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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview October 6, 2006 Ties run deep in Ducks' rivalry with Cal By Greg Beacham The Associated Press BERKELEY, Calif. — Marshawn Lynch's college decision came down to Oregon or California. The star running back loved the Ducks, but stayed close to home with the Golden Bears. Receiver Cameron Colvin and quarterback Dennis Dixon went the other way, leaving their native Bay Area for the model program established by coach Mike Bellotti — another born-and-bred Northern Californian — in rustic Eugene. When the 11th-ranked Ducks (4-0, 2-0 Pac-10) visit the 16th-ranked Bears (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday night in Strawberry Canyon, dozens of players who weighed the same decisions will line up against each other. The game is more than a key conference clash and a potential Bowl Championship Series eliminator. It's a meeting of near-mirror images, a contest between two programs striving for the same goals with many of the same methods. And it's also quite a personal rivalry because of those decisions, according to Lynch. "It's like that just because so many of the players that went up there, we always talked, and we all wanted to end up at the same school," Lynch said, citing Colvin, Dixon and injured cornerback Jackie Bates in particular. "So that's a little rivalry right there. It's cool. ... The atmosphere is going to juice up the game, but it comes down to what's between the lines." The schools are separated by about 520 miles on the I-5, but they seem much closer during Pac-10 football season. Cal coach Jeff Tedford was Bellotti's offensive coordinator for four years before taking over the Golden Bears in 2002, and he freely acknowledges he has tried to emulate the Ducks' success on and off the field. Four of Tedford's assistants have been Ducks, including respected defensive coordinator Bob Gregory. When Bellotti began to use elements of a spread offense in his game plans last year, Tedford hired Mike Dunbar, an offensive coordinator with extensive spread credentials. "I know half his staff," Bellotti said with a laugh. "He's done a nice job of recruiting good people, and that's what it's about. ... There's an intimate knowledge of both teams. We have to do things a little bit differently this week, and they have to do some things they don't do." What's more, Tedford's strength coach, video coordinator, recruiting assistant, two equipment managers and director of football operations also have experience at Oregon — and one of Tedford's first acts as Cal's coach was to update his players' uniforms to something nearly as fashionable (or flashy) as Oregon's annually changing, space-age togs. "I have a lot of respect for the way they do business there on a daily basis," Tedford said. "Working with the people up there, you get a true understanding of what they're all about. ... Mike and I still talk all the time. Before, it was an employee-boss relationship. It's a more personal relationship now." Except this week, when Bellotti and Tedford work long hours devising offensive game plans with the speedy, versatile players they love to recruit. The schools' three meetings since Tedford's departure have been decided by a total of 12 points, with Oregon winning two. The Ducks could have won the teams' wild meeting in 2004 at Memorial Stadium, but Keith Allen dropped a fourth-down pass from Kellen Clemens that would have put the Ducks well within field-goal range with 1:39 left in Cal's 28-27 victory. And Cal could have won last season's game in Eugene with a 53-yard field goal as time expired, but Tom Schneider missed the rushed kick, and Brady Leaf won it with his first career TD pass in overtime. The winner of their rematch will become USC's primary rival for the Pac-10 championship, while the loser still could be headed for a prominent bowl game. Either way, it's the most anticipated matchup of the season at Memorial Stadium — mostly because everybody knows each other. "These teams are so evenly matched," said Cal linebacker Desmond Bishop, who chose the Bears over Oregon and every major program after two dominant junior college seasons. "We have the same kinds of game plans. Their players are kind of similar to ours. We recruit the same people. It's just one of those matchups where everybody has the same mentality." Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.