California’s magic number is 31.
In the Golden Bears’ five wins this season, they have scored 31 points or more.
Twenty-eight didn’t cut it against Kansas State, and 17 eventually didn’t hold as the Ducks took Saturday’s game, 21-17, at Autzen Stadium.
The lowest point total that California has scored this season held until the final two minutes of the game.
“It was tough watching them drive to the other end of the field and get two good gains on the same play and finally just put it in,” tight end Garrett Cross said. “The penalties hurt us, but that’s just the way the game goes I guess.”
After a 10-7 halftime lead for California that held into the fourth quarter, the game that could have been a high-point shootout looked dull and lifeless.
With 10:07 left in the fourth quarter, Cross grabbed an 18-yard pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a touchdown, increasing the Golden Bears’ lead to 17-7.
“I thought, ‘Wow, we have this,’” Cross said. “All we have to do is play solid defense like we’ve been playing and just run the clock out.”
And just like that, a season that opened 1-3 — then caught up with a .500 record — started to close its doors.
On the final play against Oregon, Adimchinobe Echemandu — who came into the game as the Pacific-10 Conference’s second-leading rusher — was injured.
“He got a bad ankle sprain (on the play),” Golden Bears head coach Jeff Tedford said. “It could be more serious than that but it’s too early to tell.”
Cornerback Mike McGrath was also injured during Saturday’s game. Tedford said McGrath’s injury looked like a broken leg after a first evaluation.
During the first quarter, the game moved at a snail’s pace with California controlling the clock for 12 minutes and 50 seconds of the 15-minute time frame.
The Golden Bears put the first points on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run by Echemandu four seconds into the second quarter.
Oregon tied the game eight minutes later when Jason Fife threw a 13-yard pass to Samie Parker in the far corner of the end zone.
California regained the lead with less than three minutes remaining in the half on a 53-yard field goal by Tyler Fredrickson, giving the halftime score of 10-7 that held until the fourth quarter.
Rodgers, coming off a 307-yard passing game a week before, was held to 188 yards in the air by the worst passing defense in the conference.
“We just didn’t execute very well,” Rodgers said. “(The Ducks are) a great defensive ball team.”
Rodgers and the Golden Bears had the last opportunity of the game. With 1:15 on the clock, California got the ball on its own 25-yard line.
“It’s a tough situation,” Rodgers said. “Forty-one seconds and (75) yards to go. We hit a couple passes right off the bat and I thought we were going to do a little more, but I made a bad decision on the last one and we just couldn’t do it.”
After two completed passes stopped the clock and moved the Golden Bears to the Oregon 33, Rodgers missed on two straight to create a 3rd-and-10 from Oregon’s 33.
But Rodgers was intercepted by Keith Lewis with eight seconds remaining to hold the game for Oregon.
As the Golden Bears recover from such a dramatic finish, they have things they need to focus on, or one thing in particular.
“It’s a two-game season,” Rodgers said.
With a 5-6 record following Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to the Ducks, California has two games left to become bowl eligible.