Football:
No. 6 Bears Stun No. 11 Ducks 31-24 at Autzen Stadium

EUGENE, ORE.—Five yards and 22 seconds. That was all that stood between a victory for the No. 6 Cal football team and a possible trip into overtime at Autzen Stadium.

No. 11 Oregon, led by senior quarterback Dennis Dixon, had just driven down the field, gaining 72 yards as Dixon shredded the Bears defense.

With Cal leading 31-24 with the ball on first-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Dixon found wide receiver Cameron Colvin on the left side. Colvin lunged for the pylon while Cal rover Marcus Ezeff landed a hit, jarring the ball loose.

But that’s where the question lies.

Did Colvin have possession of the ball as he fell into the end zone or did he fumble it right before landing in the end zone, giving the ball back to the Bears and all but ending the game?

“Actually, if you asked me, I thought he scored,” Ezeff said. “In my mind I was just like ‘Damn, I’m going to be yelled at by my coach.’ Then I look back and I see Brandon Hampton going to chase after the ball.”

Luckily for Ezeff, Colvin didn’t score, according to the replay official, and Cal kneeled down the final 16 seconds as the stunned 59,273 fans in Eugene, Ore.—an Autzen Stadium record—looked on as the Bears celebrated a 31-24 victory.

For Cal, it was the first victory in Eugene since 1987 and the first win at Autzen Stadium for Bears coach Jeff Tedford, who was the Oregon offensive coordinator before coming to Cal.

“That’s what’s most gratifying,” Tedford said. “This place is so difficult. I’ve seen a lot of teams come in here and not come away with a win. It’s a very difficult place to play because of all the noise. They have a great crowd here, so it’s very gratifying to win here.”

The Bears (5-0, 2-0 in the Pac-10) were led by junior wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who had a career day, catching 11 passes for 161 yards – both career bests for Jackson. Jackson also caught his first two touchdowns of the year, ending a two-week scoreless drought for the Heisman Trophy hopeful.

Quarterback Nate Longshore hooked up with Jackson on a 25-yard touchdown for Jackson’s first trip to the end zone of the day, which knotted the score at 10-10 with 4:44 left in the third quarter. Jackson tip-toed along the sideline on a 31-yard pass play to give Cal a 24-17 lead with 11:52 left in the fourth.

“This was a huge game,” Jackson said. “Anytime the play was called my way, I was ready to make a big play and make it happen.”

Dixon had a relatively successful day, especially in the second half. Dixon went 31-for-44 for Oregon (4-1, 1-1) and had 306 passing yards with one touchdown.

However, the San Leandro, Calif., native seemed to literally throw the game away for the Ducks.

Linebacker Anthony Felder intercepted a Dixon pass with 4:23 left in the game to set up Cal’s go-ahead score. On the next drive, defensive end Tyson Alualu snagged a tipped Dixon pass while Oregon was in the red zone.

“The turnovers were huge,” Ducks coach Mike Bellotti said. “That’s what we talk about all year long, but that’s the undoing of a good football team.”

The final Oregon turnover turned out to be the one that ended the game, as Colvin’s fumble gave the Bears the ball with just 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter. And by then, the small section of Cal fans had begun their celebration.

The Bears did get a scare midway through the final frame. Longshore was hit hard by Kwame Agyeman and had to leave the game momentarily. X-rays after the game were negative and the team believes that Longshore has sprained his right ankle.

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