The Bears Get Set To Battle The Ducks Saturday Night
FB9/26/2017 3:48 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Treks North To Face Oregon
- TV: FS1/FOX Deportes – Brian Custer (Play-By-Play), Ben Leber (Analyst), Kristen Balboni (Sideline Reporter)
- *Radio: KGO 810 AM – Joe Starkey (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Todd McKim (Sideline Reporter)
- *also available on the Cal Bears Sports Network Powered by Learfield, TuneIn (tunein.com) and Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Sirus 132/XM 197/Internet 959)Â
- ^Student Radio: KALX 90.7 FM – ^also available at kalx.berkeley.edu
California hits the road for the first time since the season-opener at North Carolina when the Golden Bears face Oregon in Eugene, Ore., this Saturday. Â
Justin Wilcox won his first three games as head coach at Cal and, along with Steve Mariucci and Jeff Tedford, is one of three head coach among the team's last eight to win their first three contests. A native of  Junction City, Ore., Wilcox is returning to his alma mater, where he played as a defensive back from 1996-99. Â
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Devante Downs totaled a career-high-tying 14 tackles for the second straight contest against USC last Saturday. Downs, already a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week winner this season, currently leads the Pac-12 in tackles with an average of 11.5 per game and has a total of 46. He is seven tackles shy of 200 in his career. Â Â
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After allowing 42.6 points last season, Cal's defense has allowed an average of only 24.0 points per game in the first four games of the 2017 campaign. The last time Cal allowed fewer than 22.0 ppg was in 2008 (19.5 ppg).
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Cal 11 turnovers gained this season are tied for third in the nation. Cal forced three or more turnovers in the first three games and added two more in its most recent contest against USC.
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Cal has mounted second-half comebacks in all three of its victories and trailed in the fourth quarter in two of those wins (North Carolina, Weber State).
Cal posted second-half shutouts in back-to-back wins against Weber State and Ole Miss.Â
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Patrick Laird is Cal's leading rusher this season, averaging 6.92 yards per carry, which ranks third in the Pac-12 and 19th in the nation.Â
Kanawai Noa has posted career highs in receiving yards in each of the team's last two games against Ole Miss and USC, including his first career 100-yard performance last Saturday against the Trojans (110). He also had a career-high-tying six receptions in both contests. Â Â Â
The Bears are looking for their first win at Oregon since 2007 and their first road Pac-12 victory since the 2015 meeting at Washington.
Cal received seven votes in the AP Top 25 in the latest Week 5 rankings. The Bears have received votes in at least one of the two polls each of the last four weeks.
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Cal is leading its opponents, 23-14, in explosive plays including an 8-0 advantage over USC.
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Devante Downs,
James Looney and
Vic Wharton III will serve as game captains at Oregon.Â
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