BearTalk

Cal is reporting that only about 2,000 tickets remain for Saturday afternoon’s game at Haas Pavilion against No. 10 Oregon.

Tipoff is 1:30 p.m., and already nearly 10,000 tickets have been sold. That will make it the biggest crowd the Bears have attracted all season.

Cal is promoting the game as a “Gold Out” and will give free gold T-shirts to the first 8,000 fans in attendance.

There will be gourmet food trucks selling food in Spieker Plaza in front of Haas, beginning at about noon.

Cal (12-8, 4-4 Pac-12) has beaten Oregon (18-3, 7-1) nine straight times, undefeated against the Ducks since Mike Montgomery became coach in 2008-09.

FINAL: Oregon State 62, Cal 14. Here’s what you’re waiting to hear: Athletic director Sandy Barbour had no announcement immediately after the game regarding the future of coach Jeff Tedford.

“Now that the season is over, Jeff and I will get to work tomorrow on what the solutions are for us to get better. We will start the conversation . . . to what the answers are, what the solutions are to put us on the right path to being a better football program.”

Pressed on when she might have a decision, Barbour merely repeated those words several more times. If she has made up her mind, she wasn’t saying so Saturday night.

Tedford, asked about the game in his postgame session, said, “Not very good. It’s not something we’re not used to. It’s obvious we have work to do. I will say this about these kids – these are good kids. Through tough times they’ve kept it together and I appreciate that.

“It’s absolutely not something we’re used to and don’t ever want to get used to.”

Asked if he expects to be back next year, Tedford said, “I don’t know. My job is to develop players. We have work to do. We’ll go back to work tomorrow and get ready to get going.” 

Asked he if thought his players finally cashed it in Saturday when the score got out of hand, he added, “You didn’t see that in their eyes. We’ve got  a lot of guys banged up. Oregon State was hitting on all cylinders. We had way too many penalties (15-172 yards) and turnovers (4). I really don’t believe it’s a lack of effort. I don’t think they ever quit. They just were outmatched tonight.” 

THE NUMBERS: Cal finished 3-9 overall, 2-7 in the Pac-12. It was just the seventh time in the Bears’ 130-year football history they lost as many as nine games in a season.

It also marked the first time in 28 years they lost the final five games of the season. The combined margin in those five: 212 points to 74.

Cal had not surrendered 50 points in back-to-back games since 1973.

A pair of East Bay products delivered for OSU against the Bears. Quarterback Sean Mannion, formerly of Foothill HS in Pleasanton, finished 24 for 34 for 325 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore tailback Terron Ward, an Antioch native who prepped at De La Salle HS, ran for 128 yards and two TDs.

Cal junior quarterback Allan Bridgford, starting in place of injured senior Zach Maynard for the second straight game, was 18 for 31 for 132 yards with an interception. He scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard sneak.

“He needs some more experience,” Tedford said. “He kept plugging away in there, always was attentive to what was going on. He made some good throws and did what he could.”

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For the Cal football team, all the season-long subplots will fade into what’s expected to be a wet and dreary Saturday night at Oregon State’s Reser Stadium.

The Bears’ season-ending matchup vs. the Beavers isn’t a referendum on coach Jeff Tedford’s future — the good and bad of his 11-year tenure will be sorted out Sunday when he meets with athletic director Sandy Barbour to discuss what’s next.

Still, Tedford is the focal point in a game that offers few tangible rewards for the Bears. He has guided the Bears (3-8, 2-6 Pac-12) to heights they hadn’t enjoyed in a half-century and became Cal’s winningest all-time coach. Now he presides over a program that has won just 15 times in its past 38 games.

“It’s frustrating. My expectations were way higher,” senior running back Isi Sofele said. “We have one more game. We’re going to come out and give it all we’ve got. This is our bowl game.”

Of course, it’s really not. The Bears are missing bowl season for the second time in three seasons after seven straight post-season appearances.

Click here to rest the rest of my Cal-Oregon State game preview.

CAL VS. OREGON STATE

RECORDS: Cal 3-8, 2-6 in Pac-12; Oregon State 7-2, 5-2

KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Ore.

