On Saturday, Oct. 29, the No. 8 Oregon Ducks (6-1, 4-0) will take on the unranked California Golden Bears (3-4, 1-3) in Berkeley, California. With Oregon now firmly in the driver’s seat of the Pac-12 conference after its emphatic win over the No. 12 UCLA Bruins (6-1, 3-1) in week 8, it will look to complete its trifecta of wins against California schools (Stanford University, UCLA and UC Berkeley) on its schedule.
The Ducks are rolling as they’re on a six-game win streak and tied their all-time home wins record. Senior quarterback Bo Nix is fully immersed in the Heisman Trophy conversation after he dissected the Bruins’ defense, as he threw for 283 yards and five touchdowns.
Freshman running back Jaydn Ott is a budding star on the uninspiring Golden Bears football team, who gave the Colorado Buffaloes their first victory of the season in week 7. In their 49-31 win over the Arizona Wildcats (3-4, 1-3) in week 4, Ott ran wild for a career-high 274 yards and three touchdowns.
Ott now ranks third in the Pac-12 in rushing yards with 617 and fourth in yards per game with 88.1.
Senior quarterback Jack Plummer is a transfer from Purdue and is having himself a career year statistically.
Plummer has thrown for 1,754 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions in his first year with the Golden Bears.
If Oregon is able to bottle up Ott in the backfield, Cal’s passing game won’t open up for Plummer.
The Golden Bears’ defense ranks second in the conference in total defense as they have proven to force turnovers and get after the quarterback. On the season, Cal has intercepted eight passes, recovered four fumbles and completed 11 sacks.
If Cal wants to have any chance at competing in this matchup, its defense will have to duplicate the success they’ve produced so far.
Oregon is so talented, well coached and battle tested that it could have this contest wrapped up at halftime. Look for the Ducks to cover the large spread of 17 points as well.
Tune into FS1 at 12:30 p.m. to watch the Ducks face the Golden Bears in this season’s matchup between Pac-12 foes.
