By Jay Heater
Knight Ridder
After keeping mostly afloat despite a rash of injuries to key players, Cal finally buckled on Saturday, losing 23-20 to Oregon State. ``We've lost quite a few guys but that's no excuse,'' said Cal Coach Jeff Tedford, who said he was bothered more by his team's five turnovers and a general lack of focus. ``Football is a rough game and we all have had our share of the injury bug.'' Tedford's stance on injuries always has remained the same: plug in the next guy in line and don't look back. But the statistics from Saturday's defeat indicate that the No. 18 Bears (5-2, 2-2 Pacific-10) experienced a drop-off. Cal lost its premier offensive and defensive linemen in the first half, when Ryan O'Callaghan, already playing with a broken wrist, left because of a concussion and Brandon Mebane departed with a sprained ankle. Think the Bears missed Mebane and O'Callaghan? Oregon State (4-2, 2-1) had 31 rushing yards at halftime and finished with 182. Meanwhile, Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch ran for 58 yards in the first half, but the Bears gained 28 as a team in the second. (Lynch was benched for the second half after fumbling twice.) Cal's 75 rushing yards was its lowest total in two years.
With Mebane out after halftime, the Beavers attacked Cal with a ground game that had been putting up just 92 yards a game. Yvenson Bernard had a career day, with 194 yards and two touchdowns. He scored both touchdowns in the second half, an 11-yarder with 6 minutes, 41 seconds remaining turning out to be the winner. Without O'Callaghan, Cal's offensive line could neither open room for the running game nor protect quarterback Joe Ayoob, who finished 13 of 39 for 219 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. ``It's tough when you start the season as one of the strongest units on the team,'' Cal center Marvin Philip said of the offensive line. ``Then we lose Andrew Cameron'' -- to a torn knee ligament two weeks ago -- ``and now O.C. It's something we are going to have to fight through.'' While Oregon State's defense picked up its intensity in the second half, so did its offensive line. Bernard gained 149 of his yards on the ground in the final 30 minutes. ``I do think Brandon Mebane is a difference-maker,'' Cal defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. ``But Coach Tedford has a great philosophy: you keep on going and you don't dwell on it. We've always done that. Guys have to step up and play hard.'' The guys who are being asked to play hard make an already inexperienced team less experienced. Mika Kane, a freshman, is the probable replacement should Mebane have to sit out. O'Callaghan was replaced by Jonathan Murphy, a senior who has never started a game. It is obvious that Cal -- which already had lost quarterback Nate Longshore (broken leg), wide receiver Noah Smith (broken leg) and Cameron for the season -- is not the same team that the West Coast media picked to finish second in the Pac-10. Tedford and his medical staff will be trying to apply tape and ice in order to get the banged-up Bears through next Saturday's game against Washington State before a much-needed bye in the schedule. The status of Mebane and O'Callaghan will be evaluated later in the week.
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