Oregon State 62, Cal 14
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Oregon State registered its first blowout of the season on a rainy Saturday night at Reser Stadium, but the outcome may end up as a footnote if it turns out to be Jeff Tedford's last game at California.
The 16th-ranked Beavers (8-2, 6-2 Pac-12) welcomed back starting quarterback Sean Mannion, and he threw four touchdown passes in the first half of a 62-14 victory over the Golden Bears (3-9, 2-7).
The outcome was the most lopsided Oregon State win in its 65-game series with Cal.
The defeat concluded Tedford's worst season in his 11 years in Berkeley.
Mannion, displaced as the starter for four of the past five games by Cody Vaz after undergoing a surgical procedure on his left knee, finished 24-for-33 for 325 yards with four touchdowns and an interception.
Beavers receiver Markus Wheaton caught seven passes for 99 yards and a score, while Oregon State running back Terron Ward produced 128 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
Not much went right for Cal, which racked up 15 penalties totaling 172 yards. On top of that, Oregon State's offense rolled to 559 total yards. Cal also lost three fumbles, and quarterback Allan Bridgford threw an interception. Bears running back Isi Sofele gained 104 yards on 18 carries.
Mannion wasted little time reasserting himself into the starting role for Oregon State. He connected with Wheaton on a 48-yard pass on the Beavers' first play from scrimmage and was 18-for-23 for 239 yards and four touchdowns by halftime.
The Beavers had 333 total yards and led 35-7 at the break.
Many at Reser Stadium were also closely monitoring rival Oregon's close game against Stanford. Within seconds of Mannion's 48-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks early in the second quarter, the Cardinal made a field goal to deal the Ducks their first loss of the season.
The crowd's ovation for Cooks exploded into a roar when the final score was announced from Eugene.
Next week, the second-ranked Ducks come to Corvallis for the annual Civil War in a game with potential BCS implications.
Cal put together one of its best drives of the season, going 82 yards on nine plays to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:30 to go in the first quarter. Sofele scored on a 9-yard run.
However, there was very little else for the Bears to be excited about before the break. Cal was flagged seven times for 88 yards in the first half, including six personal fouls.
NOTES: Cooks, a Biletnikoff Award finalist, left the game in the second quarter after taking a hit to the head. ... Oregon State won 10 of its previous 13 games against Cal coming into the game. ... Beavers defensive back Jordan Poyer made his sixth interception of the season in the first quarter.
