Cal’s bid for No. 1 falls short

BERKELEY, Calif. – In the split-second Kevin Riley took to decide to run with the football instead of throw it away, California’s dreams of a No. 1 ranking and undefeated season slipped away.

Riley’s mistake on the final play of the game spoiled what almost was a spectacular comeback in his first career start as the clock ran out before the second-ranked Golden Bears had a chance to try a game-tying field goal in a 31-28 loss to Oregon State on Saturday.

“It’s not his fault whatsoever,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “He played his heart out down the stretch to get us in that situation. We didn’t lose the game because of that play.”

Oregon State (4-3, 2-2 Pac-10) delivered the latest shocker in an upset-filled season and denied Cal (5-1, 2-1) a chance to seize the top ranking for the first time in 56 years. No. 1 LSU lost in triple overtime at Kentucky earlier in the day, but the Bears were unable to handle their own business, becoming the 10th team ranked in the top 10 to lose to an unranked team already this season.

This marked the first time the top two teams lost on the same day since Sept. 21, 1996, when No. 1 Nebraska was beaten 19-0 by Arizona State and No. 2 Tennessee fell 35-29 to Florida.

“We just have to keep our heads up,” said receiver Lavelle Hawkins, whose 64-yard TD with 2:31 to go started Cal’s comeback from a 10-point deficit. “All it means is that we’re not going undefeated. You mope about the loss and it’ll carry into other losses. We don’t worry about all the rankings.”

Oregon State recovered the onsides kick after Hawkins’ late touchdown and pinned Cal at its own 5 with 1:27 left and no timeouts.

Riley, showing great poise after some early game jitters, completed a 19-yard pass to Hawkins on fourth-and-18 and a 37-yarder to Jordan. A pass interference call moved the ball to the 12 with 14 seconds left before the final fateful play.

With his receivers covered, Riley inexplicably tried to scramble for the score. He was tackled after a 2-yard gain and the clock ran out before the field-goal unit could get on the field.

“I saw the field and I thought I could get around that guy,” Riley said. “It just didn’t happen.”

Riley finished 20 for 34 for 294 yards and two touchdowns.

Joey LaRoque made the tackle on the final play, sending the Beavers into a joyous celebration and handing the Bears a devastating loss.

“That was a great finish to a great game,” LaRoque said.