By Morris Phillips

In a true track meet of a football game, one featuring 169 plays from the line of scrimmage, 1,150 yards of total offense and 100 points on the scoreboard, turning points are as fleeting as an accurate, pre-snap read by an interior linebacker with too much information and virtually no time with which to digest it.

But the Cal Bears faced such a turning point just five plays into the third quarter of Friday night’s Pac-12 showcase at Levi’s Stadium with the visiting No. 6 Oregon Ducks. The Ducks’ offense led by Heisman hopeful and potential No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Marcus Mariotta had just committed a costly offensive pass interference penalty and faced a 3^rd and 21 at their own 46. The Bears had already overcome a 17-point deficit in the second quarter, and were counting on forcing a punt and further slicing into Oregon’s 38-28 halftime lead.

Local prep star turned collegiate duel threat Byron Marshall lined up in the far slot as the Ducks employed a single back, four wide out set to take on the Bears’ prevent defense with all but three down lineman at least 10 yards removed from the line of scrimmage. Marshall, from San Jose’s Valley Christian H.S., just a few off ramps down the 101 from the 49ers’ new stadium, had conceded his starting running back job to freshman flyer Royce Freeman only to find a more dangerous role as a running, catching slot man.

Comfortable in the Ducks’ complicated offense and at home in front of family and friends in Santa Clara, this was Marshall’s moment. Matched up with Cal’s Darius Powe, a 6’3” wide receiver moonlighting on defense to give a beleaguered Cal secondary an additional guy with size and speed, Marshall trailed the outside receiver briefly before hitting full stride on a go route along the far sideline. Marshall immediately ran past Powe, caught Mariotta’s pass along to the sideline in stride, and was already gone when Cal safety Michael Lowe attempted to close from the center of the field.

Marshall’s 54-yard catch and run would put the Ducks back up 17 and Cal was cooked. The Ducks would then run away from the Bears in a 59-41 win that marked Oregon’s sixth consecutive win over Cal. Marshall would go on to catch 4 passes for 133 yards, and run for another 57 yards on 7 rush attempts as Mariotta’s favorite big play target.

“We made too many mistakes in the ballgame to beat a team as good as Oregon. We’ve just got to get more disciplined,” Cal coach Sonny Dykes said. “Guys are trying to make some plays and sometimes are trying to do too much.”

Oregon coach Mark Helfrich saw his Ducks improve to 7-1, and move back into the National Championship playoff picture after an unexpected loss to Arizona on October 2. But afterwards, he seemed taken by Cal’s effort and talent in spite of the loss.

“Nick Saban was talking the other day about how frustrating it is when people expect certain things to happen,” Helfrich said. “That’s great, but at the same time, that’s a really good football team and a really good talented team, especially skill-wise on both sides. To win on the road in a neutral site on a short week with a bunch of guys gutting it out, you can’t just look at numbers and go, ‘These guys stink.’”

With impressive numbers compiled by both teams, Oregon’s efficiency and execution was the difference. The Ducks needed just 76 total plays to compile 590 yards total offense and 27 first downs. Meanwhile, Cal ran 93 plays, but committed 11 penalties and saw 22 of their 55 pass attempts fall incomplete. Jared Goff was again good, completing 32 of 52 for 360 yards, but only two of the 52 attempts went for touchdowns, and the Bears also suffered two costly fumbles.

Luke Rubenzer reprised his role as Goff’s understudy utilized mostly in red-zone situations. Rubenzer scored from 12 yards out to give Cal a 7-0 lead less than five minutes in, and then the freshman scored again late in the fourth quarter to slice into Oregon’s 25-point lead. Rubenzer finished with 48 yards on 10 rush attempts.

The conference game was played in front of an announced crowd of 55,575, which left huge chunks of empty seats in the brand new NFL stadium with Oregon fans present and loud as the subdued Cal crowd. The stadium will also host the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 5.

The Bears lost for the third straight week and saw their record fall to 4-4, 2-4 in conference. Cal now has an extra day of preparation for their trip to Corvallis to face Oregon State on November 1.