November 2, 2009

Chris Nguon
BearTerritory.net Senior Writer

Outside of the team down in South Central, the Cal football team's biggest obstacle over the last eight years has without question been Oregon State. From having to deal with the monster that was Steven Jackson to suffering arguably the program's biggest modern day heartbreak at the hand of the Beavers in 2007, Cal has had to put forth its best efforts to get a "w" against OSU.

Name off all of Cal's rivalries in the Pac-10 and OSU probably won't come up right away in the discussion.

There's obviously the despised Cardinal down the street.

There is also USC, the 7-time Pac-10 champion.

Then there's the sister school UCLA.

And of course, there is Oregon, who in a month will likely become the first program besides USC to win the Pac-10 in almost a decade.

Then, maybe, the Beavers come up in the discussion.

Regardless of where they might stand in the "pecking order" though, Cal players admit after almost every season that the contest against OSU is a physical, tough hard-nosed battle.

The Bears are 2-5 against the Beavers in the Tedford era, and amazingly 0-3 at Memorial Stadium.

Here is a look back at the recent history of the Bears vs. the Beavers:

Oregon State 24, Cal 13 (2002):

The first of four visits to Corvallis during the Tedford era, the Bears didn't have much of an answer for dynamic running back Steven Jackson. Jackson rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns on just 24 carries.

In fact, Jackson's contest against Cal was just one of several outings during his collegiate career which helped the talented running back propel himself into the NFL's Elite just a couple seasons later. The contest also featured two future NFL starting quarterbacks as well, with Cal's Kyle Boller and OSU's Derek Anderson going head-to-head.

Both quarterbacks struggled however, as Boller (27-of-51, 284 yards) failed to throw a TD pass while Anderson (8-of-24, 80 yards) couldn't get anything going through the air. The Bears actually scored first when Mark Jensen nailed a short field goal but from there the Beavers took control of the contest. After two lackluster three-and-out possessions to start the game, Oregon State started to click offensively when Anderson converted a third-and-9 from his 9 with a 15-yard pass to Kenny Farley.

Then Jackson took over, picking 11, 11, 42 and 7 yards on consecutive plays to score the Beavers' first touchdown. For the game, Oregon State gained 301 yards on the ground.

Jonathan Makonnen led all receivers with 8 catches for 55 yards and Joe Igber rushed for 33 yards on 11 carries. The Bears went into halftime down 21-10 and scored their last three points early in the third quarter.

Oregon State 35, Cal 21 (2003):

This contest looked like disaster for the Bears from the opening kick. One week after taking down mighty USC in the most memorable victory of the Tedford era, Cal returned to Memorial Stadium to take on the physical and underrated Beavers.

And just like the year before, the game was highlighted by the immense talents of OSU running back Steven Jackson. Jackson was dominant in every way, rushing for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries.

To say the least, the contest was a nightmare for Cal. The Bears were sluggish defensively and as a unit had one of their worst efforts of the season on the offensive side of the ball. Still suffering from an ankle injury that occurred the week before against USC, Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers had by far the worst game of his brilliant collegiate career.

Rodgers, who looks to be well on his way to his first Pro Bowl appearance this season in the NFL, completed just 9-of-34 passes for 52 yards. Rodgers also threw an interception and failed to throw a touchdown pass.

If the 2002 outing against OSU was just "one game" then 2003 showed exactly how physical the Beavers' defense plays when its clicking. OSU simply beat Cal up at the point of attack and the big and strong secondary completely disrupted the timing routes that the Bears used to rely heavily on.

Adimchinobe Echemandu rushed for 146 yards on 19 carries and Vinnie Strang caught 3 passes for 25 yards for Cal. OSU dominated the total yards (493-297) and scored 21 points in the first quarter to set the tone.

"We didn't do a very good job of shaking free today," Tedford said after the game. "I thought their corners played very well. There the type of corners that if you're ever going to beat them, they're not going to let you because they're going to hold you. So we couldn't shake free today and I don't think I gave the offense the right answers to help them shake free. So that's my fault for not having something where guys can get open."

Cal 49, Oregon State 7 (2004):

In hindsight, the final outcome of this contest was the first true indication of how special the '04 Cal team really was.

Unless you are playing a historically bad team (i.e. Wazzu '08), a blowout win when you are on the road means your team is capable of really, really special things. That turned out to be exactly the case this particular season.

The Bears jumped out to a 28-7 lead over OSU before halftime and never let up in a 49-7 rout on Saturday. Chase Lyman had five catches for a career-high 176 yards and three touchdowns, and Aaron Rodgers completed 12-of-16 passes for 140 yards and three scores. Cal had not played for 20 days. A game against Southern Mississippi, originally scheduled for Sept. 16, was postponed by Hurricane Ivan.

In hindsight, if that Southern Miss game was played as scheduled, Cal might've been able to squeak into the Rose Bowl like it was supposed to after all. Instead, the national perception of the Pac-10 as a weak conference ultimately doomed the Bears when they had to play Southern Miss at the end of the season.

