• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

California-Washington Preview

Dec 2, 2009 - 1:21 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

No. 19 California (8-3) at Washington (4-7), 6:30 p.m. EDT

California's pursuit of a Pac-10 championship ended weeks ago, but it still wants to finish the regular season strong and avoid being Washington's latest upset victim.

The 19th-ranked Golden Bears look for a third straight victory when they visit the pesky Huskies on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both schools.

California (8-3, 5-3) began the season ranked 12th and believing it could challenge for the Pac-10 title. Consecutive blowout losses to Oregon and Southern California to open league play all but ended those chances, but the Bears have bounced back by winning five of six, falling only to Oregon State - then unranked but now No. 13 - on Nov. 7.

"We stuck together well and even when things weren't going well we were able to pick it up," junior quarterback Kevin Riley said.

With a school-record seventh straight bowl appearance still to come, California looks to end the regular season with a three-game winning streak after beating then-No. 18 Arizona 24-16 on Nov. 14, and then-No. 14 Stanford 34-28 in its most recent game Nov. 21.

The victories over a pair of ranked teams have rejuvenated the Bears, who will try for their second straight victory and seventh in eight meetings with Washington (4-7, 3-5).

"It's just about finishing strong, winning our ninth game, obviously going to Washington and playing a good Washington team," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.

Washington is 3-1 in conference home games, which included a 16-13 win over then-No. 3 USC on Sept. 19, and a 36-33 victory over bowl-bound Arizona on Oct. 10.

"It's tough to play there," said Tedford, whose team is 4-1 on the road. "It's a hostile environment."

The Huskies snapped a season-high four-game losing streak with a 30-0 home win over rival Washington State last Saturday.

"For our football team, that goes a long way with these guys in believing with what we're doing and sticking with our plan," first-year Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said.

Recording a second straight home win won't be easy against the Golden Bears.

Behind a career-high 193 yards from sophomore Shane Vereen, Cal rushed for 242 yards against Stanford.

Filling in for star running back Jahvid Best, Vereen has 72 carries for 352 yards and four touchdowns over the last two games, with the yardage accounting for nearly half of his 738 on the season. Best will miss his third straight contest since suffering a concussion against Oregon State.

Vereen has been most effective running out of the wildcat formation.

"The way that he's performed the past two weeks, it's been awesome," coach Jeff Tedford said.

Vereen could be primed for another big effort against Washington, which is ninth in the conference with 155.0 rush yards allowed per game. The Huskies yielded a school-record 311 yards to Best last season, when the Bears ran for 431 yards in a 48-7 home win.

Washington, though, is coming off its first shutout victory since Nov. 1, 1997, when it beat USC 27-0.

The Huskies allowed 163 total yards last week - including 47 on the ground - to the 1-11 Cougars. The effort could provide some momentum for a team that's giving up 398.0 yards and 28.2 points per game.

Offensively, talented junior quarterback Jake Locker threw for 196 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 94 yards and a score, while Chris Polk rushed for 130 yards to become the first Washington freshman to crack 1,000 yards in a season.

Polk is fifth in the conference with 1,019 rushing yards, while Locker leads the Pac-10 with 260.3 total yards per game.