TV: Pac-12 Networks

RADIO: 810-AM

SERIES HISTORY: Cal leads 34-30. Cal won 23-6 in 2011, but Oregon State has won four of the past five meetings.

STORYLINES: Will this be Cal coach Jeff Tedford’s final game? He is experiencing his worst season in 11 years at Berkeley and the Bears hope to avoid becoming the first Cal team since 1984 to lose their final five games of the season. Either way, Tedford and athletic director Sandy Barbour are expected to meet Sunday to discuss the future of the program. … Pleasanton native Sean Mannion, who passed for an OSU freshman record 3,328 yards last season, is healthy again and will start against the Bears.

INJURY UPDATE: Cal – WR Bryce Treggs (ankle) is questionable. OT Matt Summers-Gavin (knee), QB Zach Maynard (knee/flu) and WR Keenan Allen (knee) are out. Oregon State – LB D.J. Alexander (ribs) is probable; QB Cody Vaz (ankle) and OG Grant Enger (ankle) are out.

MATCHUP TO WATCH: Cal’s running game vs. OSU’s run defense. The Bears, who average 182 rushing yards per game, ran the ball effectively against Oregon last week and hope to once more in order to help protect inexperienced junior QB Allan Bridgford. But the Beavers are stout up front and rank second in the Pac-12 in rushing defense, allowing just 99.7 yards per game. In a nutshell: If the Bears cannot run, they’re in trouble.

STATS THAT MATTER: Oregon State’s defense has allowed just one opponent to score more than 26 points. The Bears have surrendered 26 or more in seven games. … The Bears have been outscored 150-60 during their four-game losing streak. … Cal’s RB trio of C.J. Anderson (729 yards), Isi Sofele (653) and Brendan Bigelow (412) is just 206 yards shy of reaching 2,000. … OSU wideouts Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton have combined for 118 receptions.

TIPOFF: 5:05 p.m. Friday at Magness Arena, Denver. TV/Radio: Root/910 AM.

This would not be Mike Montgomery’s preference, but against Pepperdine on Tuesday he went stretches in the second half with four out, one in. In other words, he was not happy with his big men.

“Our bigs are not producing at a level that’s satisfactory,” he said after tinkering with four perimeter players on the floor together at times. “That’s  something we’re going have to look at.

“Whether it’s nervousness or whatever, we’ve got to get our bigs finishing around the basket better.”

The Bears (2-0), who face Denver (1-1) on Friday night, got a combined six points from Richard Solomon and David Kravish against the Waves. Solomon shot 3 for 6 and scored six points, but also had three turnovers. Kravish was 0 for 7 from the floor and scoreless. He’s made one of nine shots in two games.

Don’t expect a knee-jerk reaction from Montgomery. Figure the lineup to be the same against the Pioneers.

Asked about Kravish’s early struggles, Montgomery said, “It’s an extremely small sample size. I don’t think he knows exactly where he’s going to get the ball. And he has a tendency to want to rush things. I’m not worried.”

Montgomery believes Solomon still may be rusty after sitting out the second half of last season when he was declared academically ineligible.

“He’s sort of starting from scratch. I expect him to get better,” Montgomery said. “He needs to identify where he’s going to get ball and what to do with it.”

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Click here for my game story.

FINAL SCORE: Cal 79, Pepperdine 62. Crabbe scored 24 of his career-high 33 points in the second half and is averaging 30.0 after two games. Cobbs added 23 points and is averaging 22.5. Cal improves to 2-0. Pepperdine falls to 0-2. Bears play Friday at Denver.

10:30 2nd H: Crabbe has 15 second-half points, giving him 22 for the game, and the Bears now lead 60-49. Bak going to the FT line to try to complete a 3-point play. Crabbe sandwiched 3-pointers around one by Cobbs for a 9-0 run that made it 51-39.

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The 13th-ranked Cal women opened their season Friday night with an 80-48 win over visiting Lehigh. Junior Gennifer Brandon, battling a minor illness, had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears.

Cal held Lehigh scoreless for the game’s opening 6 minutes, forging a 14-0 lead in front of 3,528 fans at Haas Pavilion.

Guards Brittany Boyd and Layshia Clarendon added 16 and 14 points, respectively.

