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SPORTS Saturday, November 7, 2015 College Football East Oregonian Page 3B Oregon and Cal seeking bowl eligibility By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File In this Oct. 31, 2015, file photo, Oregon State quar- terback Nick Mitchell prepares to pass the ball against Utah in the first quarter during an NCAA college football game, in Salt Lake City. Beavers stick with freshman QB against No. 22 Bruins By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press So much for easing into the job. Nick Mitchell’s ¿rst tests at starting quarterback for Oregon State have been challenging, to say the least. While Seth Collins has been sidelined with a hyperex- tended knee, Mitchell got his ¿rst career start last weekend against No. 13 Utah. The redshirt freshman will get his next on Saturday when the Beavers (2-6, 0-5 Pac-12 ) host No. 22 UCLA (6-2, 3-2). Collins, a freshman, hurt his left knee in practice last week before the 27-12 loss to the Utes. Mitchell, who fell to third in the tight compe- tition between Collins and Marcus McMaryion in fall camp, had played his way into a backup role a couple of weeks ago. Mitchell completed 19-of-35 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown against Utah, with no inter- ceptions. He also rushed for 40 yards on 12 carries. “It was a good step. We’d all like to have some throws back, some calls back, some whatever it is on offense, defense and special teams, but he gave us an opportunity to be able to stay in the game and manage it enough to be able to be within striking distance,” head coach Gary Andersen said. “Now we’ve just got to get him and the rest of the offense to be able to take the next step and score more points.” Oregon State, rebuilding in its ¿rst year under Andersen, is the last winless team in Pac-12 play. The Bruins have won two straight at home against Cal and Colorado after tumbling with consecutive losses to Arizona State and Stanford. Already bowl eligible, the Bruins are favored against the young Beavers, but they’re wary given the close 35-31 victory over the Buffaloes at the Rose Bowl last weekend. “You can’t ever sleep on these teams,” said Bruins wide receiver Jordan UCLA Oregon St. Bruins Beavers (6-2) (2-6) • Saturday, 1:30 p.m. • at Reser Stadium • TV: PACN Payton. “There is no bad team in the Pac-12. It’s always the wild, wild West. Every week we have to bring the intensity and bring the focus and gut out a win.” Other things to consider when the Bruins visit the Beavers on Saturday: BEEN A LONG TIME: Payton, a senior, is among the dwindled list of UCLA players who have faced the Beavers — the two teams haven’t met since 2012. And that game wasn’t very memorable for the Bruins. The Beavers were unranked when they visited the Rose Bowl and upset then-No. 19 UCLA 27-20. Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion threw for 379 yards in that one. That said UCLA has won seven out of the last 10 in the overall series with the Beavers. IMPROVING D: Oregon State’s defense is showing signs of improvement. The Beavers have allowed just 10 touchdowns and 821 yards total offense to opponents over the last 10 quarters. In the previous 10, they allowed 17 touchdowns and 1,531 total yards. “I think their belief in what they can do is continually getting better. But it’s week-in and week-out, because as we see in this league, that Grim Reaper of a whole bunch of points is right around the corner for a lot of teams if you’re not careful,” Andersen said. “So you’ve got to be able to prepare every week for a great offense, and this one is no different.” THE OTHER FRESHMAN QB: UCLA also has a promising young quarterback in Josh Rosen, who is considered among the top freshmen in the country at his position. Rosen is averaging 278.8 yards passing a game and he’s thrown for 16 touch- downs. EUGENE — His injury trouble behind him, Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams is back to having fun. The heralded senior transfer got off to a disappointing start with the Ducks after breaking his inde[ ¿nger in the opener against his former team, Eastern Washington. Adams struggled with the injury in subsequent games before he was relegated to the sideline to heal while backup Jeff Lockie and newcomer Taylor Alie stepped in. Adams returned two weeks ago against Wash- ington, throwing for 272 