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OSU no match for Cal

Game over by halftime; Bears riddle Beaver secondary in 41-13 victory

By Kerry Eggers

LocalNewsDaily.com, Sep 30, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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CORVALLIS — When Coach Mike Riley says “it’s the longest year in Oregon State football history,” it doesn’t mean he is predicting the Beavers to finish 2-11.

It only seemed that way after California’s 41-13 demolition of the Beavers Saturday before a Reser Stadium crowd of 39,303.

Riley’s post-game reference was to Oregon State’s 13-game schedule. OSU fans hope their team’s dismal performance against Cal isn’t a portent of things to come over the next nine weeks.

California’s explosive, multi-dimensional offense was simply too much for the Beavers.

Sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore riddled the OSU secondary for 331 yards and four touchdown passes and Marshawn Lynch ran for 106 yards and scored three TDs as the 20th-ranked Bears (4-1) jumped to a 31-3 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.

Cal scored touchdowns on its first four possessions to jump in front 28-0 in the second quarter. It didn’t take much longer to figure out the Beavers weren’t going to emerge victors on this day.

“It was real frustrating,” Oregon State tailback Yvenson Bernard said. “As soon as they scored 28, we were shocked. It happened quick. We prepared so hard ... the way it came out was not the way we wanted it to come out.”

The victory avenged the Bears’ 23-20 loss at home to Oregon State a year ago.

“They played what we thought was more physical than we did in that one,” Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said. “It was a goal this week to make sure that didn’t happen again.”

The physical part had less to do with Cal’s dominance than the speed and precision part.

The Bears rolled to 25 first downs and 483 yards total offense, with Longshore completing 22 of 31 passes, Lavelle Hawkins catching six passes for 128 yards and a TD and Lynch carrying only 17 times to lead an effective running game. They scored 31 points on their five possessions in the first half to seize a 31-0 lead, taking the crowd out of the game and putting the victory on ice before intermission.

“They’re a very good team,” said Oregon State tight end Joe Newton, who caught five passes for 84 yards, all in the first half. “They came in well-prepared and they played a great game. There is nothing I can do but tip my hat to them.”

It was a sorry sight for the partisans, many of whom departed the stadium by halftime.

Cal piled up 17 first downs and 334 yards total offense in the half, with Longshore throwing for 233 yards and three TDs and Lynch rushing for 84 yards and a fourth.

Oregon State got its first defensive stop on a three-and-out on Cal’s first possession of the second half. It was the only time Cal punter Andrew Larson was forced to step onto the field during the game.

OSU quarterback Matt Moore had a solid day, completing 18 of 27 passes for 187 yards with no interceptions in his three quarters of duty. The Beavers went with a short passing game against Cal’s defense, which was loaded up to stop the run and Bernard, who had gained 194 yards in Oregon State’s win at Berkeley a year ago. OSU’s junior tailback, held to 21 yards on six carries in the first half, finished with 74 yards on 17 attempts.

“We came out great in the first half, hitting the things we wanted to hit,” Moore said. “Coach Riley made some great calls in pressure situations when we dumped it off to receivers. We were well-prepared, but we had some missed opportunities, and (the Bears) came out revving and we didn’t respond. Credit them.”

“It was strange,” Newton said. “We had no trouble moving the ball until we got to the red zone. But if you can’t finish, you can’t win.”

The Beavers moved the ball but mostly through the air in the first half, Moore hitting on 15 of 18 passes for 157 yards. The 6-4, 195-pound senior completed his first seven passes and was 10 for 11 early in the second quarter. But a Bernard fumble deep in Cal territory thwarted one drive, and the Bears moved with relentless precision against the Oregon State defense.

The first quarter was an unmitigated disaster for Oregon State. Cal scored on all three of its offensive series to go into the second period with a 21-0 lead.

Third-down-and-long conversions were crucial. On third-down plays of 15, 8 and 10 yards, the Bears gained 94 yards and scored twice, all on long pass plays.

Cal took the opening kickoff and, on third-and-15 from its own 31, Longshore found Hawkins for 28 yards. On third-and-8 from the OSU 39, the two connected again for a 39-yard scoring strike and a 7-0 lead.

Oregon State drove from its own 17 to the Cal 15, where Bernard’s fumble was scooped up by Cal’s SydQuan Thompson. The Bears took it 85 yards on nine plays, scoring on a third-and-10 situation on a 27-yard pass from Longshore to DeSean Jackson to go ahead 14-0.

“I tried to switch the ball to my left hand and use my free arm,” Bernard said of the fumble. “Those things happen, but I feel like that kind of was a turnaround, because the guys look at me for an answer.”

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