Berkeley, CA (Sports Network) - The Oregon State Beavers and the California Golden Bears will clash this weekend in what figures to be a competitive Pac-10 contest.

Oregon State has won three of its last four outings to move to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in league play. The most recent triumph occurred over UCLA on Saturday by a 26-19 final in thrilling fashion. All three losses this season have come by 10 or fewer points, and OSU can become eligible for the postseason with a win over California.

Speaking of the Golden Bears, they have won their last three outings to move to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The win streak put the Bears back in the top-25 this week, coming in at 23rd in the nation. Prior to Saturday's tilt against Arizona State, all seven of their contests had been decided by double figures. The game against the Sun Devils was extremely close, however, and Jeff Tedford has to be proud of the fact that his team escaped the road affair with a 23-21 triumph.

California owns a 33-28 series edge over Oregon State, but the Beavers have won the last two meetings.

Oregon State is scoring 29.4 ppg this season to go along with 408.6 total ypg. The Beavers have some talented offensive performers, but none more exciting than tailback Jacquizz Rodgers. Through eight games, he has rushed for 922 yards and 14 touchdowns while also hauling in 49 receptions for 371 yards and a score. Clearly, Rodgers is a frontrunner for Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. His brother, James Rodgers, is second on the team in rushing and first in receiving with 60 grabs for 706 yards and five scores. Sean Canfield has started all eight games at quarterback for the Beavers and has connected on 68.9 percent of his throws for 2,039 yards and 11 touchdowns with four interceptions. James Rodgers played hero for Oregon State last weekend, as he scored on a 17-yard run with 44 seconds remaining to break a 19-19 tie and lead his team to victory. Jacquizz threw a touchdown pass in the tilt, and the versatile talent posted 112 rushing yards and 92 receiving yards.

Stopping the OSU attack is something Tedford knows is difficult to do.

"They're an excellent football team. It never seems to change with them. Offensively, they're as explosive as anyone. With the Rodgers brothers [RB Jacquizz and WR James], they do such a great job. Their offensive line is always so well coached and so physical and create gaps for Jacquizz to run in, and then James, they do so many good things with him with screens and flys, and now he's at receiver. And [QB Sean] Canfield's playing very well, very accurate throwing the ball. So, tough group to stop. I don't know that you're ever going to stop them completely. You just hope to limit them because they are very explosive."

Opponents are scoring 24.9 ppg against Oregon State, which is yielding 380.1 total ypg. The Beavers have allowed 26 touchdowns to opposing offenses, including 15 through the air. They have been tough against the run, permitting just 108.0 ypg at a clip of 3.8 yards per attempt. Unfortunately, opposing quarterbacks are throwing for 272.1 ypg against the Beavers, who has recorded a mere five interceptions. In the victory over UCLA last weekend, the Beavers limited the Bruins to 51 rushing yards on 29 attempts, an impressive showing to say the least. Anytime a defense can limit the opposition to fewer than 20 points in a conference game, the coaching staff has to be happy. So while Oregon State didn't play well against the pass once again, the overall effort against UCLA was strong.

California is a solid offensive football team that is averaging 33.6 ppg and 427.4 total ypg. The Golden Bears have achieved strong balance offensively, as they are rushing for 196.1 ypg while passing for 231.2 total ypg. Of the 33 touchdowns the offense has managed this season, 20 have come on the ground. Tailback Jahvid Best is the best player on the team, and he has rushed for 838 yards and 11 touchdowns while gaining 6.3 yards per carry. Marvin Jones paces the receivers with 366 yards and five touchdowns, while Best has scored four times as a pass catcher. Quarterback Kevin Riley has connected on 55.5 percent of his passes for 1,805 yards with 13 touchdowns against only two interceptions. Against Arizona State last week, Riley threw first-quarter touchdown passes to both Jones and Best, and while the offense failed to score a touchdown the rest of the way, it is hard to complain too much about 408 total yards. The Golden Bears were hurt by a pair of lost fumbles, but Riley managed to avoid interceptions as usual. It should be noted that Best injured his ankle against Arizona State, and his status for this weekend is uncertain.

The Golden Bears can best be described as an average defensive team, as they are permitting 22.1 ppg and 377.2 total ypg to opponents. They are giving up 268.0 ypg though the air with just seven interceptions in eight outings, so that aspect of the game needs to be improved. On a positive note, they are holding foes to 109.2 rushing ypg and 3.3 rushing yards per carry. Mike Mohamed leads Cal in tackles by a wide margin with 74, as his closet teammate has just 49 stops. Mohamed has recorded five TFLs, including a pair of sacks, and two interceptions. Tyson Alualu has five sacks to his credit, but he has been a bit inconsistent. Cal held ASU to 329 total yards last weekend, including 82 rushing yards on 26 attempts. With three total takeaways, including a pair of interceptions, the Golden Bears weren't short on impact plays.

After some tough losses early on in league play, Cal is playing its best football of late, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by OSU coach Mike Riley.

"This team has, as everybody knows, a lot of weapons, a lot of speed; they've been very explosive, one of the top scoring offenses in our conference. They are one of the top offensive leaders in our conference, one of the top rushing defenses in our conference. So this is a very solid football team that has played well lately. After a couple of losses against two very fine teams they've rebounded into a little string here so we're expecting a very tough game."