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-20 Oregon victory. Last Thursday, he threw for 315 yards and four TDs in a 61-55 triple-overtime win at Arizona State. Adams was named the Pac-12 offensive Player of the Week for his perfor- mance. He’ll look to continue the comeback on Saturday night when the Ducks host California. ³,t was de¿nitely the best game I played here fun-wise,” he said. “It was really fun for myself and the team, I think. We had a great time enjoying that but now we’re moving on to Cal.” Oregon (5-3, 3-2), with losses to Michigan State, Utah and Washington State this season, sits in second place in the Pac-12 North standings with the Cougars. The Ducks will have to Cal Oregon Golden Bears Ducks (5-3) (5-3) • Saturday, 7:30 p.m. • at Autzen Stadium • TV: ESPN2 AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin Oregon’s Vernon Adams Jr. signals to his teammates during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, in Tempe, Ariz. catch No. 9 Stanford (7-1, 6-0) if they hope to defend their Pac-12 title, but time is running short. Oregon visits the Cardinal next week. Like the Ducks, Cal (5-3, 2-3) needs one more victory to be bowl eligible, but the Golden Bears have lost three straight after a promising 5-0 start. “We have to come out this week with our hair on ¿re and want this one like we haven’t wanted any other game, and that’s how they’ll get it. Because I know they want this one just as bad,” defensive lineman Mustafa Jalil said. “Actually I take that back. They don’t want this one as bad as we do. This game means a lot to us.” Other things to consider when the Golden Bears visit the Ducks on Saturday: SO MANY YARDS: Cal junior quarterback Jared Goff threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns in last week- end’s 27-21 loss to USC, which put him in the 10,000 yards-passing club. Goff has 10,018 yards passing and is the 92nd player in FBS history to reach the mark. He’s also got a school-record 75 touchdown passes. Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said this week that he met with Goff on a recruiting visit years back. The teenager was wearing a Cal sweatshirt. “Never a good sign,” Helfrich said. HISTORY: The series hasn’t gone Cal’s way of late. Oregon has a six-game winning streak over the Golden Bears, who haven’t defeated the Ducks since a 26-16 victory in Strawberry Canyon in 2008. Oregon has outscored California 273-105 over that span. ROYCE ROLLS: Oregon sophomore running back Royce Freeman has amassed 1,109 yards rushing this season, becoming the fourth RB in school history to have back-to- back 1,000-yard seasons. He ranks eighth nationally with 138.6 yards a game. “He’s a great back, a step above what he did last year. They use him really well for what they do,” Jalil said. “Big back, hard running but I think we have a pretty big defense that’s a little bit harder hitter than he is.” THE LAST TRIP TO EUGENE: In 2013, Goff went into the game against Oregon as the nation’s leader with an average of more than 435 yards passing a game, but after completing just three of six passes for 11 yards in the ¿rst quarter, he was replaced by Zach Kline. The Golden Bears lost 55-16. But what Goff remembers most was the rain. “I think they said it was the worst they’d ever seen. It was the worst rain that I’ve ever seen. I’m excited to go back up there and have another chance in Autzen and have a chance to do something special and hopefully get a win,” he said. By the way, the forecast calls for rain on Saturday. Pass-happy WSU faces challenge in blitz-heavy ASU By NICHOLAS GERANIOS Associated Press Washington State throws on nearly every down. It’s at the core of why the offense led by Luke Falk goes by the nickname “Air Raid.” Arizona State is big on the blitz and leads the Pac-12 in sacks. Something will have to give when the Cougars (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) host the Sun Devils (4-4, 2-3) on Saturday. “If we can protect Luke, he’s going to have a ¿eld Arizona St. Washington St. Sun Devils Cougars (4-4) (5-3) • Saturday, 12:30 p.m. • at Martin Stadium, Pullman • TV: FS1 day,” Washington State running back Jamal Morrow said. Falk is averaging more than 400 yards per game through the air, and the Cougars have an array of good receivers. But the Sun Devils rank second in the nation with 9.5 tackles for loss per game. They have 29 sacks on the season, three