— Oregon football’s preparations for Friday’s game against Cal are in full swing after taking a few days off during the bye week. Justin Herbert says he has more confidence and Oregon is looking to squeak its way into a bowl game. Both Cal and Oregon a need win Friday for their bowl aspirations.
— Against Cal, it will be the defensive secondaries who will have their work cut out for them.
— Duck tight end Pharaoh Brown talked exclusively with The Oregonian’s Andrew Greif on Monday about a few tweets he composed over the weekend. While some fans saw his messages as distasteful, Brown said they weren’t meant to criticize Mark Helfrich.
— Before cutting play short due to darkness, Oregon women’s golf dropped from fifth overall after the first round to 13th with two holes remaining in second-round play in their appearance at the Greenville Regional Preview. Cathleen Santoso led the Ducks through Monday’s play. Play is scheduled to run through Tuesday.
— The Emerald’s Cole Kundich examined how Kyra Fawcett has evolved her offensive game in her sophomore season.
— The Oregon men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted a “Block Party” on Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena. Sabrina Ionescu shined for the women. The Register-Guard’s Ryan Thorburn wrote about how she’s the “crown jewel” in Oregon’s recruiting class.
— Oregon men’s tennis pair Jayson Amos and Simon Stevens came up just short of advancing to the ITA National Indoor Championships when they battled in Berkeley on Monday.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne