Oregonian: When UO, Cal meet, it's a personal thing

JOHN HUNT

EUGENE -- Uniforms aside, of course, California and Oregon are strikingly similar.  The Golden Bears and Ducks went to overtime last year and were separated by one point the year before. They run the same defense. Their recruiting paths cross repeatedly, and there's the unofficial coaching exchange program that has five former Ducks on the Cal staff, led by coach Jeff Tedford, plus another dozen support people from Oregon.  "There's a lot of intimate knowledge, so to speak," said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, whose 11th-ranked Ducks are a touchdown underdog to the No. 16 Bears for Saturday's game in Berkeley, Calif.  They rank 1-2 in the Pacific-10 Conference in offense, the Ducks averaging 497 yards and Cal 452. They are 1-2 in scoring, the Ducks at 40.3 and Cal 38.4.

But it's how they get those yards and points, specifically the running game, where the teams differ.  Cal has Heisman Trophy hopeful Marshawn Lynch but is seventh in the Pac-10 in rushing offense (153.8 yards per game). Oregon, with Jonathan Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson, is first (227.5). That's a near flip-flop from last season, when the Ducks ranked seventh in the conference and the Bears were second to USC.  Lynch still is averaging an impressive 7.0 yards this season, but Stewart and Johnson are combining for 8.0 yards per carry, nearly double their average of last season. It's quite the departure for the Ducks, who haven't led the conference in rushing since 1955 and haven't averaged 200 yards on the ground since 1980.

"We're totally different offensively," said Bellotti, who watched film of Cal against Arizona State and counted five times when the Bears went to the spread. "There's absolutely very little connection. We still utilize some of our old stuff that they do, but it's from a different framework."  Last season, the spread offense so limited the running game that some feared Oregon would have difficulty recruiting any more running backs with anything close to Stewart's skills. That, obviously, has changed, although it didn't dissuade Remene Alston, a freshman for the Ducks who is playing the role of Lynch on the scout team.

Alston had committed to Cal, even had dinner at Tedford's house and played basketball in his backyard with running backs coach Ron Gould (who played for the Ducks in 1987), before being convinced to come to Oregon by Ducks running backs coach Gary Campbell.  A year later, Oregon offered a scholarship to Brandon Jackson, a three-star running back recruit from Marist High School in Eugene. In August, Jackson committed to Cal.  Tedford was Bellotti's offensive coordinator from 1998 to 2001.  

Surgeries scheduled: Defensive tackle Cole Linehan (foot) was to have surgery today, and fullback Jason Turner (knee) will have his on Friday. Linebacker Brent Haberly (arm), though, was doing conditioning drills Monday and said he expects to return before the end of the season.