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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- As it turned out, Oregon State didn't
need Ken Simonton to stay on top of California.
Simonton, bothered by a tight hamstring and groin, ran for 125
yards and three touchdowns against the Bears, then sat out most of
the second half.
|  | | Oregon State wideout Chad Johnson, right, caught four passes for 90 yards Saturday. |
Backup Patrick McCall picked up where Simonton left off, running
for two additional scores as the No. 14 Beavers beat the Bears
38-32 on Saturday for their first 8-1 start ever.
"He pulled himself out, I guess he didn't feel he could run,"
Beavers coach Dennis Erickson said. "He's been tight the last few
weeks. But I assume he'll be back."
Simonton said he wasn't injured -- but admitted to a lingering
groin problem. Instead, he said he told coaches he wanted to rotate
with McCall.
"It's always going to be a problem until football season's
over," Simonton said.
The nation's fifth-ranked rusher going into the game, Simonton
ran 64 yards on his first carry to move to sixth on the Pacific-10
Conference's career rushing list.
The Beavers (8-1, 5-1) extended their best start since their
last visit to the Rose Bowl in 1964. The Beavers' best previous
start was 7-1-1 in 1939.
"They have the talent to be the Pac-10 champions," Cal coach
Tom Holmoe said.
California (3-6, 2-4) rushed for just 27 yards, instead focusing
on its passing game. Kyle Boller made 17-of-44 passes for a
career-best 349 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted
twice.
The Bears made it a game midway through the final quarter on
Derek Swafford's 81-yard scoring catch, the second-longest TD
reception in Cal history, to close to 31-29.
But McCall, who finished with 116 yards on 17 carries, ran for a
27-yard TD, his second score of the game, with 6:06 left. Cal's
Mark-Christian Jensen added a 40-yard field goal for the final
margin.
Cal closed to 31-22 on Jensen's 39-yard field goal in the third
quarter, before Ryan Cesca missed a 45-yard attempt for the
Beavers.
OSU's Jonathan Smith was 11-of-28 for 317 yards, after going
6-of-14 for 200 yards in the first half alone. The Beavers had 524
yards of total offense as they continued their quest for a Rose
Bowl berth.
"We're still in the race for something special and we know
that," Smith said. "Every Saturday is another opportunity for us
to do something great."
After Simonton's 64-yard run to 2, he punched it in the end zone
for a 7-0 lead.
Simonton, who had already earned a Pac-10 record with at least
1,000 rushing yards in his freshman, sophomore and junior years,
passed Gaston Green of UCLA with 3,802 career rushing yards.
Simonton added a 4-yard TD run on the Beavers' second series.
California made it 14-9 before the close of the quarter on
Boller's 10-yard pass to a diving Chad Heydorff in the end zone,
and a safety from a bad long snap on an OSU punt.
Jensen kicked a 23-yard field goal to narrow the gap to 14-12
for the Bears. But Simonton scored his third touchdown, on a 6-yard
run, midway through the quarter.
McCall ran a yard for another score, and Cesca kicked a 32-yard
field goal to give the Beavers a 31-12 lead.
With 10 seconds left in the first half, Boller hit Chase Lyman
with a 30-yard scoring pass.
"We played well at times. We felt confident we could win when
we pulled to 31-29," Holmoe said. "The ball bounces funny
sometimes."
The Bears have lost nine straight during the month of November,
and two straight to the Bears
But Nick Harris, Cal's punter, earned the NCAA record for most
career yards, surpassing Cameron Young of TCU. Harris now has
13,161 yards over his career, besting Young's 12,947 from 1976-79.
And defensive end Andre Carter had his 28th career sack, to tie
Regan Upshaw for the best in Cal history.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Oregon State Clubhouse
California Clubhouse
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