The Bears play next on Thursday at home against Saint Mary’s College. The game, originally scheduled for an 11 a.m. tipoff, has been changed to 7 p.m.

The Eugene Register-Guard has determined that Oregon, at its current pace, could become the first BCS team to ever to score 100 touchdowns in a season.

It only seems like the Ducks scored that many just last Saturday against USC.

Which brings us to Oregon’s visit to Berkeley on Saturday night. Cal actually has played the Ducks about as well as any Pac-12 team in recent years.

Consider:

2011: Oregon won 43-15 in Eugene, but Cal led 15-14 at the half.

2010: The Ducks scored just one offensive touchdown in a 15-13 victory at Berkeley.

2009: Well, let’s ignore this one (a 42-3 Oregon win).

2008: Cal won 26-16 at Memorial Stadium.

So, over the past eight halves of football between the two teams, Cal has either played better or virtually even with the Ducks in five of them.

The difference this year isn’t Oregon’s improved speed, better defense or the  refinement of coach Chip Kelly’s offensive system.

The difference is Cal. While Oregon boasts the nation’s most prolific offense (54.3 ppg), the Bears rank 63rd in scoring defense (27.6 ppg allowed).

That defense has improved some in recent weeks, allowing 21 points or fewer in four of the past five games. At the same time, the offense has regressed, totaling just 22 points over the past three games, if you don’t count 21 garbage-time points in the lopsided loss at Utah.

And now the Bears will go at Oregon with their second-string quarterback.

There’s just no way this game adds up to anything other than an Oregon victory. And by a fairly sizable margin.

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The most prolific receiver in Cal football history, Keenan Allen, may have played his last game for the Golden Bears.

The Bears will be without their star junior when they host Washington in the first-ever Friday night game at Memorial Stadium, his injured left knee adding to a litany of bad news this season.

Coach Jeff Tedford, whose Bears (3-6, 2-4 Pac-12) must win their final three games to become bowl eligible, said Allen injured his posterior cruciate ligament during an onside kick try late in the 49-27 loss at Utah last Saturday. He will not require surgery, Tedford said, and will be sidelined 2-3 weeks.

“He’ll recover just fine. It’s nothing major,” Tedford said after practice Thursday. “If you see him walking, he looks fine. But walking and running (pass) routes are two different things.”

Considering what’s at stake for Allen — regarded as a near-certain first-round NFL draft pick if he is healthy — it’s hard to imagine him risking his future with a premature return to action.

Click here to read the rest of my Cal-Washington game preview.

CAL VS. WASHINGTON

RECORDS: Cal 3-6, 2-4 in Pac-12; Washington 4-4, 2-3

KICKOFF: 6 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Berkeley

TV: ESPN2

RADIO: 810-AM

SERIES HISTORY: Washington leads 49-38-4. Washington won 31-23 in 2011 and has won three in a row and four of the past five meetings. Prior to that, Cal won five in a row.

STORYLINES: Cal must win its final three games in order to secure longshot bowl eligibility. … Junior wide receiver, who owns Cal’s career receptions record with 205 catches, injured his left knee in the loss to Utah and is out Friday, likely for the season. … This is the first Friday night game in the history of Memorial Stadium. … Washington’s appearance marks the return of three former Cal assistant coaches, including once-popular defensive line coach and top recruiter Tosh Lupoi, a Cal grad, whose sudden departure last January stirred strong fan reaction. … Cal is looking to avoid another slow start after managing just three field goals in the first half of one-sided losses to Stanford and Utah.

INJURY UPDATE: Cal – OLB Brennan Scarlett (broken hand), OLB Chris McCain (ankle) and WR Bryce Treggs (ankle) are probable; DL Viliami Moala (ankle), ILB Jalen Jefferson (concussion) and CB Marc Anthony (concussion) are questionable; WR Keenan Allen (knee) is out. Washington – RB Jesse Callier (knee), DE Hau’oli Jamora (knee), RB Deontae Cooper (knee), WR James Johnson (wrist), OL Erik Kohler (knee), OL Colin Tanigawa (knee) and DL Lawrence Lagafuaina (leg) are out.

