Cal Football Game Summary: Bears Lose to No. 9 Oregon

Cal stopped two yards short of the tying touchdown

Cal fell two yards short of sending Friday's game into overtime, but the Bears lost to No. 9 Oregon 24-17 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

A Chase Garbers incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the Oregon 2-yard line with two seconds left ended Cal's chance.

Here are the facts:

OREGON 24, CAL 17

RECORDS: CAL (1-5, 0-3 Pac-12), OREGON (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Oregon running back Travis Dye. With the Ducks top rusher, CJ Verdell, out for the season, Dye rushed for 145 yards and also caught seven passes for 72 yards.

TURNING POINT: Chase Garbers threw an incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the Oregon 2-yard line with two seconds left.

KEY PLAY 1: On Oregon's first possession, Travis Dye had a 24-yard run that moved the ball to the Cal 41, and Camden Lewis eventually kicked a 29-yard field goal, giving Oregon a 3-0 lead with 10:42 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2:  Chase Garbers threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Tonges, who reached the ball across the goal-line before being knocked out of bounds. Garbers was 5-for-7 for 42 yards on the 13-play, 75-yard drive, which gave Cal a 7-3 lead with 5:23 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 3: On a fourth-and 6 play from the Cal 32-yard line, Anthony Brown completed a 2-yard pass to Travis Dye, leaving the Ducks four yards short of a first down. It gave Cal the ball at its own 30-yard line with 2:29 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 4: On a third-and-14 play from the Cal 21-yard line, Anthony Brown completed a pass to Kris Huston, but Cal safety Elijah Hicks forced a fumble that Hicks recovered at the Cal 11-yard line with 10:32 left in the first half

KEY PLAY 5: On a fourth-and-4 play from the Oregon 30-yard line, Cal's Chase Garbers was sacked for a 3-yard loss, keeping the score 7-3.

KEY PLAY 6: Ducks receiver Devon Williams had receptions of 21 and 19 yards in a drive that ended with Travis Dye's 11-yard touchdown run, giving Oregon a 10-7 lead with 5:21 left in the half.

KEY PLAY 7: On a third-and-4 play from the Cal 35-yard line, Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown is sacked and fumbles, and it is recovered by Cal's Marqez Bimage with 16 seconds left in the first half, which ends with Oregon leading 10-7.

KEY PLAY 8: A 26-yard reception by Cal's Jeremiah Hunter, who lost his shoe before making the catch, set up Dario Longhetto's 45-yard field, tying the score 10-10 with 8:34 left in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 9: Cal's Jeremiah Hunter made a 31-yard reception as part of an 80-yard drive that ended with Chase Garbers' 4-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Reinwald. It gave Cal a 17-10 lead with 14:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 10: Anthony Brown threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Redd, tying the score 17-17.

KEY PLAY 11: Anthony Brown completed a 39-yard pass to Travis Dye to move the ball to the Cal 25-yard line, and Brown finished off the 70-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. It gave Oregon a 24-17 lead with 4:50 to go.

KEY PLAY 12: On fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line Chase Garbers threw an incompletion with two seconds left in the game.

STAT OF THE GAME: Cal forced two Oregon turnovers, and the Bears did not commit a turnover. Oregon came into the game with a plus-11 turnover margin.

QUARTERBACK STATS: Cal's Chase Garbers was 25-of-43 for 247 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.  Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown was 20-of-28 for 244 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal has not defeated a top-10 on the road since 1969, when the Bears upset No. 10 Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana. Cal still has not beaten an FBS team this season.

PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Cal: Outside linebacker Kuony Deng (lower body) missed his fourth straight game Saturday, and he is likely to out a little longer. Cal running back DeCarlos Brooks missed his third straight game with an unspecified injury, and starting nose guard Stanley McKenzie is out for the season. Freshman cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III, who had become a starter, was available only on an emergency basis because of an unspecified injury. He did not play Friday.

Oregon: Ducks defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux sat out the first half of Friday’s game after being ejected for targeting in the second half of Oregon’s game against Stanford. He played in the second half Friday against Cal. CJ Verdell, who was Oregon’s leading rusher heading into this weekend, did not play Friday and is out for the rest of the season after sustaining an injury against Cal. Starting safety Bennett Williams is also lost for the season. Freshman defensive end Bradyn Swinson returned for Friday’s game after missing the previous three games with an injury.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: Cal's bowl chances shrunk to about 10 percent. The Bears would need to win five of their six remaining games to become eligible for a bowl.

NEXT GAME: Cal plays Colorado in Berkeley on Saturday, October 23. Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. TV: Pac-12 Network. Colorado (2-4, 1-2 Pac-12) beat winless Arizona 34-0 on Saturday. Cal has not faced the Buffaloes since 2018, and the Bears are 4-0 alltime against Colorado.

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Cover photo of Chase Garbers by Jaime Valdez, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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