Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, October 14, 2017
College Football
Cougars dealt first loss with thumping by Golden Bears
By JOSH DUBOW
Associate Press
AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron
California’s Ross Bowers throws a pass against Wash-
ington State during the first quarter of Friday’s game
in Berkeley, Calif.
BERKELEY, Calif. —
Ross Bowers did an acro-
batic flip into the end zone
to cap a touchdown run for
California and the Golden
Bears used a dominant
defensive performance to
stun No. 8 Washington State
37-3 Friday night for their
first win in 14 years against
a top 10 team.
Camryn Bynum had two
of California’s five intercep-
tions against Luke Falk, and
the Bears (4-3, 1-3 Pac-12)
used seven turnovers and
nine sacks to top the Cougars
(6-1, 3-1) for a signature win
under first-year coach Justin
Wilcox.
Cal was just 1-52-1
against top 10 teams since
1978 with the only win
coming over No. 3 Southern
California in 2003 before
breaking through against
mistake-prone Washington
State.
Pac-12
Wash. St.
California
3
37
The Bears used short
fields on their first four
scoring drives before Bowers
delivered the highlight of the
night with his touchdown
run early in the fourth that
left the crowd gasping in
amazement.
Bowers, whose mother
used to be the gymnastics
coach at Washington, scram-
bled and then leaped off two
feet from just outside the
2. He did a front flip over
Justus Rogers and fell in
the end zone following the
7-yard run that made it 27-3.
The game was played in
smoky conditions because
of the wine country fires
that had killed at least 35
people and destroyed at least
5,700 homes and businesses
about 50 miles north of Cal’s
campus.
The tone for this game
was set when Falk was
intercepted on Washington
State’s third play from
scrimmage, setting up a field
goal by Matt Anderson.
The Cougars committed
three turnovers in the first
half, missed a field goal
and had a 1-yard punt in the
final minute of the half. That
short punt set up a 45-yard
TD drive for the Bears, who
scored on the final play of
the half when Bowers threw
a 2-yard pass to Kyle Wells
to make it 17-3.
The touchdown came one
play after a female fan ran
on the field holding a pink,
stuffed pig and had to be
dragged off by security.
THE TAKEAWAY
Washington State: Falk
entered the game with two
interceptions in 262 passes
before throwing five against
the Bears. He had one on his
first pass, one in the end zone,
another in the red zone on a
botched shovel pass and two
more overall. It was a rough
day all around for Falk, who
was repeatedly battered by
Cal’s rush and lost a fumble
that was returned for a TD
by Gerran Brown after the
ninth sack of the game.
California: The Bears
were held to minus-14 yards
rushing in the first half before
wearing down the Cougars
behind bruising Vic Enwere.
Enwere carried the bulk of
the rushing load with Patrick
Laird out with an injury and
finished with 102 yards on
22 carries as Cal dominated
the game in the trenches.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Cougars, who entered
the game with their highest
ranking since 2003, will fall
out of the top 10 next week.
UP NEXT
WA S H I N G T O N
STATE: Host Colorado next
Saturday.
CALIFORNIA:
Host
Arizona next Saturday.
Oregon State moves on without Andersen against Colorado
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
CORVALLIS — Oregon
State interim coach Cory
Hall says the Beavers will
be playing for former head
coach Gary Andersen when
the team hosts Colorado on
Saturday.
Andersen and Oregon
State unexpectedly parted
ways Monday, and Hall will
guide the Beavers for the rest
of the season.
It’s a tall task. The
Beavers have just one win
this season, over lower-di-
vision Portland State, and
they’re at the bottom of the
Pac-12 North.
“I’ve gone through a
transition like this before but
that doesn’t stop the oppo-
nent,” Hall said. “So it’s
going to be my job to keep
them focused. And I have
the energy. I’m energetic
enough to keep those boys
focused.
“And we’re going to go
out, we’re going to celebrate
coach Andersen, we’re
going to have fun and we’re
going to compete.”
The
Beavers
(1-5,
0-3) were coming off a
particularly rough stretch,
with losses to three straight
ranked teams, Washington
State, Washington and USC.