MATCHUP TO WATCH: Cal front seven vs. Washington quarterback Keith Price. The Bears are hobbled up front and have been forced to utilize less-experienced players along the defensive line and at linebacker. They must deal with Price, who has struggled this season behind an injured-riddle offensive line, but has the ability to throw, run or throw while on the run.

STATS THAT MATTER: QB Zach Maynard has moved to No. 10 all-time on Cal’s total offense list with 5,189 yards. Cal kicker Vincenzo D’Amato has made his past nine field goal attempts. … Washington’s defense ranks 11th in the Pac-12 against the run, allowing 185.1 yards per game. … Washington sophomore Austin Seferian-Jenkins leads all FBS tight ends with 40 receptions.

Utah 49, Cal 27, and it wasn’t nearly that close. Why was this game so one-sided?

Utah transformed three Cal turnovers into three touchdowns and returned two kicks for touchdowns. That’s 35 points of opportunity, and far more than the Bears could overcome.

Utah’s Reggie Dunn became the 16th player in NCAA history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game. Officials were unable to determine whether any player has had two 100-yard KORs in a game.

*** Three of Cal’s six losses this season have been by at least 18 points. Since a 42-10 loss to Washington on Dec. 5, 2009, the Bears are 15-21, and 11 of those defeats were by 17 points or more.

*** Keenan Allen could not enjoy the stage on the night he broke Cal’s career receptions record.

“It’s a great accomplishment, but at the end of the day it all comes down to win,” he said. “It was cool to get the record but I’d rather have a win.”

Allen bumped his total to 205 receptions, eclipsing the mark of 202 set by Geoff McArthur from 2000-2004.

“Geoff McArthur was a great player and it was great that he set a goal for me,” Allen said. “Ever since I was in high school, it was one of my goals to become the best receiver at whatever college I went to.”

*** Cal finished with a 441 to 344 edge in total yardage, but that’s misleading to say the least. The Bears had 242 of those yards in the final 16 minutes of the game, after Utah had forged its 42-6 lead.

*** Sophomore RB Brendan Bigelow’s 57-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter was his third scoring dash of at least 50 yards. He’s the first Cal player to do that since Jahvid Best in 2009.

There’s a sense that Bigelow is just a sprinter, but here’s a statistic that suggested unexpected toughness: He has not lost yardage on any of his 27 carries this season. Bigelow is now averaging 12.7 yards per carry.

When asked Saturday night how he can afford to not give Bigelow the ball more, coach Jeff Tedford somewhat unconvincingly suggested the Bears did that in the second half. Bigelow got the ball twice.

*** Bigelow’s TD on the final play of the third quarter ended Cal’s touchdown drought of 115 minutes, 27 seconds, dating back to the Washington State game. That’s 4 1/2 minutes shy of two full games.

*** Sophomore TE Richard Rodgers had a career-long 51-yard reception, then caught his first touchdown pass at Cal, a 7-yarder in the fourth quarter.

*** Remember all the early-season hand-wringing over PK Vincenzo D’Amato? The guy who made just four of his first nine field-goal tries has made hislast nine in a row. D’Amato is now the least of the Bears’ problems.

UPDATED

FINAL SCORE: Utah 49, Cal 27. Bears lose their second straight, fall to 3-6, 2-5 in Pac-12. Must win three in a row — Washington, Oregon and Oregon State — to become bowl eligible. Utah snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 3-5, 1-4 in the conference.

Click here for my game story.

0:29 3rd Q: John White just ran 7 yards for a touchdown and it’s 42-6 Utah. That’s more points than the Utes scored against FCS school Northern Colorado.

4:26 3rd Q: Keenan Allen’s 15-yard catch ties Geoff McArthur’s Cal career record of 202 receptions. It’s 35-6 and Utah is threatening. What a spectacular night for a record!

HALFTIME: Utah leads 28-6. Do yourself a favor, flip the channel to the ninth inning of the Giants game. Cal’s offense has not scored a touchdown since 10:27 left in the fourth quarter at Washington State — a span of 100 minutes, 27 seconds, if you don’t count all the days in between. Bears have 119 yards of offense in the half, meaning they had 4 yards in the second quarter. That is definitely not good.

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