The splits are hard for the casual college football fan not to notice.
California is 5-4 on the season, with a 3-3 Pacific-10 Conference record. The Golden Bears return home this week to take on No. 1 Oregon (9-0, 6-0 Pac-10) after beating Washington State, 20-13, in Pullman. That victory pushed Cal’s road record on the season to 1-4.
Within the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium, the Bears are rolling. Cal is 4-0, with an average margin of victory of 38.8 points per game. The competition has been less than impressive — UC-Davis, Colorado, UCLA and Arizona State — but facing Cal in Berkeley remains a difficult test. Oregon is winless in its last three contests there.
The Ducks’ coaches are aware of that fact, and of Cal’s home dominance this season.
“It’s tough to win in Autzen. It’s tough to go to Oregon State and win. It’s tough to win in the Palouse — although they’re down, it’s tough to win up there,” linebackers coach Don Pellum said. “All home field advantages are tough. If you’re a great team, you have to win tough games on the road.”
Are the Ducks, college football’s nearly-unanimously top-ranked team, a truly special squad? They have entered uncharted territory as a program ­— no Oregon team in 115 years has ever started 9-0 — on the strength of the nation’s top offense, in terms of both points (54.7 per game) and yards (567.2 per game).
“They just have so many weapons and they spread you over the field so much and they’re so fast,” Golden Bears head coach Jeff Tedford said in a Tuesday press conference. “With the running back that they have, it starts with being able to try to slow the run down. They wear you down. LaMichael James, they play at such a fast tempo and if he finds a crease, he can make such big plays. They make huge plays in the run game.”
Cal is no slouch in the running game itself. Junior Shane Vereen, now recast in the feature back role after Jahvid Best left for the NFL, is fourth in the Pac-10 in rushing (98.4 yards per game) with 12 carries for touchdowns this season. Vereen is used in Wildcat packages and can catch the ball from the backfield.
“Now is kind of his time, and he’s putting the game on his back a little bit. They’re being creative, finding ways to get the ball to him,” Pellum said. “The other thing that makes him really tough — he’s a hard runner, and he breaks a ton of tackles. He’s not a guy that you’re just going to bump into, and he’ll fall down. If you don’t tackle him, he will keep going. He has an extremely great gift of a burst. When he comes out (of a pile), he’s freaking (going) a hundred miles an hour.”
Nevertheless, all eyes are on the Golden Bears’ defense, currently the Pac-10 leader in total yards allowed (299.6 per game). First-year defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast has made Cal’s base 3-4 defense even more explosive this season.
“This one’s a little different than last year. It’s sort of, just, chaos,” Oregon offensive lineman Carson York said. “We just have to count our guys and figure out what’s going on because it’s real unconventional. Last year, they ran a more conventional Bear defense — three down linemen, two linebackers on the line.”
Lately, however, focus has shifted onto the quarterback situations for both teams.
California’s Brock Mansion made his first career start against the Cougars, in place of the injured Kevin Riley. The Dallas native completed 12 of 24 passes for 171 yards but threw two interceptions.
Oregon reported on Tuesday the loss of backup quarterback Nate Costa for the season, with an undisclosed injury to his right knee. The senior from Hilmar, Calif., was injured after attempting to salvage a blown hold on a field goal attempt last week against Washington. Costa had suffered three separate tears to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee over the course of his Oregon career.
“To know my college career is coming to an end because of this injury made it a little harder, but I’ve got a lot of stuff ahead of me in a future that’s pretty bright,” Costa told reporters on Tuesday. “I’ve just got to look forward to that.”
The position is secure for the Ducks as long as Darron Thomas remains healthy. The redshirt sophomore from Houston is tied for second in the Pac-10 in touchdown passes (22) and second in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency (158.4 rating).
[email protected]