Andersen and Oregon State
athletic director Scott Barnes
decided Sunday night — the
day after the 38-10 loss to
the Trojans — to part ways.
The
news
caught
everyone
by
surprise,
including Colorado coach
Mike MacIntyre, who is
Pac-12
Colorado
Oregon St.
Buffaloes
Beavers
(3-3)
(1-5)
• Sat., 1 p.m. (TV: Pac-12)
• at Reser Stadium
friends with Andersen.
MacIntyre told reporters that
he got a text from him that
said, “I guess I won’t see you
on Saturday.”
The Buffaloes (3-3, 0-3),
who finished atop the Pac-12
South last season, are also
seeking a first conference
victory. They are coming
off a 45-42 loss to Arizona.
Colorado
allowed
the
Wildcats 413 rushing yards,
including 327 from quar-
terback Khalil Tate, an FBS
record for a QB.
Colorado’s defense has
struggled in its three league
games, with the Buffaloes
giving up an average of 36.3
points and 482.7 yards.
But defense is also the
issue for the Beavers, who
are allowing a league-worst
45 points a game. For total
defense, the Beavers are
second-to-last, giving up an
average of 493.8 yards.
Other things of note when
Colorado visits Oregon
State:
LINDSAY
SHINES:
Despite Colorado’s recent
struggles, tailback Phillip
Lindsay is having a
record-breaking season for
the Buffaloes, becoming
Colorado’s all-time leader in
all-purpose yards with 4,989.
He’s also vying to be the
first at the school with 1,000
yards receiving and rushing
in a single season. So far he’s
got 3,043 yards rushing and
869 yards receiving.
Lindsay had career highs
against the Wildcats with 41
carries for 281 yards. But
afterward he didn’t want to
talk about the accomplish-
ment: “At the end of the day
we didn’t get the win.”
COLLINS’
RISE:
Oregon State’s Seth Collins
caught five passes for a
season-high 91 yards against
the Trojans, the latest step
in the junior’s incremental
improvement this season.
Collins missed the final two
games of last season with an
undisclosed illness that left
him hospitalized for nearly
two weeks. He first grabbed
attention as a dynamic
playmaker when he played
at quarterback as a freshman.
GOALS: At the halfway
point of the season, the
Buffaloes find themselves
aiming for bowl eligibility.
“I definitely think we’ll be in
a bowl game. That’s what we
need to do,” MacIntyre said.
“That’s what we can hope
we can do.”
NALL
RETURN:
Beavers running back Ryan
Nall, who missed last week’s
game at USC because of
an ankle injury, is listed
as questionable against
the Buffaloes. Nall leads
Oregon State this season
with 341 yards rushing and
four touchdowns.
“Ryan looks good,” Hall
told reporters. “He’ll go,
he’ll perform and he’ll be
wrecking Nall.”
Stanford hosts Oregon in coaching Penny, Aztecs eager to face Broncos
play each other a lot of times
Mtn. West
reunion for Shaw, Taggart
and I think we’ve played
By JOSH DUBOW
Associated Press
STANFORD, Calif. —
When Willie Taggart got the
head coaching job at Oregon,
one of the first calls he made
was to Stanford coach David
Shaw.
The two had spent three
years together as assistants
under Jim Harbaugh for the
Cardinal, forging a friendship
that carries over into their
first meeting as adversaries
on Saturday night when No.
23 Stanford (4-2, 3-1 Pac-12)
hosts the Ducks (4-2, 1-2).
“Learned a lot of football
from David Shaw while I was
there and we kept in touch
ever since,” Taggart said.
“He’s been a good friend
and someone I call on and
especially when getting this
job and talking more about
the Pac-12. He’s one of the
guys I can call on and get
some help from.”
The two bonded on that
Stanford staff from 2007-09
that included many strong
personalities and four assis-
tants who went on to become
FBS head coaches. Taggart
left after 2009 to take over
Western Kentucky.
After three seasons there,
Taggart spent four years
at South Florida before
returning to the Pac-12
this season with the task of
turning around Oregon.
Pac-12
Oregon
Stanford
Ducks
Cardinal
(4-2)
(4-2)
• Sat, 8 p.m. (TV: FS1)
• at Stanford, California
“He is himself,” Shaw
said. “He’s not putting on
an act to be someone else.
