Oregon State
California
Lucas leads OSU ground game
November 15, 2015 | Football
Berkeley, Calif. – Freshman Paul Lucas ran for 70 yards on 13 carries in his first sustained action at running back but Oregon State fell 54-24 to California in a Pacific-12 Conference game at Memorial Stadium.
The Beavers (2-8, 0-7 Pac-12) gained 204 yards on 34 carries and compiled 398 yards of total offense against the Golden Bears (6-4, 4-4), who had not defeated OSU in Berkeley since 1997 before Saturday's triumph.
Primarily a wide receiver who had gained just 19 yards on five carries heading into Saturday, Lucas had a long run of 33 yards and averaged 5.4 yards a carry.
Junior wide receiver Jordan Villamin had seven receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Jonathan Willis led the defense with nine tackles and a sack.
Cal led 7-0 when OSU got on the board on a 46-yard field goal by Garrett Owens with 10:53 left in the second quarter, capping a 12-play, 46-yard drive. It was the fifth field goal of 40 or more yards for Owens.
The Bears reeled off 17 unanswered points before the Beavers struck just before halftime on a four-play, 61-yard TD drive that took just 32 seconds. Mitchell's 29-yard TD pass to Villamin with 12 seconds remaining in the half made it 24-10 at the break. Villamin caught a pass on every play of the drive.
OSU scored twice in the third quarter. Quarterback Nick Mitchell crossed on a 4-yard run set up by a career-long 37-yard dash by Damien Haskins. Mitchell then threw a 3-yard scoring pass to tight end Noah Togiai, the first TD reception of his young career.
However, Mitchell was shaken up by a late hit to the head on the pass to Togiai, and did not return. He was 14-for-28 for 161 yards and two TDs, and rushed eight times for 48 yards, before leaving. Marcus McMaryion finished up.
The Beavers host Washington at 3 p.m. Saturday at Reser Stadium in their final appearance of the season. The game is part of the Northwest Rivalry Series, presented by Alaska Airlines, and will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
