Cal-Oregon: What to know before Bears take on No. 8 Ducks

The Bears are two-touchdown underdogs but have played Oregon close in recent meetings.

No. 8 OREGON at CAL

Records: Cal 3-4, 1-3 in the Pac-12; Oregon 6-1, 4-0 in Pac-12

Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley

TV: FS1

Radio: 810 AM The Spread (KGO)

Series history: Tied 41-41-2. Oregon won 24-17 at Eugene last year after Cal beat the No. 21 Ducks 21-17 at Berkeley in the 2020 season finale.

Cal storylines: The Bears are 15.5-point underdogs in their bid to end a three-game losing streak and post their first win over a top-10 opponent since a 37-3 rout of No. 8 Washington State on Oct. 13, 2017 . . . The Cal offense scored 21 second-half points in its 28-21 loss to Washington last week after totaling 22 points in 10 previous quarters . . . Freshman running back Jaydn Ott, after gaining 274 rushing yards on 14.4 yards per attempt vs. Arizona, has totaled 155 yards on 3.3 yards per carry in three games since . . . Wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter is listed as probable to play after missing the UW game with an injury but cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns and wide receiver Mason Starling were both listed as day-to-day by coach Justin Wilcox.

Oregon storylines: The Ducks have sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 standings as the only team undefeated in conference play. They are coming off an impressive 45-30 win over previously undefeated UCLA, their 23rd consecutive victory at Autzen Stadium . . . Auburn transfer quarterback Bo Nix leads an offense that tops the Pac-12 with a 42.4 scoring average. Nix has completed nearly 72 percent of his passes and had his second five-touchdown game of the season to earn Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors against UCLA . . . First-year coach Dan Lanning, who was defensive coordinator for Georgia’s national championship team last season, took the Ducks to Atlanta for the season opener, where they lost 49-3 to the Bulldogs. They are 6-0 since and averaging 49 points in those games.

Stats that matter: Cal’s defense had at least one takeaway in 19 consecutive games — matching the longest streak in FBS — before it ended last week vs. Washington . . . Plummer’s 250.6 passing yards per game projects to 3,007 for the season, which would be the most by a Cal quarterback since Ross Bowers, who had 3,039 yards in 2017. Only five Cal QBs have thrown for 3,000 yards in a season . . . A victory would give Oregon its first 5-0 start in conference play since 2019. Cal hasn’t even won five conference games in a season since 2009 and hasn’t started 5-0 in league play since 1950.

— JEFF FARAUDO