Friday, November 06, 2009

AP: Cal QB looking to erase bad memory against Beavers

Two years after his fourth-quarter mistake against Oregon State cost California a shot at becoming the top-ranked team in the nation, Kevin Riley can't escape the images of his blunder.  At least now the Golden Bears senior quarterback can laugh about it.  Riley, who has No. 23 Cal back in the Top 25 after a six-week absence, chuckled when remembering the play that ended the Golden Bears' dreams of national recognition and made him a constant feature on highlight shows.  "You'd see it on TV, and a week after I remember everybody staring at it not saying anything," Riley said. "And I'd go, 'Hey everybody, I'm on TV,' trying to lighten up the mood a little bit."  Riley was forced to re-live memories of that infamous day against the Beavers in 2007 this week as the Golden Bears returned home to host Oregon State in a pivotal Pac-10 matchup for both teams on Saturday.  Cal (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) has won three straight after consecutive blowout losses to Oregon and USC, and is coming off a 23-21 victory at Arizona State in which Riley engineered a late fourth-quarter drive that led to the game-winning score.  Instead of basking in the glow of that win, though, Riley has had to answer questions about that ill-fated play against the Beavers two years ago.

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