Oregon football vs. California: What to know ahead of gameday

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01 January 0001

Oregon football vs. California: What to know ahead of gameday

No. 6 Oregon (7-1, 4-1) vs. California (3-5, 1-4)

Oregon heads into the final month of the regular season coming off its most impressive win of the season and at No. 6 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings that came out Tuesday.

Next up is California, a program the Ducks have dominated the past decade-plus, and led by a coach whose ties to Oregon run deep.

Justin Wilcox is a former Ducks' defensive back who before that starred at Junction City High School. His brother Josh played tight end at Oregon and was a key member of the 1994 Rose Bowl team. Their father Dave, also a former Duck, is an NFL Hall of Fame linebacker who died in April.

Wilcox, who is in his seventh season at Cal, has only one win against Oregon — a 21-17 victory against the No. 21 Ducks in the COVID-shortened 2020 season — continuing a trend of success against the Golden Bears for the Ducks.

Oregon has beat Cal 12 times in their last 14 games and the Golden Bears haven't won at Autzen Stadium since 2007.

Upsetting the Ducks would no doubt be a thrill for Wilcox and the Golden Bears, a fact not lost on Oregon left tackle Josh Conerly Jr.

"We know that we have a target on our back every week," he said. "We just have to go out and execute what we've been doing all season."

Oregon has been sharp since losing to Washington on Oct. 14 and coach Dan Lanning called the 35-6 win against then-No. 13 Utah last Saturday in Salt Lake City the Ducks' "most complete game" of the season.

"But I know also that we can play a lot better," Lanning added. "I told our players I think this is what we're capable of ... and really, what you do in November, that's going to determine if we're a great team. We've played our best football to date this last week, and we have to play better going forward."

Another loss would almost certainly end Oregon's chances to make the CFP and severely hinder its odds of playing in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 1.

By several accounts, the Ducks' players know what's on the line.

"Every game is a must-win game for us," defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus said. "That's playoff football. If you lose you're done, so we all know that and we all know what's at stake."

Cal preview: Jayden Ott leads the offense

The Golden Bears haven't been winning much this season, but they are certainly scoring enough points to do so.

Led by running back Jaydn Ott and quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Cal is averaging 32 points and 422 yards per game. Over the last five weeks, the Golden Bears scored 40 in a loss to No. 16 Oregon State, 32 in a loss to No. 5 Washington, and 49 in a loss to No. 24 Southern California.

Ott, a 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore, leads the Pac-12 with 108 rushing yards per game and is tied for the most rushing TDs with eight.

"He's certainly dynamic and has had some explosive runs," Lanning said. "He's an NFL back for sure."

With Ott leading the way, Cal is averaging 200.5 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per attempt. The Ducks' defense is allowing an average of 95.6 yards per game and has allowed only three rushing TDs all season. They held the Utes, who were averaging 182.3 per game, to 99 yards rushing on 36 carries and didn't give up a touchdown in the game.

"The game plan this week is to stop the run, get them in second-and-long, make them throw the ball," Dorlus said. "That's what we did against Utah ... we knew they couldn't throw the ball down field to beat us so that's what we made them do."

Mendoza has been a revelation for the Golden Bears. The 6-5, 220-pound redshirt freshman from Miami took over a month ago and has played well. In his three straight starts, Mendoza is 66 of 88 passing for 648 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 101 yards and two TDs in those games.

Mendoza has kept Cal's up-tempo offense on the move as the Golden Bears lead the Pac-12 with 600 offensive plays (75 per game).

"They're not remotely the same team we've played in the past," Lanning said. "These guys are scoring a lot of points. They're extremely efficient. I think they're playing some of their best ball, especially offensively, here towards this point of a season. They've found a rhythm and they've settled in at quarterback."

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix: A numbers game

The Heisman-hype continues to build for Bo Nix, who is 17-4 as Oregon's starting quarterback and in the midst of the most efficient and productive season of his five-year collegiate career.

The fifth-year senior is the most experienced quarterback in college football history with an NCAA record for quarterbacks with 55 career starts.
His 12,933 career passing yards is ranked No. 3 among active players and 22nd in NCAA history. He also ranks 12th in NCAA history in career total yards (14,673), is tied for 14th in completions (1,128), and is tied for 21st in total touchdowns (125).
Nix has completed 206-of-263 passes for 2,337 yards, 21 touchdowns and one interception this season. He is the FBS leader with a completion percentage of 78.3% and is on pace to break the NCAA single-season record of 77.4% held by Mac Jones (2020, Alabama). He is also ranked No. 4 nationally in passer rating (178.56) and No. 11 in passing yards per game (292.1).