might do."

The California defense leads the Pac-10 and is among the national leaders in total defense (299.6 ypg), pass defense (179.7 ypg) and sacks (3.11 spg). The Golden Bears are also second in the conference in pass efficiency defense (109.2), third in run defense (119.9 ypg) and fourth in scoring defense (21.3 ppg). Those figures will surely be put to the test this week as Oregon's offense is as explosive as any in recent memory.

Washington State managed just 92 yards passing last week, finishing with a mere 194 total yards in the game. The Cougars converted a paltry 5-of-17 third-down chances, and the Bears logged six sacks but did not force a turnover. Jordan Cameron led Cal with a dozen tackles, three of which were behind the line of scrimmage.

Cal will surely put up a fight in front of the hometown faithful, but Oregon is clearly the better team. Expect a physical game from both sides, but for the Ducks to win comfortably, likely scoring more points than Cal's previous four home foes combined.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Oregon 41, California 17