Very early on we found that
common ground that we had
a similar personality.”
Here are some other
things to watch:
SHORT-HANDED: The
Cardinal will have to play
the first half without two key
defensive players. Defensive
tackle Harrison Phillips and
linebacker Peter Kalambayi
were both ejected last week
for targeting late in a win at
Utah. The punishment carries
over to the first half this
week, dealing a big blow to
Stanford’s front seven.
“Harrison is playing at an
All-American level,” Shaw
said. “It will be tough to miss
for a half. I know he will be
fired up to join us for the
second half.”
DYNAMIC BACKS:
This game features two of the
top runners in the country.
Stanford’s Bryce Love leads
the nation with 1,240 yards
rushing in six games with
a staggering 10.55 yards
per carry. Oregon’s Royce
Freeman has been one of the
best for four years. He has
rushed for 4,800 yards in his
career and is tied with LaMi-
chael James for the most TDs
(58) in school history.
“He had a good oppor-
tunity to play in the NFL.
I’m not too happy that he
passed that up,” Shaw said.
“He’s physical, he can get
the tough yards and has the
ability to break long runs.
We knew about him during
the recruiting process. I was
hoping he would come to us
or somewhere far away.”
SECOND
START:
Oregon freshman quarter-
back Braxton Burmeister
struggled in his first career
start in place of the injured
Justin Herbert. He completed
15 of 27 passes for 145
yards, two interceptions and
one touchdown last week
against Washington State and
will have a tough task again
when he faces Stanford’s
stellar secondary led by ball-
hawking safety Justin Reid,
who is tied for the lead in the
nation with five interceptions.
“The more experience you
have the better you get with
it,” Taggart said. “I just think
guys around him have to play
better in order for Braxton to
play up to his potential. He’s
going to need guys around
him to step up and give us
more.”
By BERNIE WILSON
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — It’s been
a long time since San Diego
State has played a game this
meaningful.
Beating Stanford and
Arizona State of the Pac-12
in consecutive weeks was a
nice accomplishment.
Beating Boise State on
Saturday night would be
much bigger for the No.
19 Aztecs, the two-time
defending Mountain West
Conference champions who
would love to grab the Group
of Five’s automatic bid to the
New Year’s Six bowl games.
The Aztecs (6-0, 2-0) of
the West Division haven’t
played Boise State (3-2, 1-0)
of the Mountain Division
since 2014. The Broncos
didn’t make it to the confer-
ence championship game
when the Aztecs won it the
last two years, so this will
give SDSU a chance to see
how it measures up against
the conference’s most recog-
nizable team.
“We’re taking this game
like it’s the championship
game because it’s big for
us,” SDSU star running back
Rashaad Penny said.
Penny said the Aztecs
didn’t want each other
wearing any blue or orange
during the week.
“No disrespect to them;
they’re a great team and all.
But we’ve been wanting
Boise State San Diego St.
Broncos
Aztecs
(3-2)
(6-0)
• Sat., 7:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
• at San Diego, California
them for so long. And now
that we’re getting a shot to
get them I think we have to
take advantage of it. We have
to come out hard and fast just
to prove a point that we’re
the leader of the Group of
Five and we’re here to take
the Mountain West as we did
the last two years. It’s going
to be exciting.”
Here are some things to
look for when the undefeated
Aztecs host the Broncos:
HISTORY: The Aztecs
are looking to go 7-0 for the
first time since 1975, when
they won their first eight
before losing their last three.
SDSU is 20-2 in its last 22
games against MWC teams.
RIVALRY?: This is
the fifth meeting between
the schools and the series
is tied 2-2. While SDSU’s
players are stoked to play the
Broncos, coach Rocky Long
isn’t getting caught up in the
hype.
“I don’t think the two
schools have played each
other enough to have devel-
oped a rivalry to this point,”
Long said. “I mean, to
develop a rival, you have to
each other four times total.
That’s a long way from being
a rivalry. I would say our
rivals are Fresno State.”
