No. 9 Oregon holds off tenacious California
EUGENE, ORE. » Quarterback Anthony Brown shut out the noise to lead Oregon to a fourth-quarter comeback, then let the defense seal a victory over California.
Brown scored on an 11-yard keeper with 4:50 left and the ninth-ranked Ducks held off surprisingly tenacious Cal 24-17 on Friday night.
The Golden Bears took a 17-10 lead early in the final quarter, but Brown answered with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Redd to tie it. The Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) pulled in front on Brown’s scamper into the end zone.
Cal threatened on the ensuing possession. The Golden Bears got to the Oregon 3 after Chase Garbers’ fourth-down pass to Kekoa Crawford preserved the drive, but his fourthand-2 attempt with just 2 seconds left fell incomplete.
Oregon was coming off a bye following an overtime loss at Stanford. The rebound win was the Ducks’ 16th straight victory at Autzen Stadium.
Travis Dye ran for 145 yards and a score as Oregon leaned on him in the absence of CJ Verdell, who was injured against Stanford and is out for the season.
Brown threw for 244 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 44 yards and another score. But he faced boos from the Autzen crowd earlier in the game as Oregon’s offense sputtered.
“He’s a great leader, he’s willing to step up in those big moments and he’s not afraid to shy away from those moments. He shows that time and time again,” said offensive lineman Ryan Walk. “We saw that tonight, when the going was getting tough there he stepped up, grabbed the offense, he said, ‘We’re going to get this thing right, let’s get it going.’”
California (1-5, 0-3) has not defeated an FBS opponent this season — the team’s lone win came against Sacramento State.
Garbers, who went into the game leading the league in total offense (281.2 yards per game) and ranked third in passing yards (249 per game), threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
Cal, also coming off a bye, defeated Oregon last season in Berkeley, 21-17, with Garbers accounting for a pair of touchdowns, one via pass and the other on a keeper.
“It’s very frustrating, extremely frustrating, so there’s no other adjectives to use, it’s very frustrating,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said.
Verdell, who led Oregon with 406 yards rushing and six touchdowns, injured his left leg during the Ducks’ 31-24 overtime loss to Stanford. Bennett Williams, who had three interceptions this season, broke his leg in practice before the game and was also out for the season.