Thanks to a high-powered offense, California has bounced back nicely from a season-opening defeat. The 20th-ranked Golden Bears will look to keep piling up the points against a tough defensive team when they visit Oregon State on Saturday. Cal (3-1, 1-0 Pac-10) has scored 133 points and gained 1,442 total yards in its last three games, including last Saturday's convincing 49-21 victory over Arizona State. Quarterback Nate Longshore threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns on 18 of 26 passing for the Bears, who scored 42 first-half points - their highest-scoring half ever in a Pac-10 game. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 124 yards on 17 carries for Cal, which also scored 42 points in the first half of their 42-16 win over Portland State a week earlier. ``In coach (Jeff) Tedford's offense, anybody can come up and be the man at any time,'' said sophomore wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 80 yards for a score. ``You've just got to be ready to make a play. Everybody was ready today.''
The Golden Bears lead the Pac-10 with 37.8 points per game and rank second with 444.5 total yards per game. They have won each of their last three games by a margin of at least 25 points after a season-opening 35-18 loss at then-No. 15 Tennessee. Longshore ranks second in the conference with 10 touchdown passes and Lynch ranks second in the league with 112.3 rushing yards per game. Jackson's seven total touchdowns scored lead all Pac-10 players. However, the Bears could have a tougher time against Oregon State (2-1, 0-0), which is coming off a 38-0 victory over Idaho - its first shutout since a scoreless tie with Oregon in 1983. The Beavers forced six turnovers and held the Vandals to just 185 total yards of offense, bouncing back nicely after a 42-14 loss to Boise State in their previous game on Sept. 7. The Beavers have allowed just one passing touchdown, rank first in the Pac-10 with 124.3 passing yards allowed per game and second with 239.3 total yards given up per game. However, they allowed Boise State running back Ian Johnson to run for 240 yards and five touchdowns.
``I just liked how we kind of took the last couple of weeks to heart defensively,'' coach Mike Riley said. Oregon State sputtered a bit on offense, with quarterback Matt Moore completing 16 of 31 passes for 169 yards and an interception. Moore, a senior who played the 2002 and 2003 seasons with UCLA before transferring, led the nation with 19 interceptions in 2005 and has thrown two this season. ``We started out nice, but I don't think we executed the way we should, me in particular,'' Moore said. ``Overall, it's good we won, but I think there are a lot of things we could be better at.'' Yvenson Bernard ran for 117 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries and is averaging 110 yards per game. Cal's defense is tied for fourth in the nation with eight interceptions and looked imposing against Arizona State. Daymeion Hughes had two of his team's four picks against the Sun Devils and turned one into his second touchdown return of the season and the fourth of his career. Riley was certainly aware of how Cal manhandled Arizona State. ``They look like they have athletes all over the place and they have put up quite a few numbers,'' he said.
Nonetheless, Oregon State thinks it will be able to handle the Golden Bears. ``I think we're ready for Cal,'' Beavers linebacker Derrick Doggett said. ``We've got to practice hard and pick it up a notch. We know they're going come in here and play hard.'' Cal leads the all-time series between the teams 32-26, but lost 23-20 in the last meeting on Oct. 15 last season.
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