more than any other Pac-12 defense. “They mix it around and they have different schemes and bring different people at different times,” Washington State coach Mike Leach said. Arizona State poses a different kind of problem on the other side of the ball. The Cougars have been vulner- able to running quarterbacks this season, and Arizona State’s Mike Bercovici is focused on doing more damage with his legs. “The quarterback has to use his legs in order for this offense to succeed at the highest level,” said Bercovici, who has rushed for four touchdowns this season. Said safety Taylor Taliulu: “If we’re all in our right gaps, we should be gapped out and there should be no running lanes for anyone.” Top two defenses in Pac-12 meet as No. 13 Utes face Huskies By TIM BOOTH Associated Press SEATTLE — In a confer- ence known for scoring, Washington and Utah are trying to prove there is a place for defense. The top two scoring defenses in the Pac-12 meet on Saturday when the 13th-ranked Utes travel to Washington trying to keep their hopes alive for a late surge into the College Foot- ball Playoff conversation. It’s the second time in three weeks the Utes (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12, No. 12 CFP) will go on the road as the leaders of the Pac-12 South to play underdog to an unranked opponent. Two weeks ago, the Utes were routed by USC for their only loss. It’s Washington (4-4, 2-3) that’s favored this Saturday. “The last year and a half we’ve been pretty good on the road except this one little hiccup with USC,” Utah linebacker Jared Norris said. “We don’t fear playing on the road. We like it. We like going into a hostile environment and trying to go win a game in someone else’s house.” Utah’s strength on defense has been shutting down the run. They’re No. 1 in the Pac-12 and No. 17 in the country, giving up 113 yards per game on the ground. The Utes have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in their last nine games dating back to last season. The talk about Washing- Utah Washington Utes Huskies (7-1) (4-4) • Saturday, 4:30 p.m. • at Husky Stadium • TV: FOX ton’s defense entering the season centered on whether the Huskies could replace a trio of all-Americans in Shaq Thompson, Hau’oli Kikaha and Danny Shelton, along with ¿rst-round pick Marcus Peters. The defense was seen as a potential weakness with all that talent gone. What’s been evident through eight weeks is the talent that was out of the limelight last season. Travis Feeney leads the Pac-12 with 6 ½ sacks. Darren Gardenhire, Sidney Jones, Kevin King and Budda Baker all rank in the top 10 in the conference in passes defensed. The Huskies are giving up 16.9 points per game, the only team in the conference allowing less than 20 points per game. The last time Washington led the conference in scoring defense: 1991. “It’s almost like the mentality of we have to prove it every week before we say hey, we’re this or we’re that,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “And I think that’s probably the best thing our defense has done. They kind of go out there with a prove-it mentality.” SCOREBOARD Local Slate PREP FOOTBALL Saturday (2A first round) No. 13 Irrigon at No. 4 Kennedy, 1 p.m. (2A first round) No. 10 Weston-McEwen at No. 7 Reedsport, 2 p.m. (2A first round) No. 15 Monroe at No. 2 Heppner, 3 p.m. PREP BOYS SOCCER Saturday (5A quarterfinal) No. 5 Woodburn at No. 4 Hermiston, 2:30 p.m. (3A quarterfinal) No. 6 Riverside at No. 3 St. Mary’s, 4 p.m. PREP VOLLEYBALL Saturday (2A elimination round) Weston-McEwen vs. Bonanza (Ridgeview HS), 8 a.m. (1A elimination round) Ione vs. Crane (Ridgeview HS), 10 a.m. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Saturday College of Idaho at Eastern Oregon, Noon Saturday, Nov. 14 Southern Oregon at Eastern Oregon, Noon COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Wednesday Blue Mountain at Big Bend, 6 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER Wednesday &&&4XDUWHU¿QDOV(DVWHUQ2UHJRQ YV1:&KULVWLDQDW6SULQJ¿HOGSP COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL Saturday Eastern Oregon at Gonzaga (exhibition), 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 Eastern Oregon vs. Arizona Christian (at Las Vegas), 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 Eastern Oregon vs. Vanguard (at Las Vegas), 2 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Saturday Eastern