[size=+2]#21 California (2-2) at #17 Oregon State (3-0)[/size]
Corvallis, OR - This was suppose to be one of those pivotal games of the season but it never felt that way. Cal was looking to avenge last year's loss in Berkeley that cost the Bears a chance at a national championship. For whatever reason, the game never felt like that big game atmosphere. It could have been the heavy downpoor that Corvallis experienced or the fact that Cal has been steamrolled by USC and ASU in the previous weeks but these were two top 25 teams in a very important conference game.
Cal looked lethargic in their opening drive as they went three and out. However, the Cal defense looked to get it going early as OSU QB Bryan Rossner threw to TE Adam Banks where he was jacked up by Cal OLB Robert Mullins to force a fumble that the Bears recovered.
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OSU TE Adam Banks is jacked up by Cal OLB Robert Mullins, forcing a fumble that is recovered by Cal.[/size]
Cal now looked poised to take the lead. That was until Cal QB Sam Russell decided to throw a lazy pass which was picked off by OSU CB Mike Mayes who took it all the way back to the house to put Oregon State on top early
7-0. The Bears would continue to struggle against what is becoming a strong Beaver defense as Cal went three and out again. Oregon State on the other hand looked fantastic on offense as OSU HB Marvin Quinn was finding holes to run through and Rossner was able to go back to TE Adam Banks despite the earlier fumble. The long, balanced drive would be finished off when Quinn got to the outside on a pitch, broke a tackle, and outran Cal to the corner of the end zone to give the Beavers a
14-0 lead on the 5-yard touchdown scamper.
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OSU HB Marvin Quinn scores on a 5-yard scamper.[/size]
Cal QB Sam Russell was clearly not on top of his game as OSU MLB Paul Jones picked him off. However, Rossner would try to fit a pass into Banks over the middle but Cal FS D.J. Campbell was having none of it as he made the interception and took it back for six to put Cal back in the game now down
14-7.
Oregon State would counter back quickly as OSU HB Marvin Quinn took a simple run and cut back to the left and proceeded to juke by three defenders, making the Cal defense look silly as he took it 46 yards to the house to put Oregon State up
21-7.
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OSU HB Marvin Quinn jukes by three defenders on a 46-yard touchdown run.[/size]
Highlight
That would bring a very exciting 1st quarter to an end. The 2nd quarter looked very much like the 1st for Cal as Russell threw another interception. It was OSU FS Matt Arnold who was the recipient of the interception this time as Arnold took it back for another OSU pick-six. Oregon State was now surprisingly up
28-7. Not surprisingly, Cal was forced to punt after a three and out on their next possession. Oregon State would come out faking a fly sweep and Rossner threw to HB Marvin Quinn in the flat for a big 32-yard gain. Then Rossner on a playaction rollout threw to a wide open WR Bill Faaeteete for a 33-yard touchdown to put the Beavers up big
35-7.
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OSU WR Bill Faaeteete left wide open for a 33-yard touchdown.[/size]
The Bears continued to look horrible on offense and now they were making penalties. Not surprisingly they were forced to punt again. OSU WR Bill Faaeteete would leave the game with a dislocated shoulder that forced him to miss the rest of the game trying to block for Quinn. Faaeteete should be fine for next week. The Beavers would attempt to score again before the half but Rossner would be sacked on consecutive plays. Then Rossner tried to throw deep over the middle to WR Alex Whitehead but it was intercepted as the game went to halftime with Oregon State ahead
35-7.
Rossner would come out in the 2nd half and make a good read as he saw Whitehead on a deep corner route in man coverage with the strong safety. Rossner unloaded but the ball had bad trajectory and was easily intercepted. Then returned back for a pick-six. OSU coach Mike Riley who is normally very calm was visibly upset as Rossner came back to the sideline. Cal was still down
35-14 and had still not scored any offensive points.
Despite the turnover, Rossner was not gun shy at all as he found TE Adam Banks wide open on a corner route and threw a perfect pass that Banks took all the way to the house for a 71-yard touchdown to put the Beavers further ahead
42-14.
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OSU QB Bryan Rossner finds TE Adam Banks wide open for a 71-yard touchdown.[/size]
Highlight
Cal QB Sam Russell continued to struggle as OSU OLB Cole Alexander got in on the pickfest as he picked off Russell which set up a 32-yard field goal as Oregon State went ahead
45-14. As the game moved into the 4th quarter, Oregon State quickly found itself back in the red zone where Rossner threw a perfect, threading the needle, but OSU WR Marcus Sullivan made an even better play. Sullivan made a spectacular diving catch in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown reception to put the Beavers way up
52-14.
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OSU WR Marcus Sullivan makes a spectacular catch in the end zone.[/size]
That would be the last we would see of the Oregon State starters as the backups came in for the rest of the game. The Bears would take advantage as Cal was finally able to score a touchdown with under two minutes left in the game when Russell hooked up with WR Titus Davis. Cal loses its third straight Pac-10 game as Oregon State embarrassed Cal
52-21. What a difference a year makes for the Golden Bears.
California 21
QB Russell: 11-24, 121 yds, td, 4 int
HB Nelson: 18 car, 61 yds
WR Davis: 3 rec, 58 yds, td
FS Campbell: 7 tkl, 2 tfl, int, fmbrec, td
Oregon State 52
QB Rossner: 18-24, 284 yds, 3 td, 3 int
HB Quinn: 17 car, 95 yds, 2 td, 2 rec, 40 yds
TE Banks: 7 rec, 114 yds, td, fl
FS Arnold: 3 tkl, int, defl, td