EUGENE, Ore. — Vernon Adams threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to Bralon Addison, and the Oregon Ducks became bowl eligible with a 44-28 victory over slumping California on Saturday night.
Royce Freeman had 29 carries for 180 yards as the Ducks (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12) held on to a slim shot at a place in the conference championship game with their third straight win. The Ducks amassed a school record 777 yards in total offense.
It was Oregon’s first conference victory at Autzen Stadium this season after earlier losses to Utah and Washington State.
Jared Goff threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns for the Golden Bears (5-4, 2-4), who dropped their fourth straight game after a promising 5-0 start.
Adams started his third straight game after struggling with a broken index finger on his throwing hand earlier this season.
Last week he threw for 315 yards and four TDs in a 61-55 triple-overtime win at Arizona State. Adams was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
Adams’ surge is coming at the right time for the Ducks, who visit No. 9 Stanford next weekend. Oregon could still get into the Pac-12 title game with wins in their final three games and an additional Cardinal loss.
Goff, who last week surpassed the 10,000-yard career passing mark last week in Cal’s 27-21 loss to USC, threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Stephen Anderson on the first drive of the game.
The last time the Golden Bears came to Eugene it was 2013, and Goff completed just three of six passes for 11 yards in the first quarter before he was pulled. Goff said this week that his most vivid memory of that game was that it was played in an unrelenting downpour.
The rain fell — albeit not as hard — on Saturday night, but Cal practiced this week with wet footballs as a precaution.
Adams was intercepted in the end zone by Griffin Piatt, and Cal capped the ensuing drive with Matt Anderson’s 27-yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead.
Oregon closed the gap with Aidan Schneider’s 41-yard field goal and tied it with Adam’s 10-yard rushing TD that was capped by a somersault over a defender into the end zone.
Adams was under pressure and on the run when he found receiver Addison the first time with a 28-yard scoring pass to put the Ducks up 17-10, extending Oregon’s current NCAA-best string of games with a touchdown pass to 77.
Adams hit Dwayne Stanford with a 10-yard touchdown before a 15-yard scoring pass to Addison that extended Oregon’s lead to 31-10 at the half.
Matt Anderson kicked a career-long 48-yard field goal to narrow it, before a blocked punt, Cal’s second of the game, put the Golden Bears in good field position for a drive that ended with Vic Enwere’s 9-yard run. Goff had a keeper for the conversion to make it 31-21.
After Schneider’s 21-yard field goal for the Ducks, Adams threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Charles Nelson and Oregon went up 41-21.
Bryce Treggs hauled in an 80-yard touchdown pass from Goff with 7:27 left, but Oregon added Schneider’s 19-yard field goal with 3:23 to go for the final margin.
Oregon has a seven-game winning streak over the Golden Bears, who haven’t defeated the Ducks since a 26-16 victory in Strawberry Canyon in 2008.