Bryan Harsin was in his
first season as BSU’s coach
when the Broncos rallied
from a 20-0 second-quarter
deficit to beat San Diego
State 38-29 in Boise in 2014.
“I think every week’s
rivalry week for us,” Harsin
said. “That’s just the mindset.
You’re going to get every-
body’s best. I hope we give
our best every single time
we play. San Diego State’s
a good football team. When
we go out there and do what
we’re capable of doing,
we’re a good football team.”
PENNY: The senior is
second nationally in rushing
yards with 993 and third in
rushing yards per game at
165.5. Penny had a high-
light-reel play last Saturday
night when he lowered
his shoulder and slammed
into UNLV’s Tim Hough,
knocking the cornerback to
the ground on his way to a
25-yard gain in a 41-10 win.
Noting
that
Penny
has more rushing yards
by himself than nearly
two-thirds of Division I
teams, Harsin said: “We’ve
got to wrap up, we’ve got to
get two to three guys to him
and you’ve got to be physical
at the point of attack with
him.”
Rested Dodgers welcome weary Cubs in compelling NLCS rematch
By GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — When
the Chicago Cubs began their
NL Division Series clincher
in Washington on Thursday
night, the Los Angeles
Dodgers watched it on their
stadium video boards during
an upbeat team workout in
Chavez Ravine.
By the time Wade Davis
got the final out in Chicago’s
277-minute victory , the
Dodgers were long gone
home. They all could have
been fast asleep by the time
the Cubs’ plane left Wash-
ington on its 10-hour delayed
trip across the country, only
arriving midmorning Friday.
Whether the rested,
hungry Dodgers can use
these advantages in any
meaningful way against the
possibly bedraggled World
Series champions will be
decided when they get
together this weekend to play
for the NL pennant again.
“The Cubs are the
defending world champs,
so there’s a lot to be said for
having been there and done
that,” Los Angeles manager
Dave Roberts said. “It’s
virtually the same group.”
The Cubs and Dodgers
are back for a rematch of last
season’s NL Championship
Series when Los Angeles
ace Clayton Kershaw takes
the mound for Game 1 on
NLCS - Game 1
Chicago
Cubs
Los Angeles
Dodgers
• Sat., 5:08 p.m. (TV: TBS)
• at Dodger Stadium
Saturday night, but these
well-loved
powerhouses’
circumstances are somewhat
reversed.
After the Cubs finished
far ahead of the Dodgers in
the regular-season standings
last year to earn homefield
advantage, Los Angeles
won 18 more games than the
Cubs this year. Chicago had
to sweat through a marathon
series against the Nationals to
reach the NLCS — the same
route taken by the Dodgers in
2016.
And after four straight
failures to win the pennant
with high-priced NL West
championship teams, the
Dodgers have the confidence
of a 104-win campaign
heading into a chance to get
back at the Cubs, who elimi-
nated them in six games last
October.
As the whole world
knows, Chicago ended its
108-year
championship
drought last fall. The Cubs
are in their third straight
NLCS, their reputation as
lovable losers thoroughly
buried.
The Dodgers’ World
Series drought is a paltry 28
years, but it looms large in
LA.
“It does help when you’re
the winningest team for
that current year, and we’ve
showed how good we can
be when we play our type
of baseball,” Roberts said.
“We’re a confident group,
and understand that we still
have a lot of work to do.”
Los Angeles rolled into
the NLCS with a sweep of
Arizona , while the Cubs
were stretched to the limit
by the Nationals. Chicago
manager Joe Maddon used
seven pitchers in Game 5
of the NLDS, but the Cubs
likely have the pitching depth
to get through the weekend.
“It’s very interesting once
again,” Maddon said of the
rematch. “(The Dodgers) are
different, because they really
overcame the inability to
(hit) against lefties. They are
better. They made some nice
moves. ... They always have
a good bullpen. They have
Mr. Kershaw, obviously, and
now they have (Yu) Darvish.
Listen, we just went through
Strasburg and Scherzer. I
mean, that’s no day at the
beach, either. When you get
to this time of the year, you
really have to be prepared to
beat good pitching, which
they have.”
Here are more things to
think about this weekend at
Dodger Stadium: