Oregon’s defense saves day at Stanford

Terrence Whitehead ran for 131 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, and Oregon’s defense got 10 sacks in a 16-13 Pacific-10 Conference win over Stanford on Saturday in Stanford, Calif.

Mike Bellotti earned his 100th career victory in 15 years as a head coach at Oregon and Chico State, but it certainly meant less to him than the boost to his team’s bowl chances that came with this win.

Stanford had a chance to force overtime after getting the ball back with 16 seconds left and completing two long passes, but Michael Sgroi’s 49-yard field-goal attempt fell short as the clock expired.

Jared Siegel kicked three field goals for the Ducks (4-3, 3-1), including a 51-yarder, to become Oregon’s career leader in field goals with 46, surpassing Gregg McCallum’s 45 from 1988-91.

Oregon’s Kellen Clemens was 22 for 33 for 275 yards, completing a 36-yard pass to Keith Allen on fourth-and-3 to set up Whitehead’s 2-yard scoring run with 10:39 left.

Whitehead nearly cost Oregon the game with a fumble on the Ducks’ next series, but the defense came up huge once again. After Haloti Ngata’s 15-yard face-mask penalty gave Stanford first down at the 28, Oregon sacked T.C. Ostrander on consecutive plays to get the ball back.

Whitehead’s big day didn’t stop with his third 100-yard game of the season. He also had a 51-yard reception among his eight catches for 92 yards.

The Ducks’ first trip to Stanford Stadium in seven years was quite a contrast from the last time the teams met in the Bay Area.

Oregon and Stanford combined for 107 points and 1,108 yards of offense in the Cardinal’s 58-49 win on Sept. 27, 1997, Stanford’s highest-scoring game in school history.

Both defenses performed well in the Cardinal’s homecoming game, which drew only 33,250 on a rare rainy afternoon.

Ostrander, playing in place of injured starter Trent Edwards, threw his first career TD pass for the Cardinal (4-3, 2-2), hitting Patrick Danahy for a 2-yard score with 13:40 left. Ostrander was 18 for 29 for 236 yards.

(7) California 38, Arizona 0

Aaron Rodgers threw three first-half TDs and J.J. Arrington topped 100 yards rushing for the sixth consecutive game to lead the Golden Bears (5-1, 3-1) to a rout of the Wildcats (1-6, 0-4) in Tucson, Ariz.

Geoff McArthur broke the Cal record for career yards receiving with his 11-yard TD reception 11 seconds before halftime. McArthur caught six for 94 yards to give him 2,768 career yards, breaking Bobby Shaw’s record of 2,731 set from 1994-97.

Rodgers completed 20 of 27 for 235 yards but was intercepted twice — both by Antoine Cason. They were the third and fourth picks he has thrown this season.

Arrington gained 135 yards in 24 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run.

The Bears posted their first shutout since a 17-0 victory over UCLA on Oct. 16, 1999.