Geoff McArthur/(photo by Paul Sakuma/AP)

For a memorable moment, Oregon senior wide receiver Keith Allen held the fate of 4th-ranked California's Rose Bowl hopes in his hands along with a perfectly thrown spiral from Ducks quarterback Kellen Clemens. Despite being wide open, Allen bobbled the ball away on a 4th-and-10 that would have been good for at least 20 yards and positioned Gang Green for a game-winning field goal.

Instead, the Bears hung on for a gut-wrenching victory over the Ducks, 28-27, snapping Oregon's seven-game winning streak over Cal and keeping the Bears on track for Pasadena.

With the Bears’ receiving corps resembling a M.A.S.H. unit in the season’s final weeks, senior stalwart Geoff McArthur stepped up, hauling in eight passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Steady quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 275 yards and three TDs, and running back J.J. Arrington ran for 188 yards and a score for the Bears (7-1, 5-1 Pac-10).

Trailing at home for the first time in Pac-10 play this season, Cal kept clawing back into the game, overcoming serious miscues from their special teams unit en route to victory. Return man Terrell Williams muffed a kickoff that led to an Oregon touchdown, and placekicker Tom Schneider missed two crucial field goal attempts.

Oregon’s Clemens burned Cal’s defense early and often, throwing four touchdown passes before intermission. But two key mistakes by the Ducks kept Cal’s Bowl Championship Series hopes alive: Oregon placekicker Jared Siegel missed an extra point in the first quarter, and Oregon's final drive ended when Allen dropped that easy fourth-down pass that would have put the Ducks well within field goal range.

The win was Coach Jeff Tedford's first victory over the school where he served as Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti's offensive coordinator for four years. Although Tedford exorcised some demons by defeating Bellotti in a classic battle of student versus teacher, the Bears must tighten up their special teams if they still plan to play in a big-time bowl at season’s end.

Cal travels to Washington next week before finishing conference play at home against Stanford in the Big Game.

Inside Ted’s Head:

Coach Jeff Tedford talked about his team’s performance in the post-game press conference.

On Cal’s second-half comeback: "I am extremely proud of our players. They showed great character fighting back into the game. There was never any doubt in anybody’s mind in the locker room at the half. But they (Orgeon) have a lot of skilled offensive players, and our defense stepped up to shut them down in the second half."

On Aaron Rodgers: "Aaron had a good game. You know, the thing about Aaron is that we all get used to seeing him complete every ball. So when he overthrows a ball or misses somebody we all wonder what happened. But he is human and played well today. He made great decisions with the ball, didn’t commit any turnovers, and I thought he used very good judgment all day."

On Marshawn Lynch: "Marshawn is a phenomenal player. He is so strong and will not go down. We try to tell him to go down because people will make him fumble someday. But he is so strong and that guy has tremendous balance."

On the struggles of Cal’s special team unit: "We were fortunate today that we still won the game despite all the mistakes we made. We fumbled, we missed kicks, and normally you lose to a great team like Oregon when you make those mistakes. There is no question that we are concerned about it. We are going to have to address that. We need to hit the ball more solidly on field goal attempts. There will absolutely be open competition this week for field goals."

Style Points:

Last week, two men from the Fiesta Bowl selection committee took in Cal’s domination of Arizona State. Their yellow blazers were louder than the Cal alumni section. This week, two representatives from the Orange Bowl selection committee trumped the fellas from the Fiesta Bowl. They were both well-fed men who really filled out their awful, orange outfits. They made you want to shout out, "Hey, Kool-Aid!"

Marshawn-O-Meter:

Lynch continues to inspire awe nearly every time he touches the pigskin. Against Oregon, he racked up 124 all-purpose yards: seven rushes for 25, three receptions for 41, and three kick returns for 58, including one spectacular, six-Duck-shedding run of 25 yards.

Opponents have learned to avoid the frosh phenom on kickoffs, purposely kicking as far away from him as possible. Perhaps frustrated by that tactic, or because fellow return man Williams fumbled the previous kickoff, Lynch traveled across the field to take a ball from Williams in a play reminiscent of a great scene from "The Bad News Bears." Walter Matthau’s Coach Buttermaker ordered star player Kelly Leak to catch everything in the outfield. Hopefully, Williams will adjust better than Bears centerfielder Ahmad, who climbed up a tree in his underwear to protest Buttermaker’s move.

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