Oregon at Arizona Christian, 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 Eastern Oregon at Eastern Washington (exhibition), 10:30 a.m. Football OSAA Friday’s scores Class 6A First Round Beaverton 56, Willamette 30 Central Catholic 42, McNary 21 Clackamas 35, South Medford 21 Grants Pass 63, Forest Grove 7 Jesuit 52, Jefferson 12 Lincoln 28, Newberg 0 Oregon City 53, Southridge 15 Sheldon 63, Barlow 21 Sherwood 59, North Salem 20 South Salem 21, North Medford 20 Sunset 34, Sprague 27 Tigard 34, Centennial 22 Tualatin 38, Wilson 34 West Linn 41, Roosevelt 6 West Salem 32, Franklin 0 Westview 56, Lake Oswego 21 Class 5A First Round Ashland 39, Bend 21 Central 46, Hillsboro 28 Crater 45, Silverton 0 Liberty 49, Hood River 7 Redmond 41, Lebanon 21 Springfield 28, St. Helens 13 Summit 59, South Albany 14 Wilsonville 49, Hermiston 14 Class 4A First Round Cascade 42, La Grande 27 Marshfield 13, Molalla 7 Mazama 44, Crook County 7 North Bend 37, Astoria 12 North Marion 21, Sisters 14 Philomath 7, Junction City 0 Scappoose 35, Gladstone 14 Class 3A First Round Cascade Christian 77, Colton 12 Coquille/Pacific 48, Taft 25 Harrisburg 37, Dayton 34 Salem Academy 35, Rainier 6 Santiam Christian 46, Pleasant Hill 0 Scio 46, Nyssa 20 Vale 54, Lakeview 7 Class 2A First Round Central Linn 42, Nestucca 12 Regis 49, Myrtle Point 6 Stanfield 56, Vernonia 26 Class 1A First Round Hosanna Christian 32, Lowell 22 Yoncalla 50, Camas Valley 26 NCAA Thursday’s scores Baylor 31, Kansas St. 24 Mississippi St. 31, Missouri 13 Friday’s scores Temple 60, SMU 40 6DWXUGD\¶V7RSJDPHV No. 1 Ohio State vs. Minnesota, 5 p.m. No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 17 Florida State, 12:30 p.m. No. 4 LSU at No. 7 Alabama, 5 p.m. No. 5 TCU at No. 12 Oklahoma State, 12:30 p.m. No. 6 Michigan State at Nebraska, 4 p.m. No. 8 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, 9 a.m. No. 9 Stanford at Colorado, 10 a.m. No. 10 Iowa at Indiana, 12:30 p.m. No. 11 Florida vs. Vanderbilt, 9 a.m. No. 13 Utah at Washington, 4:30 p.m. No. 14 Oklahoma vs. Iowa State, 4 p.m. No. 15 Memphis vs. Navy, 4 p.m. No. 16 Michigan vs. Rutgers, 12:30 p.m. No. 18 Houston vs. Cincinnati, 12:30 p.m. No. 19 Mississippi vs. Arkansas, 12:30 p.m. No. 21 North Carolina vs. Duke, 9 a.m. No. 22 UCLA at Oregon State, 1:30 p.m. No. 25 Texas A&M vs. Auburn, 4:30 p.m. NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE EAST W L T Pct PF PA New England 7 0 0 1.000 249 133 N.Y. Jets 4 3 0 .571 172 139 Buffalo 3 4 0 .429 176 173 Miami 3 4 0 .429 154 173 SOUTH W L T Pct PF PA Indianapolis 3 5 0 .375 173 203 Houston 3 5 0 .375 174 205 Jacksonville 2 5 0 .286 147 207 Tennessee 1 6 0 .143 125 159 NORTH W L T Pct PF PA Cincinnati 8 0 0 1.000 229 142 Pittsburgh 4 4 0 .500 168 147 Baltimore 2 6 0 .250 190 214 Cleveland 2 7 0 .222 177 247 WEST W L T Pct PF PA Denver 7 0 0 1.000 168 112 Oakland 4 3 0 .571 178 173 Kansas City 3 5 0 .375 195 182 San Diego 2 6 0 .250 191 227 NATIONAL CONFERENCE EAST W L T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 4 4 0 .500 215 208 Washington 3 4 0 .429 148 168 Philadelphia 3 4 0 .429 160 137 Dallas 2 5 0 .286 133 171 SOUTH W L T Pct PF PA Carolina 7 0 0 1.000 191 136 Atlanta 6 2 0 .750 213 173 New Orleans 4 4 0 .500 213 234 Tampa Bay 3 4 0 .429 163 199 NORTH W L T Pct PF PA Green Bay 6 1 0 .857 174 130 Minnesota 5 2 0 .714 147 122 Chicago 2 5 0 .286 140 202 Detroit 1 7 0 .125 149 245 WEST W L T Pct PF PA Arizona 6 2 0 .750 263 153 St. Louis 4 3 0 .571 135 125 Seattle 4 4 0 .500 167 140 San Francisco 2 6 0 .250 109 207 ——— Thursday’s Game Cincinnati 31, Cleveland 10 Sunday’s Games Tennessee (+8) at New Orleans, 10 a.m. St. Louis (+2) at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Green Bay (-2.5) at Carolina, 10 a.m. Washington (+14) at New England, 10 a.m. Miami (+3) at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Jacksonville (+7) at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. Oakland (+4.5) at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Atlanta (-7) at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Giants (-2.5) at Tampa Bay, 1:05 p.m. Denver (-5) at Indianapolis, 1:25 p.m. Philadelphia (-2.5) at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Open: Arizona, Baltimore, Detroit, Hous- ton, Kansas City, Seattle Monday’s Game Chicago (+4) at San Diego, 5:30 p.m. Basketball NBA Friday’s Games Orlando 92, Toronto 87 