The Cal offense was on fire to start the game. Considering how badly Rodgers played against the Beavers the year before, it was the exact opposite. Rodgers sat back there and was able to pick apart the OSU secondary, finding one streaking wide out after another. The speed and playmaking ability of Lyman was exemplified by Rodgers' ability to accurately hit a receiver in stride.

J.J. Arrington, who shattered the Cal single-season rushing record in 2004, rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against the Beavers. The game started out great right away for Cal, as then-freshman Marshawn Lynch notched an outstanding kick return to put the Bears in scoring territory right away.

Definitely, the Bears didn't miss not having to deal with Steven Jackson anymore. With Jackson in the NFL, Cal controlled the OSU running attack, as Dwight Wright rushed for just 72 yards.

Oregon State 23, Cal 20 (2005):

Cal once again struggled to stop the OSU rushing attack, as Yvenson Bernard rushed for a career-high 185 yards and the go-ahead touchdown with 6:41 to play. The loss also snapped Cal's 10-game home winning streak in a 23-20 victory on Saturday.

Matt Moore passed for 196 yards and OSU's defense forced five turnovers in a miserable performance by the Bears, who lost their second straight after the school's best start since 1996.

Bernard carried the ball 40 times and scored two touchdowns in the second half for the Beavers, whose 35-21 victory at Memorial Stadium in 2003 was the most recent win by a visitor. The Beavers, who celebrated with their band and a large cheering contingent after the game, also snapped an eight-game losing streak against ranked teams.

Though OSU essentially dominated every aspect of play, the Beavers nearly sabotaged themselves with a collection of turnovers, penalties, poor execution and strange decisions. Moore threw three costly interceptions, and OSU fell behind in the third quarter before its solid rushing game finished off Cal.

After Bernard's second score, Cal had three chances to make a winning drive - but Joe Ayoob sprayed incompletions all over the field, finishing his 13-for-39 performance for 219 yards and two interceptions.

Meanwhile, Cal's vaunted ground game vanished behind an injury-plagued offensive line, ending its streak of 18 games with a 100-yard rusher.

Marshawn Lynch rushed for 58 yards, but was benched by Tedford for the second half after two fumbles - and Justin Forsett, the nation's ninth-leading rusher at the time, had just 17 yards on nine carries.

Cal 41, Oregon State 13 (2006):

Just like in 2004, a blowout win on the road in hindsight led to a pretty darn good season.

The Bears were just as good defensively, holding Yvenson Bernard to just 75 yards and not allowing Matt Moore (18-of-27, 187 yards) to throw a touchdown pass. Cal outgained OSU (483-300) and racked up four sacks.

Cal put away the game early, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter and adding another 10 points in the second frame.

"Offensively we did what we wanted to do in the passing game," Longshore said afterwards.

While things didn't go exactly as planned as the season wore on, this contest showed exactly how good Longshore and the Cal passing game really was when clicking correctly.

Longshore was simply magnificent, hitting receivers exactly where the ball was supposed to be.

"He's the best quarterback I've ever played with in my life," Hawkins said. "Nate is the guy. Nate is the man."

Oregon State 31, Cal 28 (2007):

Nothing really needs to be written about this one. It was a game that Cal fans will never forget.

Oregon State 34, Cal 21 (2008):

The game marked Cal's first loss in Corvallis since 2002 and marked the second consecutive defeat of the season.

In a game that was much closer until desperation time when quarterback Kevin Riley threw an interception for a touchdown to put the game away for the Beavers.

Jacquizz Rodgers rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown while brother James Rodgers caught 6 balls for 50 yards. Lyle Moevao also completed 14-of-28 passes for 145 yards in a game that OSU led all the way.

Players and coaches alike were frustrated.

"We had a lot of chances to make big plays" said wide receiver Jeremy Ross. "It was frustrating getting a lot of opportunities and not really being able to capitalize off of what the defense gave us."

"I know a lot of guys are mad," added running back Jahvid Best, whose 116-yard, one touchdown performance was not good enough to put Cal over the top. "People are yelling and screaming. Nobody likes losing obviously, but it doesn't sit well with this team."

"It was just about us not making plays," Riley said adding to the chorus. "We had chances. The whole entire game, you know, I'd miss a throw, a penalty, a dropped ball, I mean it was everything. Throughout the game we just messed up too many times."

The offense had a reason to be frustrated. Their 234 yards of total offense was not nearly enough for a win. Nor were the 21 points scored, seven of which were mostly gifted to the offense off of a great kickoff return by Best to start the game and a number of missed tackles on a catch by Ross, who paced Cal receivers with three catches for 30 yards.

Ross also threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to fellow wide out Nyan Boateng which pulled the Bears to within 17-14 in the second quarter.

For the Cal defense on the other hand, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory's unit mostly held up their end of the bargain, allowing only 13 points of their own. Nevertheless frustration reigned on the defensive side of the ball as well.

"It doesn't matter who we play next, I'm so frustrated at this point," said linebacker Zack Follett. "I just want to go out there and win."

Chris Nguon is the lead football writer for BearTerritory. He's well known for his recruiting and game coverage in the star-studded Oakland Athletic League, plus his numerous contributions with The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley's only independent, student-run newspaper. Nguon is also a correspondent with the Oakland Tribune, and will cover Cal football and men's and women's basketball in 2009.