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Cal looking to play spoiler on Saturday

The Associated Press
Saturday November 11, 2000

Dreams of a perfect conference record and a trip to the Rose Bowl are still alive for Oregon, but just barely.  

The seventh-ranked Ducks have won each of their last two games in overtime and will try to close things out a little earlier when they host California Saturday in a Pac-10 Conference affair.  

Oregon (8-1, 6-0 Pac-10) can secure the conference title and its first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1994 season with wins this Saturday and next week against against archrival Oregon State.  

California (3-6, 2-4) is a team capable of providing the Ducks with another scare. Last year, Oregon jumped to a 24-19 lead and escaped with a 24-19 win when Brian Johnson intercepted a pass in the end zone in the final seconds.  

Oregon has won the last four games in the series and five of the past six, but California has a 35-26-2 overall edge.  

California gave up 524 yards of offense to Oregon State last week, but kept things close in a 38-32 defeat. Nick Harris became the first punter in NCAA history to go over 13,000 yards in his career.  

After averaging 13.8 points in its first five games, the Bears are averaging 32.5 points in the last four.  

The Ducks may be winning, but have been playing less-than-dominant football. Josh Frankel kicked a 47-yard field goal in overtime and the Ducks blocked Anousith Wilaikul’s 39-yard attempt to escape with a 27-24 victory over Washington State last week. 

The Ducks have won 19 straight home games, the second longest streak in the nation behind Florida State (34). They have not lost at Autzen Stadium since dropping a 39-31 decision to UCLA on October 11, 1997.