Cal Football: Oregon State Game Thread - Bears Come Alive on Offense in 39-25 Victory

Cal's offensive delivered its best performance of the season, the defense forced three turnovers and the Bears blocked a punt in a 39-25 victory over Oregon State on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 38,572 at Memorial Stadium.

The Bears (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12) built on their 26-3 win over Colorado last week in what was their second-to-last home game of the season.

Cal piled up 517 yards of offense with Chase Garbers completing 17 of 26 attempts for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Christopher Brooks rushed 20 times for 82 yards, caught two touchdowns and scored on a two-point conversion run. Damien Moore ran for 111 yards and two TDs.

Senior safety Elijah Hicks had his third interception of the season, his second in as many weeks. Nate Rutchena also had an interception and Marqez Bimage stole the ball from OSU running back B.J. Baylor.

The Beavers (5-3, 3-2) were hoping to clinch bowl eligibility.

* Sophomore linebacker Trey Paster talks in the video above about the Bears' mindset last week for Colorado

Cal still needs three more wins to get to six for postseason eligibility.

Here’s the rest of the Bears’ schedule:

— at Arizona, Nov. 6

— vs. USC, Nov. 13

— at Stanford, Nov. 20

— at UCLA, Nov. 27

Here's our game thread:

SECOND HALF

11:37 3rd Q: Chase Garbers made third-down conversions with passes of 22 yards to Trevon Clark and 8 yards to Clark before finding RB Christopher Brown all alone down the right sideline for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Cal goes 75 yards in 8 plays. Cal 24, Oregon State 10.

2:55 3rd Q: OSU closes the gap when Deshaun Fenwick scores on a 4-yard run, capping a seven-play, 70-yard drive. The key play was the first one - a 40-yard pass from Chance Nolan to Champ Flemings all 5-foot-5, 142 pounds of him -- to the Cal 30-yard line. Cal 24, Oregon State 17.

0:05 3rd Q: Nick Altin blocks a punt by OSU's Luke Loecher and Cal took over at the Beavers' 38-yard line. Cal 24, Oregon State 17.

0:00 3Q: On first down after the blocked punt and on the final play of the quarter, Garbers throws a 38-yard TD pass to Trevon Clark. The Bears now have 31 points -- the most they've scored in a Pac-12 game this season. Cal 31, OSU 17.

11:23 4th Q: Well, that didn't last long. The Beaver countered with a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive in which they overcame offensive pass interference and holding penalties. Nolan threw 46 yards to wide-open Trevon Bradford for the TD on third-and-12, then ran untouched to the right pylon for the two-point conversion. Cal 31, OSU 25.

5:36 4th Q: The Cal offense keeps coming. The Bears marched 75 yards to pad their lead, with Garbers passing 2 yards to Christopher in the end zone for the TD on a play that appeared botched at the start. OSU stopped Cal's two-point try but was flagged for defensive holding so the Bears got another shot. Christopher waltzed into the end zone on this one. Cal 39, Oregon State 25.

FIRST HALF

COIN TOSS: Cal wins the toss, defers and will kickoff, defending the north end zone.

14:54 1st Q: Cal LB Marqez Bimage hits OSU running back B.J. Baylor and wrestles the ball from him before Baylor hits the ground. Josh Drayden also was in on the play. Official review confirmed the ball belongs to Cal. First down at the OSU 22. Bimage got his first start with Cal today in place of senior Cameron Goode, who is not playing due to injury or illness, according to Bears' media staff. Cal 0, Oregon State 0

12:03 1st Q: Chase Garbers took a big hit but runs it in from the 3-yard line on a keeper to the right as the Bears take advantage of the turnover. His 10th career rushing touchdown, a school record for a quarterback. Garbers completed a 5-yard pass to TE Collin Moore on a third-and-3 play from the 15, giving the Bears a first down at the 10. Cal 7, Oregon State 0

10:14 1st Q: Cal gets the ball back at its own 20 after the OSU punt. LB Trey Paster sacked Chance Nolan on third-and-3, forcing the punt. Cal 7, Oregon State 0.

PERSONNEL UPDATE: Besides Goode, Cal is playing without ILB Muelu Iosefa and backup LG Brian Driscoll, also both injured.

4:30 1st Q: Dario Longhetto makes a 45-yard field goal as the Bears stretch their lead. The drive was 53 yards in eight plays and included Garbers passes of 16 yards to Jeremiah Hunter and 25 to Kekoa Crawford. But his perfectly thrown ball to Hunter on the play before the field was dropped in the end zone. Cal 10, Oregon State 0.

END OF 1ST QUARTER: Oregon State has a first down at the Cal 14 as the period ends. First-quarter stats are nearly dead-even: Cal 79 yards, OSU 78. First downs are 4 apiece. Cal 10, Oregon State 0.

13:44 2nd Q: The Beavers are on the board after a 29-yard field goal by Everett Hayes, capping a 12-play, 74-yard drive. Chance Nolan ran 13 yards on a keeper for one first down and passed 28 yards to Luke Musgrave for a first down at the Cal 14. But Nolan threw incomplete on third down from the 11, forcing the field goal. Cal 10, Oregon State 3.

9:19 1st H: Cal keeps the ball on the ground for 9 straight plays and it pays off with an 8-yard touchdown burst by Damien Moore. Cal also using some tempo to perhaps keep the Beavers off balance. The Bears have 108 rushing yards and are averaging 6.0 per attempt on the ground. Cal 17, Oregon State 3.

4:46 2nd Q: The Cal defense gets its second takeaway, this one on a pass from Chance Nolan for Zeriah Beason. DB Isaiah Young contested the play and the ball was deflected to LB Nate Rutchena who successfully dived for his second INT of the season. Cal has possession at its own 24. Cal 17, Oregon State 3.

0:55 2nd Q: The Beavers go 72 yards in 7 plays in a drive that took just 2 minutes. Chance Nolan was 5-for-6 for 70 yards, including a 32-yard TD pass to Trevon Bradford. Cal 17, Oregon State 10.

HALFTIME: Cal 17, Oregon State 10. Garbers completed a 41-yard pass to Jeremiah Hunter on the final play of the half, pushing the Bears to a 219-188 edge in first-half yardage. The difference: OSU has 2 turnovers, Cal none.

The Cal defense has held B.J. Baylor, the Pac-12's leading rusher, to 24 yards on 10 attempts. Chance Nolan is 10-for-16 for 119 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Garbers is 6-for-11 for 101 yards without a TD or INT but he also has 4 rushes for 32 yards and a score. Christopher Brooks has 11 rushes for 43 yards and Damien Moore has 3 for 35. Hunter has 2 catches for 57 yards but the Bears may regret the touchdown he dropped in the end zone.

Here’s some pre-game reading:

— Our Cal-OSU game preview

— Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave talks about his nephew, OSU tight end Luke Musgrave

— OSU beat writer answers our five questions about the Beavers

— Will Chase Garbers consider a sixth season at Cal?

— A look at Oregon State’s potent run game

Cover photo of Cal linebacker Trey Paster by Al Sermeno, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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