Cleveland 108, Philadelphia 102 L.A. Lakers 104, Brooklyn 98 Boston 118, Washington 98 Milwaukee 99, New York 92 Atlanta 121, New Orleans 115 Indiana 90, Miami 87 Detroit 100, Phoenix 92 Golden State 119, Denver 104 Houston 116, Sacramento 110 Saturday’s Games Minnesota at Chicago, 3 p.m. Orlando at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Washington at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Charlotte at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Brooklyn at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. New Orleans at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Memphis at Utah, 6 p.m. Golden State at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Houston at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Indiana at Cleveland, 12:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at New York, 12:30 p.m. Toronto at Miami, 3 p.m. Phoenix at Oklahoma City, 4 p.m. Detroit at Portland, 6 p.m. Soccer MLS CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS Eastern Conference New York Red Bulls (1) vs. D.C. United (4) Leg 1 — Sunday, Nov. 1: New York Red Bulls 1, D.C. United 0 Leg 2 — Sunday, Nov. 8: D.C. United at New York Red Bulls, 3 p.m. Columbus (2) vs. Montreal (3) Leg 1 — Sunday, Nov. 1: Montreal 2, Columbus 1 Leg 2 — Sunday, Nov. 8: Montreal at Columbus, 5 p.m. Western Conference FC Dallas (1) vs. Seattle (4) Leg 1 — Sunday, Nov. 1: Seattle 2, FC Dallas 1 Leg 2 — Sunday, Nov. 8: Seattle at FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. Vancouver (2) vs. Portland (3) Leg 1 — Sunday, Nov. 1: Vancouver 0, Portland 0 Leg 2 — Sunday, Nov. 8: Portland at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Hockey NHL Friday’s Games Detroit 2, Toronto 1, OT New Jersey 4, Chicago 2 Dallas 4, Carolina 1 N.Y. Rangers 2, Colorado 1 Pittsburgh 2, Edmonton 1 Anaheim 4, Columbus 2 Saturday’s Games Vancouver at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Florida at Los Angeles, 1 p.m. Boston at Montreal, 4 p.m. Toronto at Washington, 4 p.m. Ottawa at Carolina, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Winnipeg, 4 p.m. St. Louis at Nashville, 5 p.m. Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 5 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Arizona, 6 p.m. Pittsburgh at Calgary, 7 p.m. Anaheim at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Dallas at Detroit, Noon Vancouver at New Jersey, 2 p.m. Boston at N.Y. Islanders, 2 p.m. Edmonton at Chicago, 5 p.m. Motorsports NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500 Lineup (top 20) After Friday qualifying; race Sunday At Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas Lap length: 1.5 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 196.929 mph. 2. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 195.993. 3. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 195.716. 4. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 195.419. 5. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 195.341. 6. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 195.298. 7. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 194.988. 8. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 194.89. 9. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 194.665. 10. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 194.475. 11. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 193.313. 12. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 190.402. 13. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 195.341. 14. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 195.327. 15. (55) David Ragan, Toyota, 195.178. 16. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 195.143. 17. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 194.819. 18. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 194.637. 19. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 194.56. 20. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 194.175. ——— Driver Standings (top 15) (Through Nov. 10) 1. Jeff Gordon, 4,047. 2. Kyle Busch, 4,039. 3. Martin Truex Jr., 4,039. 4. Kevin Harvick, 4,037. 5. Carl Edwards, 4,030. 6. Brad Keselowski, 4,013. 7. Kurt Busch, 4,011. 8. Joey Logano, 4,009. 9. Denny Hamlin, 2,251. 10. Ryan Newman, 2,231. 11. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2,221. 12. Jamie McMurray, 2,201. 13. Matt Kenseth, 2,197. 14. Jimmie Johnson, 2,193. 15. Paul Menard, 2,177.